Digital Transformation with Citizens at Its Centre Kapa3 and René Descartes College opened a dialogue on cooperation between the public sector and civil society

The Cancer Guidance Centre – Kapa3, in collaboration with René Descartes College, held a webinar on Friday, 30 October 2026, from 18:30 to 20:30, entitled “Digital Transformation in the Public Sector and Civil Society: Convergence or Divergence and Proposals.”

The event explored how the digital transition can strengthen relationships between the state, organisations and citizens while ensuring better services and equitable access. The discussion connected changes in public administration with the everyday circumstances in which citizens use digital services.

Speakers included Anastasia Tsartara, Head of the Interior, Digital Governance, Justice and Institutions Sector at the General Secretariat for Coordination of the Presidency of the Government; Dr Emmanouil Alexandrakis, Adjunct Professor and Strategic Development and Internationalisation Advisor to the MBA International programme at Athens University of Economics and Business; Evangeli Bista, Co-founder and Strategic Partnerships Lead at Kapa3; Eirini Gkoni, collaborator at GRNET’s Directorate of Digital Transformation and Digital Skills; Dimitris Papadakis, Co-founder and Head of Sales at SimasiaAI; and Aristea Archontidou, Kapa3 collaborator, with postgraduate expertise in Health Policy and Planning.

Organisational change, skills and cooperation

The webinar addressed digital transformation as a continuous process of organisational change requiring redesigned procedures, effective leadership, a supportive organisational culture and workforce development. Topics included interoperability, cooperation between institutions, objective setting and project management, alongside the evaluation of digital initiatives and their outcomes.

The discussion also considered differences in citizens’ digital skills, accessibility requirements and ability to use services. Civil society’s contribution was examined through its role in identifying needs, supporting people with limited digital experience and participating in the design of solutions.

Eirini Gkoni’s presentation included the example of GovTech4All 2.0 in Komotini, Greece, and Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Through co-creation workshops, people with disabilities, civil society organisations, citizens, municipal employees and academics contributed to identifying needs and developing specifications for accessible digital solutions.

MYRTO and access to social support

Kapa3’s experience illustrated the practical challenges of the digital transition for people affected by cancer and their families. A single question about rights, benefits or travel support may require information from multiple institutions, different documents and successive administrative procedures.

Aristea Archontidou presented MYRTO, Kapa3’s digital social assistant, and its contribution to accessing information on rights, benefits and services, with the option of connecting users to the organisation’s team.

In his presentation, “MYRTO as a Bridge Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Needs,” Dimitris Papadakis explored the challenge of connecting fragmented information and drawing on up-to-date sources. The presentation highlighted how technology and human guidance can work together to support users. The TIMA Charitable Foundation is MYRTO’s founding sponsor.

From dialogue to practical proposals

The webinar materials presented proposals for systematic co-design and user testing, civil society involvement from the strategy development stage, the use of open data and tools, and stronger community structures as points of support for accessing services. Particular attention was also given to sustaining partnerships beyond the duration of a funded project.

Artificial intelligence and the use of data were discussed as part of the next phase of digital transformation, alongside the need for training, responsible design and evaluation of the practical value of new tools in everyday life.

Kapa3 and René Descartes College thank the speakers and participants for contributing to the dialogue on a human-centred and inclusive digital transition.

MYRTO evolves: from information to meaningful navigation

The new version of MYRTO, Kapa3’s digital assistant for people affected by cancer and their caregivers, is now live.

This update is more than a technical upgrade. It represents another step towards a different model of digital support: moving from simply providing information to supporting understanding, guidance and navigation.

For people facing cancer, the challenge is not always a lack of information. Very often, the real difficulty is understanding which information applies to them and what they need to do next.

From information to the next step

The cancer journey involves much more than diagnosis and treatment. Patients and families may also need to navigate social rights and benefits, disability assessment, transportation, employment issues, psychosocial support and communication with multiple health and public services.

Information may be available, but it is often fragmented, complex or difficult to turn into action.

This is where navigation becomes essential.

It means supporting people to access, understand, evaluate and use the information they need.

MYRTO was developed with this principle in mind: transforming complex and fragmented information into guidance that is easier to understand and act upon.

What is new in MYRTO

The renewed version offers a more direct and accessible user experience.

Users can interact by text or voice, listen to responses, choose between Greek and English, and adjust text size. Suggested topics also help people who may not know how to begin or how to formulate their question.

Particular attention is given to the sources behind the information. MYRTO follows a source-grounded and human-supervised AI approach: Artificial Intelligence supports the retrieval and organisation of information, while reliability, transparency and human oversight remain central to its design.

Technology does not replace people

MYRTO is not a doctor and does not provide personalised medical advice. It does not replace social workers, psychologists, nurses or other healthcare professionals.

Its role is to reduce complexity, support orientation and help people move closer to the appropriate information, service or human support.

The same approach applies to caregivers, who often become care coordinators, information managers and navigators of rights and services. MYRTO is also designed with their needs in mind, recognising caregivers as an essential part of the cancer journey.

Accessibility, trust and data protection

At Kapa3, we believe that digital innovation is meaningful only when it remains accessible and inclusive.

For this reason, the renewed MYRTO places emphasis on plain language, voice interaction and features that can support people with different levels of digital and health literacy.

Users are also informed about the processing of their data and the use of Artificial Intelligence, with separate consent choices and the possibility to request data deletion.

Trust in a digital health tool is not only about the answers it provides. It is also about how it works, which sources it relies on and how it respects the people who use it.

“What do I need to do next?”

Perhaps this single question best captures the philosophy behind MYRTO:

“What do I need to do next?”

A person facing cancer should not have to know in advance which organisation is responsible, where the right information is located or which administrative process needs to be followed.

They should be able to express their need and receive guidance that is reliable, understandable, accessible and human-supported.

This is the direction of the renewed MYRTO.

From information to understanding.
From understanding to navigation.
And from navigation to the next step.

Find more :

https://kapa3-cag-rag-hybrid-deploy.onrender.com