The Athens Columbia Global Center held its first event in the Greek capital on Tuesday, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The Center in Athens is one of 11 such global centers founded by Columbia University and the event focused on the use of artificial intelligence in finding solutions to climate change.
In his address, PM Mitsotakis said that as the climate changes, so should the response to the change, and he cited the example of fires. He underlined that technology can help, with AI already offering valuable solutions, and he welcomed the Center’s start of operations as a place of dialog, transfer of technical know-how, and knowledge applied for solutions to real issues.
Speaking at the event, US Ambassador George Tsunis said the purpose of the Center is to strengthen the new generation of leaders in Greece, and to be as inclusive as possible. He also welcomed the university’s initiative to bring more US students to Greece and have more Greeks travel to the US.
Also speaking were Interior Minister Niki Kerameus, who first provided the groundwork for the Athens Center during her term as education minister 4.5 years ago; Wafas El-Sadr, executive vice-president of Columbia Global; and Stefanos Gandolfo, director of the Athens Columbia Global Center, who announced a series of events on climate, migration, health, businesses, antiquity, and the arts that the Center will host.
“For us it is important to all get together, to find solutions in common to global-level challenges that people face,” Gandolfo underlined.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
