Filenews 25 March 2022
Interview by Socrates Ioakim of Zenon Zenonos
In the digital changes that will make Pafos a smart city, which will improve the quality of life of its residents, the first Director of Smart City Projects of the municipality, Zenon Zenonos, is mentioned in an interview with Insider. He talks about the new universities that will operate in Paphos, about the projects that are being implemented and about the role of the citizens in the effort to build a smart city.
What does your strategic plan include since your recent investiture?
Our strategic plan as Pafos Municipality is to make Paphos a smart and digital city and at the same time to create a new pillar, the third pillar of the local economy based on innovation and university education. So, as you can see, we focus on three important areas: the smart and digital city, education and innovation. Towards this direction is the establishment of new Universities in Paphos.
What are the new Universities that we will see in Paphos?
The internationally accredited American University of Beirut (AUB) will soon establish in Paphos a new university with at least three Faculties. Also, on November 4, 2021, the Municipality of Pafos signed an agreement with the Cyprus University of Technology for the establishment of the School of Tourism Management, Hospitality and Entrepreneurship of the CUT that will include two academic departments and one Institute (the HHIC). It is clear that these moves will stimulate the economy of the city of Paphos and help create the innovation ecosystem.
SMART CITY OFFICE AND PROJECTS
How many projects are you currently implementing?
The aim of the Smart City office in the Municipality of Pafos is to oversee the implementation of all relevant projects and to define the plan for the new projects that will be implemented in the coming years. We are currently implementing nine projects. The infrastructure for the collection of data from the various applications using the LoRaWAN network has already been implemented. A total of 25 gateways have been installed in various parts of the city. In addition, in a few days the smart parking system (3200 sensors in parking spaces) is received, while in April the smart lighting system (7000 smart bulbs) and the 55 smart pillars are received. An important project that is expected to start soon is the smart management of water resources. Pafos Municipality faces serious challenges in terms of real-time monitoring and management of water resources, including the quantity and quality of water, as well as water supply and distribution infrastructure. This project therefore intends to implement an integrated system to address all challenges. As part of this project, 30,000 conventional water meters will be replaced with smart meters. Finally, we expect that in the next three years all the projects that are in our plan will be fully operational.
DIGITIZATION
In today's modern society, digitalisation is relevant in all sectors of the economy. What remittance do you give to this issue in Paphos Municipality;
An important strategic goal set by the Municipality of Pafos is the complete digitization of all the services of the Municipality. In this direction, the Citizen Service Center (KED) will soon operate. The aim is to be a one-stop service point for citizens which means that with a single visit the citizen can be served for all the services of the Municipality. Of course, the ultimate goal is for the one-stop service point to be converted into a no-stop service point which means that all services are transported electronically eliminating the need for a physical visit. The digitization of the services of the Municipality will bring significant benefits to the citizens including the exponential reduction of the service and waiting time. Citizens also have access to the whole process, thereby enhancing transparency. For example, citizens can track the progress of their applications much more easily than they could in the past. Of course, for the project to be successful, the digital skills of citizens must be developed.
THE ROLE OF THE CITIZENS
What is the role of the citizens in the effort to build a smart city?
The way we approach the smart city is through its anthropocentric character that aims to emphasize not only on technologies and applications but mainly that through the smart city the quality of life of its residents is increased. The success of the smart city is defined only when it is accepted by its citizens, as the main goal of the smart city is to build a city centred on its people. Cities are made up of the citizens and it is important to ensure that the citizens themselves are ready to be smart and to help build a smart city by participating in the processes and to be able to think about what kind of future they want for them and their children. Undoubtedly, therefore, citizen engagement is an essential element for the success of a smart city. We understand that this is not easy since there are several gradations in the level of understanding and use of new technologies by citizens. That is why in our plans we have included actions that emphasise the needs of citizens with fewer technological skills. In addition, we are using a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach when developing new digital services. Of course we are open to new ideas proposed by groups, companies or even individuals. I make no secret of the fact that we have recently received a number of such ideas and we are evaluating them.
CLIMATE NEUTRAL CITY
As the first Smart City Project Manager, how do you dream of Paphos in 10 years from now?
My biggest concern for the future is related to climate change and the consequences it will have on our daily lives, but especially those of our children. I would therefore like Pafos to be a climate-neutral and smart city in 10 years' time. Becoming a climate-neutral city means that you have to achieve a reduction in emissions of environmentally harmful gases as much as possible, but it also means offsetting measures for any remaining emissions. In this way, a net zero-emission balance can be achieved. Getting to this point takes a lot of effort from all stakeholders. Local authorities, central government, academia, the private sector, investors and, above all, civil society must form partnerships, as no piece of the puzzle, however innovative, can complete this change on its own. For this reason, as the Municipality of Pafos, we have submitted our application to the "Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission" of the European Union, which aims by 2030 to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities and to ensure that these cities act as hubs of experimentation and innovation so that all European cities can follow suit by 2050.
