Her island Halkiwhich has been established as an example Sustainable Tourism Developmentreceived another important distinction. Specifically, he won the first place in the category of “climate protection” in this year’s Innovation in Politics Awards 2025among hundreds of nominations from all over Europe.

The ceremony award It was held in Vienna on September 17, 2025, as part of the annual Innovation in Politics Gala, where the most promoted innovative political initiatives of the European continent. According to Halki Mayor Angelos Frangakis, this distinction is not only an international recognition for the project “Greece’s First Eco Island”, but also a decisive milestone for all of Greece and its islands.

Mr Frangakis stressed that in a period of global challenges in terms of environment and energy transitiona small island of the Dodecanese proves that change can start dynamically from local communities. As he pointed out: “This success is the fruit of a collective effort, both of the Halki society, that embraced the green transition with the courage and responsibility, as well as the Municipality of Halki, who believed in an ambitious vision and implemented it with consistency and the Greek Government, Step. “

Victory as an example for all small islands

The mayor of Halki described the award as “the victory of our citizens, our children, the people who believed that a small island could write a European history”. He even stressed that the island not only represents Halki, but all the small islands that fight “With pride, with dreams and soul”. As he typically stated, “Today Halki is the example. Tomorrow may be any small island or another small society that dares ».

Photo source: Municipality of Halki