Seminar on the subject of “Upgrading operations and services: Actions to create and manage the digital cultural repository.” Byzantine and Christian Museum, 20 December 2012

20/12/2012

The Special Service for Culture and the Directorate of the National Monument Archive of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, Culture and Sport organised a seminar on the subject of «Upgrading Operations and Services: Actions to Create and Manage the Digital Cultural Repository,” in the Temporary Exhibition Hall of the Byzantine and Christian Museum on 20 December 2012.

In his welcome address, the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, Culture and Sport responsible for cultural affairs, Mr. Kostas Tzavaras, stressed that “the new technologies, which undeniably predominate in the area of communication, offer us tremendous possibilities in the area of promotion and exploitation of our cultural heritage,” and added that all museumgoers, especially in Greece’s big cities, can recognise the valuable services offered to culture by the new technologies.

Mr. Tzavaras stated that “the Ministry has zealously and extensively exploited the possibilities offered by the digital convergence programme,” and noted that “in the programmes designed and implemented within the EU on the subject of culture, a predominant position will be occupied by the relationship between culture and communication and the economy.” What is more, he characterised the programme that will begin in 2014 entitled “Creative Europe” as particularly ambitious and stressed that its aim is to make culture a catalyst and highlight the economic benefits of digital technology for culture.

The General Secretary for Culture Ms. Lina Mendoni gave an overview of the digital cultural actions in the NSRF. One of the things she said in her talk was that “the exploitation of the new technologies being developed in the area of IT are making a decisive contribution to the objective of the government’s policy regarding administrative reorganisation, rational resource management, transparency in the operation of public services and effective citizen service.” In parallel she stressed that “the applications of digital technology and the Internet to education and culture are opening new roads and are offering possibilities for access to cultural goods and knowledge,” and added that “the strategy of the General Secretariat for Culture in the area of digital applications is not limited to the level of theory and planning, but is already being implemented in an organised, systematic manner, utilising all the available institutional and developmental possibilities.”

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