Working groups

Working Group of ICOM-CC (Internation Committee  for Conservation)

The working group of ICOM-CC was formed in 1986 and in 1989 organized an exhibition at the Benaki Museum on the occasion of the International Museum Day, which was dedicated to the conservation of antiquities and works of art. It regularly organises lecture series and other events. Also, in cooperation with the International Commission for Conservation (ICOM-CC) and other bodies, it organizes international conferences and scientific meetings and publishes the relevant proceedings, such as:

1995: “The Preservation of Images. An approach to the problems, methods and materials used in conservation laboratories” (GR)

2004: ‘Contemporary considerations in textile and leather conservation. Contemporary trends in the field of textile and textile care, including ‘Textile and textile-related issues and legal issues’ (GR)

2006: “Images: Research, Conservation and Ethical Issues” (GR)

***************

Working Group of ICOM-CECA (International Committee for Education and Cultural Action)

The Working Group has been operating since 1986 as a forum for the exchange of ideas, experiences and views on the various forms of museum education, existing problems, possibilities and perspectives.

Through regular meetings, the Group brings together museum education professionals from both public and private institutions. At these meetings, current museum interpretive activities for a variety of audiences are presented, as well as new educational materials such as museum kits, educational folders, printed or digital products.
The Group organises training meetings and participates in the design and implementation of pilot applications and European programmes, such as the European Programme “The School adopts a Monument” (1995-1997) in which ten schools in Athens participated. This programme is currently being implemented in many schools in the country.
From 1988 to 2002, in cooperation with the Ministries of Education and Culture, the Training Seminar “Museum – School” was organised in different prefectures of the country. This programme has made a significant contribution to linking education with culture and the philosophy of this programme is based on seminars, workshops and other events organised at regional level on the initiative of Museums, Antiquities Offices, Education Directorates of the Ministry of Education and local cultural bodies.
Members of the Group also represent the Hellenic National Committee of ICOM, as speakers, at scientific meetings on museology and museum education and attend the Annual Meeting of the ICOM International Committee on Education and Cultural Action in Museums (CECA).

Training Meetings

MUSEUM -SCHOOL
It is a regional Seminar that has been organized since 1988, in a different county each time and is addressed to teachers of the first and second level. Through theoretical contributions on museum education, presentations of applications throughout Greece, projection of audiovisual material and practical exercises in museums and monuments of the region, the Seminar contributes to the training of teachers on the possibilities of utilization of cultural heritage in the context of school activities.

  • 2002, Kavala: For teachers of the prefecture of Kavala
  • 1997, Kalamata: For teachers of the prefecture of Messinia
  • 1994, Ioannina: For teachers of the prefecture of Ioannina
  • 1993, Patras: For teachers of the prefecture of Achaia
  • 1991, Dion: For teachers of the prefecture of Pieria
  • 1990, Nafplio: For teachers of the prefecture of Argolida
  • 1988, Athens: For primary and secondary school counsellors

MODERN GREEK CULTURAL HERITAGE AND EDUCATION – MEETING OF CULTURAL NETWORK TEACHERS
Informative meeting held in Athens since 1997 until today, on the subject of educational activities related to popular culture and modern cultural heritage. It is organized by the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with ICOM.

MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL CECA COMMITTEE OF ICOM
In 1988 the annual meeting of CECA was organised by the Hellenic National Committee of ICOM in Athens and Nafplio.

THE EDUCATOR AND THE MUSEUM
In 1993, a training programme for unemployed young women in museum pedagogy was organised at ICOM in Athens, in collaboration with the General Secretariat for Equality.

TRAINING SEMINAR ON MUSEUM EDUCATION FOR RETURNING EXPATRIATES FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
The Seminar was organized in 2003 in Athens in cooperation with the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture.

TRAINING WORKSHOP FOR MUSEUM STAFF AND DIRECTORS FROM SOUTH CAUCASUS COUNTRIES
It was organized in Athens in 2003, in the framework of the Council of Europe’s “STAGE” programme, in cooperation with the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage and the Directorate of International Relations of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

MUSEUMS AND YOUNG VISITORS – EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
In 2006, a workshop on educational programmes was organised by the Hellenic National Committee of ICOM at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, on the occasion of the celebration of International Museum Day, with the theme “Museums and young visitors”.

Participation in European Projects

THE SCHOOL ADOPTS A MONUMENT (1995-1997)
It is a European pilot project that started in 1992 in Naples, Italy, with the aim of highlighting the city’s deteriorated monuments and raising awareness of the local community on issues of cultural heritage protection. The Pegasus Cultural Foundation, with the financial support of the European Commission, undertook the pilot implementation of the programme for three years (1995-1997) in 15 cities of the European Union, including Athens. In Greece, the programme was coordinated by the Hellenic National Committee of ICOM, in direct cooperation with the Ministries of Education and Culture.
Approximately 270 students from 10 public schools in Athens (3 primary schools, 6 secondary schools and 1 high school) participated in the programme, selected according to the distance of each school from the respective monument.
The ten monuments in the centre of Athens ‘adopted’ by the ten school groups were representative samples from different historical periods of the city: Ancient Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, Clock Tower of Andronicus of Cyrristus, Philopappos Monument, Holy Apostles Solakis, Gorgoepikoos, Holy Anargyri of Psirri, Old University, Asteroscope and Fothaeros Factory (Gazi).
Within the framework of the programme, model educational activities were developed, starting from the “adopted” monuments, aiming at the study of the monuments, their interpretive approach and, finally, their presentation by the students themselves to the members of the school community and the local community.
The positive results showed that the “School adopts a Monument” project could be a field of substantial cooperation between the school and the museum and that it would be worth enriching and extending it to other areas both in Athens and in the region.

*******************************************

Working Group of ICOM-CIDOC (International Committee for Documentation)

The Working Group operated from 1993 to 2000 within the framework of CIDOC, the International Documentation Committee of ICOM, and dealt with problems of documentation of ethnographic/laographic collections, with the dissemination of documentation in ethnographic/laographic museums and with the cooperation of these museums at an international level.

The Hellenic National Commitee of ICOM, with the support of the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and with the support of the Greek folklore museums, actively participated in the activities of the above CIDOC Group:

  • Organized two of the Group’s meetings in Greece, (June 1994 and June 1996).
  • Created a special Greek committee on museum documentation, which, through the project “Ethnomuseum-net – Network for the dissemination of know-how for the documentation of ethnographic objects”, carried out the following actions:
  1. Recording the current situation in the field of documentation of folklore collections in Greece.
  2. Organization of seminars on the manuscript and telemetric documentation of folklore collections, in cooperation with the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
  3. Pilot creation of a catalogue of keywords for clay vessels or food containers, in cooperation with Greek folklore museums.
  4. Support of the publication “International Core Data Standards for Ethnography/Ethnology” in English and French, and its translation into Greek with the collaboration of Greek experts in the use of the various terms.
  5. Publication of the lectures of the seminar on manuscript documentation in the “Handbook for the Documentation of Folklore Collections”.

The Hellenic National Committee of ICOM funded the publications “International Core Data Standards for Ethnography/Ethnology” and “Handbook of Classification Systems Used by Ethno Museums”. It also undertook the translation into Greek of the CIDOC Guidance Notes “Registration Step by Step: When an Object Enters the Museum” and “Labelling and Marking Objects”.

************************************

Working Group of ICOM-UMAC (University Museums and Collections)

The Hellenic National Committee of ICOM, in collaboration with ICOM-UMAC (International Committee on University Museums and Collections), has created a “Working Group on Greek University Museums and Collections”. The objectives of this Group are:

  • To bring together those working in University Museums and Collections both in Greece and abroad.
  • To document the existing situation in the field of Greek University Museums and Collections and to help address their common problems.
  • To promote the work of UMAC and ICOM in general in Greek University Museums and Collections and to contribute to the active participation in UMAC activities of those working in Greek University Museums and Collections.
  • To highlight the position of University Museums and Collections in the Greek museum community and to ensure the support of universities, the state and society in their work.

The group of University Museums will also include the respective museums and collections of Technological Institutions (TEI).