6. Greece gets explored from the comfort of home
During the pandemic, we also supported the Ministry of Tourism with the Greece From Home initiative, aimed at helping Greeks and people from all over the world stay connected with Greek culture, and discover and get inspired by the beauty of our country — all from home.
7. ‘Be Internet awesome’ kicks off
Our educational program “Be Internet awesome” kicked off in Greece in 2020, with the aim of teaching people about internet safety. To date, the program, supported by Google.org, has allowed us to train 15,000 teachers and more than 230,000 students — either live or online.
8. Android Earthquake Alerts is piloted in Greece
In 2021, we piloted Android Earthquake Alerts — which uses sensors in Android phones to detect earthquakes around the world — a year after its launch in the U.S. and New Zealand. In a natural disaster or emergency, every second counts. This is especially true in Greece, a country regularly hit by earthquakes. Supporting the country with crisis response continues to be key for Google in Greece.
9. Google Cloud region is coming to Greece
In 2022, we announced our plan to open the first Cloud region in Greece, ultimately aiming to help accelerate the country’s digital transformation. According to research from AlphaBeta Economics commissioned by Google, by 2030, Google Cloud’s region in Greece will contribute a cumulative USD 2.2 billion to Greek GDP, and support the creation of more than 19,400 jobs by that year.
10. Athens: The city is the museum’ launches
That year, we also celebrated the beautiful capital of Greece with Athens: The city is the museum. This joint initiative developed with the Ministry of Tourism and the Municipality of Athens promoted the city as a tourist destination. Try the curated audio walks using Google Maps with sound to experience Athens in a whole new way.
11. Google accelerates sustainable development in Greece
Also in 2022, during the seventh Delphi Economic Forum, the Greek Ministry of Tourism and Google announced the launch of a joint educational program aiming to accelerate the sustainable development of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises in Greece. The new educational program ran in collaboration with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
12. Flood Hub comes to Greece
In 2023, we extended our flood forecasting capabilities to Greece. The platform Flood Hub now includes some of Greece’s areas with the highest percentages of population exposed to flood risk and those that experience more extreme weather. Governments, aid organisations and individuals can use Flood Hub to take timely action and prepare for riverine floods, seeing locally relevant flood data and forecasts up to seven days in advance.
13. Bard speaks Greek
It’s July 2023: Bard — our collaborative AI tool — speaks and understands Greek, enabling local users to collaborate and create in their native language.
14. Immersive view launches
“It takes a lifetime to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her,” the writer Henry Miller said. Well, this year, falling in love with some of the greatest Greek landmarks got easier, more natural and intuitive with immersive view in Google Maps. Start from the Parthenon then continue with the Erechtheion, the Theatre of Dionysus, Hadrian’s Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.