NET-HERITAGE

Cultural Heritage Context

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism comprises the following research services:

• The General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, including, among others, the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, the Directorate of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments (this Directorate may play a key role in linking the research centers with the Ministry of Culture) which incorporates the Department of Applied Research
• The National Archaeological Museum and its Department of Physical and Chemical Research
• The Center for Stone (concerning stone monuments, archaeological sites and sculptures)
• The General Directorate for the Restoration, Museums and Technical Works, including the Directorate of Restoration of Ancient Monuments (concerning the restoration of the monuments-buildings) and the Directorate of Technical Research for Restoration.

The research interests of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism are:

• Development of non-destructive, mobile, diagnostic equipment
• Scientific documentation
• Active conservation, Preventative conservation (natural hazard risk map etc)
• Development of standards in procedures and materials
• Monitoring of the environment and of changes in RH.

Moreover, research for Cultural Heritage is also applied by a great number of Research Institutes, by public and private Museums, by Universities and other institutions, such as the Foreign Archaeological Schools and Institutes in Greece, always under the supervision of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism or the General Secretariat of Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development.

Cultural Heritage Governance and Policy

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism is responsible for research regarding cultural heritage in Greece at a national level. At a regional level, the responsible institutions are the Regional Services of the Ministry (Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, Ephorates of Byzantine Antiquities, Ephorates of Contemporary and Modern Monuments, Services of Modern Monuments and Technical Works).

The Ministry of Development has a specific department, the General Secretariat of Technology and Research, which is responsible for every kind of research, including research concerning Culture. The Ministry of Education, Life Long Learning and Religious Affairs is also involved in research that is conducted in Universities.

Cultural Heritage Funding

The main sources of funding for research, including research regarding cultural heritage, in Greece are:

• Public, which includes budget appropriations, programmes cofunded by structural funds, programmes of the EU Framework Programme for R&D
• Private funding

Budget appropriations refer to amounts coming from the state budget on a regular annual basis and to a lesser extend from the programme of public investments and mainly involves financing the running costs of universities and government research centres.

Structural funds come under the Community Support Frameworks and they are managed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT), as a beneficiary of the CSF, announces programmes and funds research projects, which are carried out in Greece as joint ventures by universities, research centres, businesses or individual researchers, as well as research activities within the framework of inter-governmental agreements with other countries.

Cultural Heritage Research

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism enforces the applied strategy concerning research for the protection of cultural heritage in Greece at a national level. The framework of the research strategy consists mainly of the National Archaeological Law  3028/2002, which refers to research (with the form of archaeology)  in some of its articles.

Moreover, the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development has some strategic priorities concerning research in general (which also apply for research for cultural heritage), some of which are summarized in the following: increasing the demand for new knowledge and research results in Greece, reorganization of the research system and provision of knowledge in Greece, “freeing up” the greek research system and opening it further to the international field, development and technological infrastructure in the context of a policy for science and technology, thematic/sector priorities for a policy on science and technology and qualification goals.

Cultural Heritage Education and Outreach

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism gives high priority to education and to raising the awareness of young people on their cultural heritage and the ways to protect it. Currently, the organizational structure of the Ministry provides for the operation of a Department of Educational Programs and Communication within the Directorate of Museums, Exhibitions and Educational Programs.

Moreover, Cultural Heritage is a field that is taught in Greece mainly through Universities and especially programmes that deal with archaeology, conservation, museology, architecture etc.  In most Universities, the research in the field of cultural heritage is generally dispersed. Small nucleus of people interested in scientific applications of their familiar techniques and laboratories to cultural heritage, among other interests, may be found in a number of University Departments across Greece.

Undergraduate University educational programs do not include a sufficient number of technologically oriented courses dealing with culture. There are also two Graduate courses oriented basically in Conservation and Restoration (Aristotle University of Thessalonica and National Technical University in Athens) offering MASTER and Phd degrees. Systematic undergraduate educational (4-year cycle) and research work in the field of Conservation is carried out at the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, Technological Educational Institute at Aegaleo, Athens.

Apart from Universities, Cultural Heritage education also takes place in other institutions, such as public and private museums, heritage organizations, research centres that offer seminars for the professionals of this field.

Further information

Further information about research activity relating to Heritage Science in Greece can be found in Dr Elena Korka's address to the Scientific Symposium in Malta.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed