This is a CTP of initiative: Shareable‐ShareableAthens (Greece)
This Critical Turning Point (CTP6) consists of an important change in the communication strategy of the Time Exchange Athens: the decision to open up to almost all media, in order to promote its activity and reach as many people as possible, to inform them of the opportunity to cover their needs through the network.
It happened in June 2015, after the Greek referendum was announced, and the fear for the establishment of capital controls (strong regulations and limits for financial transactions and flows inside the country and also with other countries) was widespread in Greece.
At that moment, the Time Exchange Athens network, realizing that there is an urgent social situation decided that it is not possible to be “closed” anymore in order to protect their ideology. The priority should at this point be the promotion of the platform to help as many people as possible. As an interviewee, member of the Time Exchange Athens mentioned, “People should know that they are not alone, there are others who can support them in covering their needs”.
Before these events, the network was very selective with who they were talking to, providing interviews and collaborating for publicity. Specifically, they used to only talk to solidarity media, while there was a strict rule for not giving any interviews to private big TV channels, as the quality of the programmes and the way that information was presented was many times not precise, but to talk only to specific magazines and newspapers.
The change that this new situation brought along, was the decision to be open to almost all channels, but to judge whether they should provide the information or not, according to who the reporter was, and not according to which the medium is. The decision was that the team should be sure that they could trust the reporter based on his personal and professional profile and based on his previous work, and be confident of the way in which he would present the network to the public. Big TV channels were again a medium that should be avoided though. However, other communication channels such as mainstream free press magazines or lifestyle and fashion magazines that were not considered before, were now some options that the Time Exchange Athens would be willing to accept.
As a result, Time Exchange Athens was widely presented by a variety of media who showed their interest. The requests they were getting were multiplied, and the publicity that the network got was unprecedented, as was the response of the people who decided to become members of the network. This had a positive effect on more solidarity initiatives, as more people came closer to the ideals and values of similar groups to the Time Exchange Athens, such as initiatives that provided food and health care.
The Critical Turning Point was a decision taken entirely by the core team members of the Time Exchange Athens. However, it was evoked by the social, political and economic circumstances in Greece at the time, which were indicating the beginning of a new era for the country, where the economic situation was becoming increasingly serious and the effects on the daily life of people were stronger than ever before. The actions, reactions and decisions of people in various positions and roles (politicians, citizens, communication media) in Greece led to a point of such social and economic criticality, that a completely new communication strategy was decided by the Time Exchange Athens network.
In addition, even statements made, opinions expressed and decisions taken at European and global level by various institutions involved in the political discussions and decisions for the future of Greece, played an important role in this Critical Turning Point. The situation to which the Time Exchange Athens was trying to respond to was the result of politics on national and international level, and everyone who was involved in them.
However, the reason why the Time Exchange Athens was interested in interfering in this situation was the impact (psychological, economic, social) that these international events had on the Greek society. The obvious need of people for solutions and hope was a main reason why the Time Exchange Athens took the decisions for this Critical Turning Point in the course of the network.
Moreover, finally, after the strategy of the team changed and they started responding to more media requests for interviews and information, the support from the media community itself was massive. A lot of magazines, newspapers and TV shows approached the group and promoted its activities. The positive result was the great response of people, as many new members joined the network and started exchanging services and time. Without their response, this decision from the Time Exchange would have looked completely unreasonable. However, luckily this was not the case.
The widespread disappointment for the government of Syriza (political party, the Coalition of the Radical Left), as well as the disappointment for the previous governments and the political system in Greece, was the atmosphere in which the events that led to the Critical Turning Point evolved. For many, the election of Syriza, a left party, some months before (25 January 2015), having a young prime minister and new people in the government of the country, had brought a lot of hope for a change at the political and economic situation of Greece.
However, hope was gradually lost as the negotiations of the government with the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank to reach a financial agreement regarding the debt of the country and the loans and conditions the previous governments had agreed to, were failing. The membership of Greece in the European Union was negotiated, with the possibility of the country exiting the European Union (the so-called “Grexit”) under discussion. In addition, the change of currency to the previous, ancient currency of drachma was considered very possible, in case the country would have to leave the Euro-zone. This would lead to considerable devaluation of people’s savings and income.
The announcement that a referendum would be held (on 5 July 2015), so that the citizens can decide whether or not they agree or not to the proposals of the international institutions, led to a social crisis in the country: disappointment for the government, uncertainty of what people should vote, and fear for the future. Despite the fear, the result of the referendum was “no”, indicating that the Greek government should not agree to the harsh conditions proposed. However, the agreements were signed, leading to confusion and distress.
Shortly before and also after the referendum, capital controls (strong regulations and limits for financial transactions and flows inside the country and also with other countries) were imposed. For three weeks the banks were closed and access to cash was suddenly blocked. There was a withdrawal limit of 60 euros per day, while the savings accounts were “locked” and many ATMs were running out of resources.
Under these conditions of stress and uncertainty the Time Exchange Athens, considering that the situation is urgent and may also develop unexpectedly, took the decision to open up to the media in June 2015, inviting everyone to participate in the network and trying to provide active support to as many people as possible. The result was a vast response, with many new members and highly increased activity at the online platform.
This Critical Turning Point did not involve any contestation. Changing the communication strategy was a unanimous decision, and the details of this change were collectively agreed upon very easily.
However, the procedure of deciding whereas the team would respond positively to a media request remained the same. The team had decided that this procedure had to be followed even during the aforementioned “SOS situation”, with the only difference being that they could take their decision based on more criteria that merely the identity of the channel. Decision would now be taken according to who is the reporter and if he/she is trustworthy, despite working for media channels with different ideology that may not coincide entirely with the ideology of the Time Exchange Athens.
The process that was agreed upon is the following: when a request is received, the group checks who the reporter is, discusses over their response and decide. If there are different opinions, the decision is taken through voting. In the case of an objection, the opinion of the person who objects is discussed, and the group votes again to take the final decision.
However, there were/are always exceptions when a member is approached (e.g. during an event such as the Solidarity Festival) and has to decide on the spot whether to provide an interview or not. Usually, at such situations, priority is given to the promotion of the activities of the team and the opportunity to attract a wider audience such as families and children. As a result, the members may make statements or provide a short interview even to mainstream channels to promote the event live -but as an exception.
As a rule of thumb, the Time Exchange Athens does not contact the media itself, but just responds to the requests made by the media (which are many). This part of their communication strategy did not change during the period of the referendum and capital control events, as even the small change of deciding based on the reporter and not on the channel’s name had a great impact and provided them with the desired publicity.
The possibility of changing the communication strategy was anticipated by the team, due to the fact that they see the Time Exchange Athens network as response tool for social needs. Therefore, the tool is expected to develop by adapting to any situation that arises. The goals of the network cannot be achieved if it stays rigid and closed minded, its role is to be active at the forefront of society.
Their previous decision to have a “protective” behaviour and be very selective with the media they decide to talk to, was justified by the way many reporters (especially from popular, private TV channels) tended to present information: not precisely as the information was communicated to them. This led to lack of trust and disregard, especially as the time bank was anyway able to function very well without the support of such popular media. They preferred to be a smaller network, easy to manage and able to function and develop well. And this worked well for four years, since the Time Exchange Athens was created.
However, when the need arose in June 2015, they went along, adapted to the conditions and changed their strategy, perceiving it as a Critical Turning Point. The fact that there was no objection regarding the change of the strategy, and decisions were taken unanimously confirms the collective realization of this being a serious, Critical Turning Point.
As this change of the strategy was anticipated, more changes for the future are anticipated as well. There is the possibility that the communication strategy may change again, back to the previous status or towards new rules and agreements. Everything is possible, and decisions depend on the new needs and conditions that may arise. An example is the current need to include refugees in the network, a fact that may require modifications in the platform, the details it requires and the way it is structured.
This Critical Turning Point did not change the team or its ambitions. On the contrary, it was the change of ambitions (goals) of the Time Exchange Athens that led to the Critical Turning Point. Overall, the Critical Turning Point of opening up to more media turned up to be a very good decision for the network. The massive response and interest from the reporters, although it was sometimes very difficult to handle, and exhausting for the members, eventually attracted many new users at the online platform, and transactions increased.
As a result, going through this Critical Turning Point had a positive contribution to the Time Exchange Athens network for two reasons. Firstly, it proved to be a successful response to social needs, as the increased participation of people in the platform indicates. Therefore, it was a confirmation of the important role that the time bank can have in satisfying socio-economic needs. Secondly, as the network increased, the ideology and principles of solidarity and sharing economy were endorsed by more people and promoted by the media and the people.
One issue to be discussed as a lesson learned is also the balance between being a “small, easily manageable and with a high percentage of active members” or a bigger, wider network with more users that may also be reluctant or inactive. Currently, the opinion of the Time Exchange Athens is that having more members, even if they are not very active, is a positive development for the network. As the conditions of life in Greece and also in many countries abroad reveal a state of urgency (e.g. refugee crisis), providing people with the opportunity of knowing the network, creating an account and keeping in touch, is the first big step. Whenever people feel the need, it will be much easier to take a more active role and conduct time transactions through the platform, if they are already subscribed and have seen how it works. The network realizes that people may also need more time to build trust and become acquainted with sharing, and is willing to facilitate this process and support everyone towards feeling a member of the network.
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