ATHENS – 42 NGOs from 5 countries attended the 1ο TechCamp Athens 2018, implemented for the first time in Greece, by HIGGS, in cooperation with the US Embassy. The TechCamp is a training that is organized in several places around the word, with the intention to bring NGOS into contact with distinguished experts related to digital tools and marketing.

During the 2-day seminar, the participants from Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM and Romania had the opportunity to engage with leading experts in the areas of Communication, Marketing, Social Media, Crisis Management, Fundraising and Crowdfunding, to generate hypothetical challenges for their organizations, confronting them by co-creating the adequate digital material.

We had the pleasure to host the following distinguished trainers:

– Andy Kyriakides, Digital Development Officer, International Alert and #peacehack co-founder
– Athanasios Gemenis, Account Director of Bold Ogilvy & Mather
– Dimitris Mouzakis, Social Media Expert
– Dimitris Savvakos, Creative Director of Bold Ogilvy & Mather
– Gerasimos Kouvaras, Executive Director, Action Aid Hellas
– Kelly Wilson, Program Associate, GlobalGiving
– Spyros Tzortzis, Digital Marketing Expert, Sociality
– Suchi Gaur, Communications Expert, Project HOPE

Videos, posts on social media, photos, discussions and a lot of smiles poured out from the beautiful neoclassical building in the area of Metaxourgio where HIGGS is hosted.

Courtesy: US Embassy.

As the Cultural Attache of the U.S. Embassy, Mike Snyder, notes: “For many years, the U.S. Embassy in Athens has supported capacity building programs for NGOs in Greece, in order for them to be able to better serve the needs of at-risk communities within the country.  This program continued that tradition by helping the groups transition into the digital age, with a focus on advocacy, fundraising, and storytelling. Simultaneously, the TechCamp helped Greek organizations build collaborative relationships with NGOs from surrounding countries.”

As mentioned by the Director of HIGGS, Dr. Sotiris Petropoulos: “We are extremely delighted for this excellent collaboration and we are grateful that the US Embassy gave to so many NGOs from different countries the opportunity to work altogether, to enhance their knowledge on digital tools and marketing that will significantly contribute to their sustainability, maximizing at the same time their social impact. HIGGS’s support is certainly on-going through its programs and we are positive that the 1ο TechCamp Athens 2018 is to be continued”.