Speaker: Giannis Kalogirou

“Thirty-five years towards the Information Society in Greece: What can we learn from its journey?”

In this presentation, an attempt is made to describe and analyze the adventure of the introduction, diffusion and ultimately the functional utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Greece. Particular importance is given to the monitoring of the socio-economic developments, public policies and business strategies associated with this specific journey. More specifically, an attempt is made to identify the development cycle of the project called “Information Society” and in particular to highlight the structural obstacles and driving forces. Besides, the adoption and diffusion of new technologies, and indeed general-purpose ones, such as ICT, in various societies – and in their parts – beyond the general homogenization trends that it follows, is differentiated due to the particular – locally and temporally determined – conditions and reception processes (acceptance, resistance and inertia).

The timely positioning of post-democratic Greece at the core of European developments and the traditional interconnection of the various (political, scientific, etc.) elites of Greek society with international events allowed for the timely recognition of upcoming technological changes in the fields of information management and circulation and telecommunications. However, the path of transforming the concept into practice is proving to be long and difficult. The use of available resources, especially in Greek conditions – and in the context of excessively inflexible procedures for their utilization – is neither automatic nor easy. After all, new technologies are disruptive. Their utilization requires and presupposes accompanying organizational and institutional changes, and mainly changes in mindsets, perceptions and ways of working. Thus, the development of the Information Society is burdened with the problems and difficulties that all reforms and major institutional and technological modernizations in our country have historically faced. The country is entering the labyrinth of implementation. In addition, the difficult and slow implementation of ICT projects is accompanied by their even more difficult operational utilization.

Of particular importance for the successful implementation of such a large-scale project is the existence of a corresponding strategy and practice for capacity development, human resource management and the promotion of social learning processes, technological absorption and the necessary institutional and organizational changes that usually bring about corresponding social, economic/business and political conflicts.

Monday, April 1, 2013 | 18:00

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The meetings of the Open Seminar on Economic History
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