In a nutshell:

• 35.000 visitors
• € 30.000 in awards and cash prizes
• 4829 m2 of digital entertainment and information
• 44 hrs of art
• 56hrs of modding
• 44 hrs of robotics
• 56hrs of unlimited gaming
• 35.000 viewers of the ESWC final through IPTV

• 230,000 site references
• 241 publications
• 41 radio references
• 200 outdoor sites
• 20,00 free press pages

Organised by the City of Athens, the Athens Digital Week was a multi-day event that would give Athenians of all ages an opportunity to get to know new technologies, familiarize themselves with the new media, discover solutions and opportunities and explore the fascinating universe of the digital era.

Organised by the City of Athens, the Athens Digital Week was a multi-day event that would give Athenians of all ages, and the city’s visitors, an opportunity to get to know new technologies, familiarize themselves with the new media, discover solutions and opportunities and explore the fascinating universe of the digital era.

From Thursday, the 16 th, to Sunday the 19 th of October, the Technopolis venue at the Gazi Athens neighbourhood was transformed into a unique space where the young and the older lived the unique experience of the digital world.

On the same time, from Monday the 13 th to Sunday 19 th of October, Syntagma square in the center of Athens became a digital –key- spot, where several happenings and special presentations took place.

Enjoying wide media coverage and organised under the auspices and with the participation of technological universities, technical professional associations, the ministry for finance and the country’s bureau for digital convergence, the Athens Digital Week attracted more than 35.000 visitors, introducing them in an exciting digital world.

Technopolis

Divided in zones, the ex- gas factory included lecture rooms, experience rooms, exhibition spaces and concert areas. At the Talk Zone issues such as internet security, the development and the future of digital communities such as Facebook, ethical issues concerning free software, the new limits of graphic design etc. caught the public’s attention.

4 huge events at Event Zone introduced visitors to the magical world of digital practices through an ultimate electronic experience of music and dancing.

 Live Zone was the most energetic zone of Athens Digital Week attracting both young and older technology fans. Some of the most important participants were: Corallia Clusters Initiative and the Greek scientists’ impressive advances of microelectronic technology, the University Athens Information Technology (AIT) introducing advanced systems of digital identification and the Hellenic-German School providing the Digital Week with smart outfits and music home teaching through the use of computers.

The Experience Zonefeatured a presentation of Digital Awareness and Response to Threats (DART) action team, the digital services of the Hellenic School Network, member of the DART group, for students and teachers, a CISCO Networking Academy (member of the DART group) that offered educational and practical advice concerning safe and creative use of the World Wide Web for students, a presentation of the online-family competition: “the DART-anians of the web” (DART group) and a hands-on seminar regarding Linux

Special events:

Gaming: Counter-Strike, Warcraft 3 DotA, Call of Duty 4, Counter-Strike, Source, Trackmania, Quake, PES 2008, FIFA were all there at Athens Digital Week! A gamers’ paradise was set up and users could play their favourite games, be introduced to new releases, try out new things, meet users from other countries or even design their own game. During 4 days of gaming, virtual characters and gamers competed, achieving total immersion and excitement.

The final ESWC game was at the spotlight , with a winning prize of € 25.000 and a chance of going at the Silicon Valley international finals.

Modding: Middle age castles analyzing spreadsheets and pirates’ ships saving their owners docs. Modding is not just a temporal tendency. In fact, it is the art of making a computer unique not only in terms of appearance but also in terms of quick results. Liquid nitrogen cooling system used by Greek modders of international appreciation, overlocking and space material each played a special part in the creation of the most original and innovative machines ever seen.

At Technopolis, a new adaptation of the computer was introduced. The simple version of a personal computer was transformed into a fairy creature or even a guitar still executing commands of a user. Technology and imagination joined forces.

The Greek community with the H.O.T. (Hellas Overclocking Team), part of which is pctechnology.gr, left its personal mark.

Robotics: Curiosity leads to knowledge. By using simple building materials such as Lego, one can end up in creating extraordinary robots. Among the remarkable exhibits were: little robots fighting in sumo, flower robots acting in environmental stimuli, animal robots, flight simulators and last but not least robots competing in football matches with the participation of the Kourites team, the world champions from Crete.

Visual Art: New tools and techniques,exhibitions or digital canvases were all there for the new generation artists, providing them with a fascinating communication and creation platform. Creative projects from around the world: Digital Domain, TLP, Peach project, Psyop, the mill, Tippet, Rythym&Hues and others, intrigued the visitors’ imagination. Moreover, one could learn and indulge in 3D animation, tutorials of free software using and live labs with experienced tutors. Furthermore, one could also find a retro computer exhibition displaying amiga 500, commodore 64, Atari 800XE, Apple Mac LC, Sega Master System III.

In fact, it must be said that character development was something very popular among new artists.

 Open Source: Developers, the ones who bring computers to life, where there at Athens digital Week in order to exchange knowledge and to astonish whoever was watching them.

In fact, Max Spevack argued about the fact that a joint effort is always beneficial. In this way, common users are offered user friendly software for free. In addition, a company is given the possibility to offer a reliable and stable product in every possible way.

Telecom: some people can’t live without their self phones. During Athens Digital Week, they found thousands of excuses to reinforce their obsession. Self phone lovers could indulge in new mobile applications and unique devices, business or entertainment content, wireless or mobile internet technology, PDA applications, and more other.

Space: In spite ofthe technological advances that have lead to the discovery of the secrets of space, the topic remains highly popular among the majority of people. During Athens Digital Week, visitors had the opportunity to watch the stars and also talk about them in order to better understand the saga of space.