2024 started full of energy and extroversion. The feeling that everything is returning to the pre-COVID-19 era is pervasive.
In the first quarter of the year, we worked a lot on action planning, identifying needs and sharing knowledge. We continued the journey of capitalizing on our previous successful work and focused on renewing old partnerships, starting new ones and participating in national and international networks. We continued our coordination and/or active participation in actions for the effects of digital transformation in the lives of citizens, their participation in the formation of cultural tourism and planned actions of intercultural/interreligious dialogue. Especially in the area of sustainability, we paid special attention to the role of Culture in climate change and other issues of sustainability, governance and regional development.
The activity in our areas of expertise was significant:
– Public awareness with the launch of a series of outreach events in collaboration with various organizations such as the Textile Industry in the city of Nicosia in Cyprus, the JOIST Innovation Park in Larissa and the Hellenic Society for Environment and Culture.
– Skills development with our membership in the EU Pact for skills where we committed to specific annual success indicators. We started planning a series of Futures Literacy workshops and participated in a workshop of the Candidate Cultural Capital Larnaca 2030 in collaboration with the UNESCO headquarters on Visual Anticipation and Futures Literacy towards Visual Literacy in Larnaca.
– Citizen research with a series of meetings to collect citizens’ needs for social and cultural actions in over 15 countries laying the foundations for synergies and a larger footprint in the SE Mediterranean and Europe.
At the same time, we started an acquaintance cycle with the new local governments in Western Greece, the Ionian and individual cities in the rest of Greece to provide specialized services in matters of their immediate priority such as
- participatory sustainable management of UNESCO monuments,
- participatory planning actions for the creative and cultural sectors,
- local social interventions for the city and the countryside.
All this would not be possible without our growing team that welcomed new members and volunteers.
For the next quarter, we are preparing various actions with schools and teachers with actions on misinformation and the use of Metaverse. We will participate in the Thessaloniki Book Fair together with KELALP as its director Ms. Persa Koumoutsi and member of our team coordinates the exhibition together with the Hellenic Cultural Center where the honored country is the Emirate of Sharjah – the Emirate of Culture and Art, as it is called. Finally, we could not forget the annual meeting in Athens of the CulturePolis Advisory Committee where we await our “select” group of international and Greek partners to evaluate our actions and improve the management of our resources.
Until then, we wish you a Happy Orthodox Easter!