Greece

17/02/2009

A community museum in Rhodes

Chapeau Hugues de Varine: This is an extract from an email message sent by Mr. Dimitris
Koukoulas to Lysa Hochroth, editor of Icom News. We think it is a very interesting example of a
private initiative linked at the same time to local commuities, to migrant communities abroad
and to touristic publics. Contact: omikron@rho.forthnet.gr

We would like to introduce our team to you so that you have a clear picture of who we are and
how exactly we came to be involved in the ecomuseum project. The company, Omikron S.A., is
a small, family concern that basically began as a travel agency company, and is now involved in
various other tourist-related and cultural operations that include an ecomuseum, eco-tourism
and anything related to the environment. The addition of new ventures to the company’s normal
business activities came about after we conducted a market research and concluded that the
tourist industry in Rhodes Island, even though one of the more popular resort islands in Greece,
began to show signs of fray at the edges because it continued to embrace the standard, stereo-
typed vacation of sun, sea and sand, as well as the so-called “package” holidays. But first, let us
introduce our team. We are: Dimitris Koukoulas – Company Director and Economist; Mos
Koukoulas – a computer science graduate of the University of Essex; Angeliki Koukoulas –
Professional M.A. Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image, University of
Amsterdam; Anne Diako, a journalism graduate from South Africa, all of whom are natives of
this island. During our research of the tourist market, we desperately looked to see what was
missing from the industry, which sections needed a complete change and which needed just a
little revamp. We discovered a number of surprises and we decided to put into action some of
our ideas to promote the concept of the ecomuseum and of eco-tourism in Rhodes, which had,
to a large extent, been ignored by the local authorities and captains of industry. We realised,
though, that there were some things that we couldn’t do completely on our own, and that we
would require the co-operation, support and sponsorship of local administration of the various
official departments, if they were to succeed. So we gathered together all our proposals and
ideas and presented them to the various mayors of the island, the governor’s office of the
Dodecanese Prefecture and the various officials concerned with local tourism and commerce,
and awaited their response. The feedback from the public was very encouraging, unlike the
response from the people at local government, who needed a lot more persuasion before they
could be convinced. Even so, do not be surprised when we tell you that trying to convince the
officials of each and every idea and project activated by us to this day is a constant battle; a
challenge. This is the main reason why we are compelled to seek funds, knowledge and moral
support for our initiatives outside our national borders. In keeping with the philosophy of the
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Omikron S.A. launched the Agricultural, Cultural and
Folklore Museum of Rhodes concept, which aims to initiate local heritage and eco- related
projects. One of the spin-offs of the Agricultural, Cultural and Folklore Museum of Rhodes has
been the establishment of Grandma Tsambika’s House, in the village of Malona, in the central,
mountainous regions of the island. This museum, scheduled for completion soon, is
accommodated in a charming early 19th century cottage and features an interesting display of
period furniture, as well as all the necessary household and agricultural tools and implements of
the time. Its creation will in turn have an economic spin-off for many individuals in this small
agricultural community, who will benefit financially by putting their talents for craftwork,
traditional cooking and much more, to good use. Another spin-off of the Agricultural, Cultural
and Folklore Museum of Rhodes was the creation of our online “club” aimed at the
Dodecanesians who are or who were living abroad. The Dodecanesian Diaspora has also long
been neglected by the motherland, and now, with our website www.dodecanesiandiaspora.com,
we invite all our compatriots who immigrated to foreign lands to become members of this “club”
with a view to networking, chiefly, but also because of their need to keep in touch with their
roots, among many other things. Our ecomuseum project, which is a continuing
scheme,focuses on about 15 villages and their surroundings, which are located in the most
beautiful, luscious green belt of Rhodes, right in the centre of the island, and which have felt
more and more isolated from the hectic northern and southern parts of the island these past 50
or so years. For this project, we hope to gain the interest and moral support of like-minded
people, who express similar feelings of respect and understanding of the culture and
environment of the rural folk in those areas. Our aim was to give these country folk the incentive
to make it possible for them to continue living in their villages by finding ways of supporting
themselves economically, such as taking part in sustainable development programmes. This is
where the concept of ecotourism is tailor-made to the needs of these areas. To promote and
publicize the eco-tourism concept, as well as the ecomuseum, we have had to make many
announcements in the media, organize press conferences and constantly call on local authority
officials to ensure that the topic is kept alive in their minds and on their agendas. Once we
succeeded in convincing the local authorities of the importance of the alternative forms of
tourism in this part of the Aegean, and in fact anything related to the environment, we set about
holding conferences at various venues on the island to gain further support for our various
projects. Our conferences succeeded in that we gained the respect and support of relevant
sections of the community, including the business community. Invited guests and speakers
included many politicians from Athens, as well as well-known university professors, all of whom
gave us the thumbs up for work already done and that which still remains to be concluded. Our
next conference is scheduled for 18 February and it is of a cultural and local heritage nature,
which is a major part of the ecomuseum project.