As last year, this year too the group of executives of the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, invited our organization, to the 5th Summer School, in order to present its actions for the preservation of the heritage of Andros.

The 5th Summer School for the Cultural Heritage of the Rural Area was this year with the special theme: “Preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Good Practices for modern challenges” and was organized, as in previous years, in Dimitsana by the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Conference Cultural Center of Dimitsana, together with the Region of Peloponnese, the Municipality of Gortynia, the Open-Air Water Power Museum (Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation), the Menalon Social Enterprise and other local bodies and citizens, from July 21 to 28.

The program of the Summer School included presentations by several lecturers from different regions of our country, it concerned various fields of heritage as well as various approaches and preservation practices, as good examples that are happening in Greece.

On the afternoon of July 24, 2024, Olga Karagianni presented the work of our organization, and specifically our actions for the heritage of Andros, through the Andros Routes project and the complementary actions we have been implementing in recent years. The presentation included the history of the organization and our efforts and actions, for the preservation of the tangible and intangible heritage of Andros, which marks 15 years this year. A path, which would not have been possible without the help of all the people who supported us during these years, but also those who until today support the operation of the organization with their voluntary work, the subscribers and sponsors and the Cultural Associations of Andros with their with whom there is close cooperation.

To the very remarkable group of 23 students, mainly postgraduate students who participated in the summer school, from the fields of social anthropology, ethnology, folklore, cultural studies, cultural management and PhD candidates in related scientific fields, teachers, as well as executives of institutions that manage cultural heritage, we transferred the lessons we learned over the years of activity in Andros, the successes, difficulties and challenges we face as an organization but also the broader challenges that characterize our time in relation to the preservation of heritage of Andros.

It was an amazing event, with rich discussions and reflections, “product” of the key questions of the participants and the “fermentation” with the experience of the presenters, representatives of initiatives and agencies from all over Greece who are active in various fields of heritage preservation our country.

We sincerely thank the people of Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage for this valuable experience, the amazing group of Summer School students and the rest of the presenters for their work and the inspiration they gave us in the continuation of our own project!