CIVIL SOCIETY: 269 PRACTICES
The Institute for the Study of Local History and Business History (I.M.T.I.E.) is an Urban Non-Profit Society founded in 1998 by historians, economists, anthropologists and other social scientists and aims to promote the of research related to local history and business history in our country.
The Institute for the Study of Local History & Business History AMKE (IMTIIE) is active in the cultural sector, specializing in local history and business history.
Piraeus occupies a key role in the history of the newest Greek state and in particular in the field of entrepreneurship development and the general socio-economic development of the country.
IMTIIE has collected important archival evidence about the city including "overlooked/neglected" data (commercial guides, advertisements, postcards, engravings, etc.), which could contribute significantly to shaping the historical development of the city but also of the Greek socio-economic life of the 19th & 20th centuries. In this context, he decided to organize a digital platform for making the above and other complementary archival, documentary and museum material available to both the research community and the general public.
The main objective of the proposed project is:
1. The rescue of a significant part of the above rare cultural material, which due to its age is sensitive,
2. The -if possible- its detailed description and its publication/display, so that it is available to any interested person, scholar, researcher, student or ordinary citizen who wants to delve into the history of the younger Piraeus with special emphasis on the economic and its social structure during the 19th and 20th centuries (until 1950).
The project focuses on all 3 sections of material, foreseeing the following processing with the aim of creating an electronic digital application of its utilization: 1. Digitization of material using appropriate equipment (overhead digital scanner) 2. The existing file includes 20-25 commercial drivers selected representatively by period 3. Visualization of trade guides to produce searchable PDF output. 4. Development of a digital material management application 5. Development of a display and search website.
This is a project addressed to all citizens regardless of age and the actions that could be developed in the future by our Agency, as well as by researchers and educational Institutions, would cover educational needs for schools of all levels and the research needs of studies of the whole spectrum of social, economic and humanitarian studies.
At the same time, the project particularly concerns the economic and business forces and organizations of the city which will be able to:
1. To utilize its contents for the discovery and promotion of their business history and culture, the history of their products and services and their economic and social contribution to the city and our national economy.
2. That they also hoard rare evidence of their history and oral or other testimonies, contributing essentially to the creation of an "ark" of collective memory of the city.
3. To utilize project material for the production of modern patterns of promotion and communication of their businesses with historical documentation and timelessness.
Finally, the project also concerns the local municipal authority as it comes to offer it modern tools to support local history and cultural heritage, useful for strategizing in the fields of culture, architectural-industrial and other material heritage, urban planning and related regenerations, tourism strategy and city/destination branding.
In this context, the project comes:
1. To strengthen the local cultural heritage and the tangible and intangible cultural stock of the city.
2. To support and strengthen the local identity, image and pride of the city.
3. To highlight the importance of the city as a historical and cultural tourist destination.
The project started immediately with the approval of its grant by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 2020 and is due to be delivered to the public, immediately after the completion of all its final technical checks, at the end of June 2021. The entire project will be available online soon and will be presented through a special digital event of I.M.T.I.E.
The main objective of the proposed project is to save a significant part of the above material, which due to its age is sensitive, to describe it as detailed as possible and to publish/display it, so that it is available to every interested person, scholar, researcher, student or ordinary citizen who wants to delve deeper into the history of the younger Piraeus with special emphasis on its economic and social structure during the 19th and 20th centuries (up to 1950).
The implementation of this project requires its digitization, documentation and detailed description, as well as the creation of the corresponding digital environment, which will allow access and browsing of the said digital, cultural stock in a comprehensive, understandable and end-user-friendly manner.
The project focuses on all three modules of material and applies the following processing with the aim of creating an electronic digital application of its exploitation:
a) Digitization of the material using appropriate equipment (overhead digital scanner) and production of digital material in TIFF, Jpeg and PDF formats, based on the best international practices as established for the digitization of cultural material.
b) The existing archive will include 20 - 25 trade guides selected representatively by period and other evidence (engravings, postcards, advertisements and photographs also digitized in the same way.
c) Visualization (OCR) of commercial guides to produce searchable PDF output. This process is not simple and easy because polyphonic writing is used and the typographical characters differ from year to year. We consider this processing necessary because through it a full text search will be possible and the guides can be used either to find specific information or for later statistical processing.
d) Development of a digital material management application: The application will provide the possibility of documenting the digital content at the level of guide, section/category of business classification within it and recording the contents. This metadata will be searchable in a simple, complex and browse process. The possibility of enriching the digital file and the corresponding documentation will also be provided, as well as correction in the event that inaccuracies are found.
e) Development of a web page to display the service and search for the material: To make the material available to the interested user groups, a web page will be created to display it. Both the digital material (jpeg copy) and the website will be hosted by an external provider that will ensure uninterrupted, free access and appropriate security conditions. To host the application, the possibility of utilizing a suitable public body that will ensure the necessary conditions will be investigated.
In this context, we wish to organize a digital platform to make the above material available to both the research community and the general public.
At the same time, comprehensive and detailed information will be ensured by utilizing the digital material and creating virtual digital walks through the streets of industry, commerce and crafts of Piraeus from the 19th century until today.
Benefits for the research and educational process: This is a project addressed to all citizens regardless of age and the actions that could be developed in the future by our Agency, as well as by researchers and educational Institutions, would cover educational needs for schools of all degrees and the research needs of studies of the entire spectrum of social, economic and humanistic studies.
Benefits for local entrepreneurship and society: The project particularly concerns the economic and business forces and organizations of the city which will be able to:
1. To use its content to discover and promote their business history and culture, the history of their products and services, and their economic and social contribution to our city and national economy.
2. That they also hoard rare evidence of their history and oral or other testimonies, contributing essentially to the creation of an "ark" of collective memory of the city.
3. To utilize project material for the production of modern patterns of promotion and communication of their businesses with historical documentation and timelessness.
Benefits for the city and its neighborhoods: The project also concerns the local municipal authority as it comes to offer it modern tools to support local history and cultural heritage, useful for strategizing in the fields of culture, architecture-industrial and other material heritage , urban planning and related renovations, tourism strategy and city/destination branding and finally strengthening a modern identity and image for the city that will make it, among other things, eligible as a place of permanent residence and work, a sustainable city for all its citizens.
In this context, the project comes:
1. To strengthen the local cultural heritage and the tangible and intangible cultural stock of the city.
2. To support and strengthen the local identity, image and pride of the city.
3. To highlight the importance of the city as a historical and cultural tourist destination.
Piraeus
The project is under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and was funded by it in the framework of the open procedure "Call for expression of interest for the grant of digital culture projects and actions of 2020".
The project is completed with the participation of 1 IMTIIE employee and 3 volunteers with long experience in the fields of historical research, economic and social history and city/destination branding.
For IMTIIE, the proposed project has as its main objective:
1. The rescue of a significant part of the above material, which due to its age is extremely sensitive, rare and difficult to access (more than 2,500 document downloads).
2. As detailed as possible its description and its publication/display, so that it is available to any interested person, scholar, researcher, student or ordinary citizen who wants to delve deeper into the history of the younger Piraeus with special emphasis on its economic and social structure during the 19th and 20th centuries (until 1950).
3. The support of the research, educational and cultural program of IMTIIE and in particular that which concerns the documented recording of the history of the younger Piraeus.
