Municipality of Kozani The Municipality of Kozani is located in the Region of West Macedonia S in an area of 1071km’. It consists of 49 local communities and three municipal, with a population of over 70.000 inhabitants, accessed via “Via Egnatia” highway in conjunction with its vertical axes. N ‘The borders of the municipality are bounded by lakes, lignite mines and __ the mountains of Vermio and Bourinos. Kozani was established in 1912 after the liberation of the city from the Ottoman A Empire. The city of Kozani is the capital of the Municipality, built at an allitude of 720m with 50.000 inhabitants. It is the administrative, commercial and cultural center of the wider region. The municipal library counts 350 years of operation and ‘owns a legacy of extremely important manuscripts, books and rare editions and the archeological Museum of Aiani preserves and demonstrates the achievements of the first Macedonian Rulers of the territory, about 2,500 years ago. A ssoitaektees, Other than PPC the local Len cau Pe ery agriculture and animal farms, producing also the famous Crocus (Saffron) with valuable properties and multiple uses. : a as well as potatoes, sugar beet, cereals, vegetables, fri Tagen} n Ripackuris 2nd dairy products. Crdemcanles a The waste collection and management is carried out in’an =" CiserniieM el ona innovative way applying horizontal solutions throughout the Region of West Macedonia, In the municipality of Kozani operates two higher education institutions: iT oh The University of Western Macedonia (UoWM, www.uowm.gr) and the Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia (TEI, www.teiwm.gr). UoWM is planned to be housed in a new campus by 2020 and the main objectives are the creation of new knowledge through the advancement of scientific Research. Both institutions are in close collaboration with the Municipality of Kozani and the results of this cooperation, are visible from the large number of projects carried out. In the area there are two research centers: -The Technological Research Centre (TRC) of Western Macedonia, supported by laboratories of Higher Education Institutes in the region, can be an instrument capable of achieving goals such as the conduction of technological research and the improvement of methods and production procedures used in meeting the region's and country’s needs. The Institute for Solid Fuels Technology and Applications (ISFTA, www.certh.gr) is the main Greek ‘organization for the promotion of research and technological development aiming at the improved and integrated exploitation of solid fuels and their by-products. ISFTA has been awarded an Excellence (Aristeia in Greek) title in Research and Technology and lies in the 6th position among more than 40 Greek Research and Technology Organisations supervised by the GSRT.wi = Covenant of Mayors. Comet to al ‘tena ney msn AIKTYO EAAHNIKON MPAZINQN NOAEQN w& CitiesNet Peetert *i Municipality of Kozani The Municipality of Kozani participates in many National and European Networks such us: - The Covenant of Mayors _( www. simfonodimarxon.eu) which is the mainstream European movement involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily committing to increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. - The NETWORK OF ENERGY PRODUCING MUNICIPALITIES ‘vr nepfom.net 162 union of municipalities aiming to manage common environmental problems, to meet the challenges of lignites, period, that is, after the exhaustion of lignite deposits and to expand the network, embracing all European communities hosting on their sites as lignite mines and lignite power stations, - The Greek Green Cities Network (http:!/www.depp.gr). The network processes and evaluates the urban environment of the municipalities, as well as the national strategies and policies, and information on the actions of other municipalities, attempting to coordinate the efforts between cities that have carried out actions that contribute to improve the urban environment. - The Cities Net (CitiesNet_http://decg.gr } invests in society and the digital convergence aiming to offer services remotely to citizens, visitors and businesses. - The National inter-Municipal Network of Healthy Cities (http:/iwww.eddyppy.gr) The complexity of the operation of Structures Health (medical services, social, psychological) as part of local authorities and the lack of an institutional framework for the development of health prevention mechanisms through Local Government, highlighted the need to establish an Inter-Municipal Network with the participation of representatives from all Municipalities, - The Reference Framework for European Sustainable Cities (RFSC http:/imww.rfsc-community.eu) for European Sustainable Cities (RFSC) is an online toolkit designed to help cities promote and enhance their work on integrated sustainable urban development. Itis available free of charge to all European local authorities and offers practical support in integrating sustainability principles into local policies and actions. The Municipality of Kozani is highly interested to be involved in many cross-border (INTERREG etc.) and European Projects (HORIZON 2020 etc.) in order to take advantage of all the benefits that our active participation in one or more European network can bring, Our primary objectives are to improve the urban environment, to improve the quality of life for our citizens, to exploit the wealth of our natural and cultural heritage, to contribute to the prevention of climate change, through the active support of EU objectives in reducing CO2 emissions, to promote energy sustainabilily with environmental initiatives and to improve the local government status, by enforcing the use of ICT tools and the active participation of our citizens and all the major stakeholders of the Municipality. \Za MUNICIPALITY i OF KOZANI Niki’s Square 1, 50131 Kozani Tel: +30 24613-50311 E-mail: dhmos@kozanh.gr