IncluCities

Levadia is a small Greek municipality, known as a friendly city for newcomers. Currently, they provide accommodation for around 500 refugees and asylum seekers. Together with the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), Levadia is part of the IncluCities project to improve their integration practices.

Ioannis D. Tagalegas, a medical doctor and former field athlete, became the mayor of Levadia in 2019. Since then, he’s been competing to tackle global issues at local level.

How has Levadia been coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences? What is the main lesson learned?

It’s not only a confrontation of the global medical community with the virus. It is also a confrontation with the negative imprint this virus is leaving on the society, economy and mental health.

From the very first moment, Levadia stood by its citizens. We have taken various initiatives to limit the spread of the virus and to provide psychological and financial support to vulnerable groups and to help the economy. For instance, by distributing laptops to students we enabled online teaching. We also support entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic and the farmers who sell products on the street markets.

You can read the rest of the interview on the IncluCities website.