Google Presents Milestones in Greece for 15-year Anniversary

Google celebrated its 15 years of presence in Greece at an event in the Public Tobacco Factory in Athens. Photo source: Google

Technology giant Google presented its key milestones in Greece during a special event in Athens marking its 15^th anniversary of presence in the country.

“Our timeless vision is to organize information so that it is accessible and useful to as many people as possible. This vision remains our commitment, today more than ever,” said Peggy Antonakou, general manager for Southeast Europe at Google, during the event.

Antonakou went on to add that with the speed of technological change, the creation of new opportunities and possibilities can help the lives of millions of people.

Google Regional General Manager for Southeast Europe Peggy Antonakou. Photo source: Google

Since opening its first office in Greece in 2008, Google released in 2011 the Greek version of Google Maps, adding Street View in 2014. In 2012 it launched the Greek version of YouTube and in 2019 YouTube Music and YouTube Kids in 2020.

​​Additionally in 2012, the company launched Google Arts and Culture, which enabled Internet users from all over the world top explore Greece’s rich cultural heritage with virtual visits to the Acropolis Museum, the Benaki Museum and the Museum of Cycladic Art.  The platform now hosts a large collection of ancient artefacts, street art, children’s drawings and works from galleries and private collections.

In 2014, the company introduced the Grow Greek Tourism Online program together with the Greek tourism and culture ministries, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), offering sector professionals free training and upskilling programs.

In 2020, Grow Greece with Google helped support the country’s recovery efforts by offering programs for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In 2022, it announced the creation of the first Google Cloud Region in Greece aimed at accelerating the country’s digital transition. According to AlphaBeta Economics, the project is expected to contribute a total of 2.2 billion dollars to Greece’s GDP by 2030 and create more than 19,400 new jobs.

In the same year it launched “Athens. The city is the museum” in collaboration with the tourism ministry and the City of Athens offering curated audio walks on Google Maps.

In 2021, Android Earthquake Alerts was rolled out as a pilot program and this year, Google extended its Google Flood Forecasting and Flood Hub to Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Google Regional General Manager for Southeast Europe Peggy Antonakou and Google VP of Engineering & Research Yossi Matias. Photo source: Google

This year also saw the release of Google Bard in Greek and the Immersive View option on Google Maps offering more on the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Theater of Dionysus, Hadrian’s Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

This week, Google.org said it would be supporting ICLEI Europe with 1 million euros to promote data-driven environmental and climate actions in Greek cities.

ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability invites organizations in member cities of the EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities to apply for up to 275,000 euros in funding for eligible projects. These cities include Athens, Vari, Voula, Vouliagmeni, Halkida, Heraklion Crete, Ioannina, Kalamata, Kozani, Larissa, Thessaloniki and Trikala.

Also attending the event, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece looked forward to working “on many useful projects that will have a real impact on the lives of citizens” and making a very big difference.