Oloi Mazi (All together) Press Release in English – Δελτίο Τύπου στα Αγγλικά
Δελτίο Τύπου της παράταξης “Ολοι Μαζί – Κύθηρα – Αντικύθηρα” στην αγγλική και στην ελληνική γλώσσα. Όλο το πρόγραμμα. Kythira, Thursday 7 September 2023 Press Release All Together (Oloi Mazi) Dear friends, who even though you were not born in our islands, you love Kythira and Antikythira as much as we do (and perhaps more …) As you probably know, the Municipal and regional elections in Greece are held on the 8th and 15th of October 2023. These elections are important, and we believe of high interest for you. Why? Its simple. Because you want to have the adequate water supply of high quality and proper waste management services. Because you want our islands to be clean and to keep developing in a sustainable way with high respect for the natural, social, and cultural environment. In few words, you want Kythira and Antikythira to become an ideal place to live and prosper. May of you already have voting rights for the local (Municipal and Regional) elections. We cordially invite you to vote and to support our part for the Municipal election “All Together’ (Oloi Mazi) with Zacarias Souris as the candidate for the Mayor role. We would invite you to spend a bit of your time and go through our manifesto and programme, our proposals, and commitments. We are sure you will discover many of the matters that really concern you and impact your life. We are available always to discuss your own ideas and proposals, including objections and alternative views. Please visit our web site where you can find our complete programme in English as well as you can post your thoughts on the address: https://oloi-mazi.gr All Together (ΟΛΟΙ ΜΑΖΙ) Manifesto framework for the Municipality elections (Dimotikes ekloges) – October 2023 Who we are. We are active citizens aiming at the radical and measurable transformation of living standards and quality of life for the residents Kythira and Antikythira. We are conscious citizens who are fully aware that nothing will change if we don’t first change ourselves. We are a diverse group of people united by the love and pure care for our islands. Our common belief is that our islands not only have to, but also can change their destiny and get a new life. We direct our invitation to everyone to share our thoughts. To exchange ideas. To join forces to instigate positive radical change for our islands. Through honest dialogue and maximum possible participation. We are seeking a synthesis of ideas as a result of honest and open dialogue. We are aiming at common understanding and collaboration with everyone who genuinely cares about Kythira and Antikythira. Our vision Our vision is to make Kythira and Antikythira an exemplary case for sustainable development and prosperity. A place which will attract people to live and prosper, enjoying all the goods and services available in the modern world. A place combining exceptional natural environment with culture, tradition, and sustainable economic development throughout the year. A place which will successfully deal with the tragic impacts of climate change we are already facing. And which will eventually set the foundations for the reversal of local population decline. To materialize our vision, we are proposing 3+1 strategic pillars for action, to be discussed among our fellow Kytherians and Antikytherians. Both before but also after the elections. With the purpose of forming and activating a plan for the long-term sustainable development of our islands. We welcome all creative comments and builds (provided their feasibility), including ideas that are opposed to ours. We believe that we can collectively progress only through the reconciliation of diverse views. Strategic pillars for the development of Kythira and Antikythira Sustainable – productive development Our islands productive activities are continuously dwindling. With few exceptions, we have reached a point of importing almost everything, including e.g., agricultural products which in the past were traditionally a strength of the local economy. There is no future for our islands unless this trend is reversed, and the productive part of our economy is drastically strengthened. This will in turn create permanent and well-paid job positions and eventually lead to an increase of our productive population. Many are questioning whether this is the Municipal Council’ (Dimotiko Symvoulio) and the Mayor’s job. Our answer is that every modern Municipal council and Mayor should undertake actions and initiatives for everything and anything pertinent to the wellbeing of citizens. Even more so in this case, as there are already existing legally established potential support organizational structures which the current Administration has ignored. The basic sub-pillars of the sustainable productive development are: Support for the primary sector (agriculture) of our economy with the establishment, staffing and activation of an “Office for Agricultural Development” acting as a strategic support for the production process as well as the marketing and commercial activities of local farmers. Our immediate target is to staff the office with a veterinarian and an agronomist, a decades long request by our farmers. The contribution of these scientists will aid towards production improvement and attraction of new / young people to invest in our agricultural sector. Development of a support framework for the standardization of local agricultural practices and commercialization – all the way to (select) end consumers worldwide – to drastically increase domestic added value. In parallel, development and support of new activity areas e.g., sustainable / organic agricultural practices, herbs production and standardization, medicinal plants, systematic organic production of famous local products e.g., Mitata peaches etc. Development of a unified umbrella brand covering the entire local produce (food and local artifacts) and development of production, processing, standardization, and Marketing framework. This can take the form of partnership between Collectives, Individuals, and companies as well as the local council and strategic partners with experienced in these activities. An example of this is the Chios paradigm with Masticha shops. Within this framework, every producer – adhering to the agreed standards – will be able to promote their production either through the partnership company or the collectives. Rapid