{"id":19588,"date":"2014-04-23T15:36:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T12:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeolife.gr\/interview-with-giorgos-hatzigeorgiou\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T03:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:38:10","slug":"interview-with-giorgos-hatzigeorgiou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeolife.gr\/en\/interview-with-giorgos-hatzigeorgiou\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Giorgos Hatzigeorgiou"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chatzigeorgiou\"<\/p>\n

George Hatzigeorgiou, a candidate for regional councillor with the Social Alliance, answers questions from Thraki Nea.<\/p>\n

You are widely known for your campaign against gold mines. The local community has been waging this campaign for years. What do you think the outcome will be?<\/p>\n

The liberation of Thrace from this crime, because we have already chosen our future, and that future is called \u2018Zeolite\u2019.<\/p>\n

Was the issue of the gold mines one of the main motivations for you to stand in the regional elections?
\nThe campaigns against the destruction of the region laid the initial groundwork for cooperation with the municipalities and the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. But the motivation is to implement constructive solutions for our Thrace.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s fast-forward a bit: you\u2019re now on the regional council. What will be the first issue you raise?<\/p>\n

The issues are already there. But since you want the first one, it would be this: the treatment of olive mill waste and its conversion into fertiliser with the help of zeolite.<\/p>\n

You have lived in both of Evros\u2019s major towns. You settled in Alexandroupoli a few years ago for work. What unites and what divides Orestiada and Alexandroupoli?<\/p>\n

What unites Nea Orestiada and Alexandroupoli is the railway. The former is a treasure trove of humanity and the latter its port; as such, both have a strategic role to play in the<\/strong> development of Thrace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The central part of Evros is suffering as a result of the crisis. If you ask the business owners in Soufli, they are searching with binoculars for tourist coaches \u2013 something that, of course, did not happen in the past. How far can businesses\u2019 outward-looking approach go, and what support should the region provide?<\/p>\n

The Silk Road is in itself an example of an outward-looking approach. What is currently being done through the Region\u2019s Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with the assistance of its Chairman, Mr Petros Soukoulias, is the revival of the silk industry and the promotion of its high quality, which makes it competitive on an international level. zeolite<\/strong><\/a> will play a significant role here, as we need new plantations of traditional mulberry trees to feed the silkworms.<\/p>\n

Zeolite<\/strong>. When you hear that Evros has a hidden treasure, how does that make you feel?<\/p>\n

zeolite is revolutionising sectors such as agriculture and livestock farming, by purifying the soil whilst saving water and fertiliser, thereby increasing yields and improving the quality and flavour of the final product.<\/p>\n

So it is joy that gives strength to the work!<\/p>\n

There are five words to describe Evros:<\/p>\n