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Aspa Giannopoulou

Aspa Giannopoulou

Digital Diplomacy Officer

Part of Greek Blogyssey

23rd December 2011 Athens, Greece

'Going for Green' lands in Athens. A GREAT opportunity

Velodrome
The velodrome at the Olympic Park, London

The first time I watched this film was during a screening organized internally for Embassy staff back in January 2011.

“Going for Green – Britain’s 2012 Dream” was commissioned by the FCO, and tells the story of how the Olympic Park is being built in an environmentally sustainable way, as set out in the legacy objectives in the original London 2012 bid. The film was produced and directed to make the technical issues accessible to a general audience but at at the same time hold the attention of construction specialists and professionals. Potentially inspiring, serving the FCO prosperity objective, but how could we reach our audiences?

Velodrome
The velodrome at the Olympic Park, London

I have a personal interest in sustainability and green architecture so I already had some knowledge of specialist Greek events which could help us reach those audiences. One of the most important is the Ecoweek festival, run by an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to raise public environmental awareness and public involvement, especially of young people, in environmental protection and ‘green’ building, with an emphasis on promoting sustainability.

The Embassy formed a partnership with Ecoweek and the British Council and an action plan started rolling quickly, resulting in two very successful screenings in Thessaloniki (April 2011) and Athens (December 2011) with total attendance figures of more than 300 people and a media presence.

The latest Athens screening, which I had the chance to attend, was followed by a brilliant presentation by the lead architect of the London Velodrome, Jonathan Watts from Hopkins Architects. Jonathan, a passionate cyclist himself, explained the concept behind the design and shared his technical knowledge with the audience, comprised mostly of architecture students. I remember clearly one of his conclusions which sums up British professionalism in project management:

‘Ultimately creating truly innovative sustainable buildings is the result of creative collaboration between all members of the design and construction teams. Its realization relies on the formation of an ambitious and supportive client brief, the ethos of which galvanizes all members of the project towards a shared goal’.

British excellence in engineering, sustainability and innovation was highlighted during the event, an opportunity to promote UK excellence in the context of our recently launched GREAT campaign. What a great opportunity for an off-site promotion of our GREAT branding!

We will be all working on some future creative opportunities to tell Greek audiences the tale of GREAT Britain.

3 comments on “'Going for Green' lands in Athens. A GREAT opportunity

  1. Hello Aspa.

    Please may you want to tell me if there are links where I can watch this
    whole big video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-sT_aryigg&feature=related
    but in HD 1080i or 720p? I am sure that ERT/ACBproduction did record the
    whole Ceremony (2012 and 2008) in
    HD resolution, because I saw the camion with “HD” and “ABCproduction” on the
    road near the Stadion.
    If you know where I could watch it in HD, I’d be very grateful to
    you. The ceremony was wonderful and the video shooting was super 😉 thanks
    in advance.

    Efxaristò polì 🙂

  2. Dear Ms Giannopoulou

    My name is Anthi Avgerinakou and I am an English teacher in the Adults Programme of H.A.E.F. (Athens College). I have been teaching “Engish Language and Civilisation” there and the reason why I am writing is to discuss the following with you. We are thinking of organising a project for our students and everybody else who would like to attend. We thought of asking you whether it would be possible to organise a screening of “Going for Green – Britain’s 2012 Dream” in our premises. We would also be happy if you personally, or any other appropriate speaker you may have in mind, would like to introduce the subject and support a discussion at the end of the screening. Please note that some members of Ecoweek, who happen to be alumni of our school, will also be contacted to contribute to this project if, of course, it transpires.

    We will be pleased to organise this screening and speech on such an interesting subject as sustainability, green architecture in relation to the Olympic games in London and we hope we find a way to make it work.

    I am looking forward to your reply and initial comments on this unexpected call and I will be happy to meet you and discuss in person with you.

    Yours Sincerely
    Anthi Avgerinakou

Comments are closed.

About Aspa Giannopoulou

I joined the British Embassy in June 2010 as a Digital Diplomacy Officer and ever since I have been working on digital communications. I studied Politics and Media and Communication…

I joined the British Embassy in June 2010 as a Digital Diplomacy Officer and ever since I have been working on digital communications. I studied Politics and Media and Communication in London, UK. After completing my studies I embarked in a career in communications, advertising and event management, during which I had the opportunity to discover the effectiveness of digital communications tools, such as multimedia production, social media and online marketing. In my free time I am trying to stay offline and I do enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities, such as cycling, trekking and jogging.