On 17.1.2023, the President of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, David Saltiel, and the Chairman and CEO of the OTE Group, Michalis Tsamaz, signed the contract for the project titled ‘Digital Repository of Historical Memory and Culture of the Jewish Communities of Greece Josephus’ [MIS (6005031)].
The contract aims at the digitization, documentation, and digital management of the archives of the Jewish Communities of Thessaloniki, Athens, Rhodes, and the Organization for the Relief and Rehabilitation of Jews in Greece (O.P.A.I.E.). Additionally, leveraging innovative information technologies, digital applications with an educational character will be developed to promote the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, with respect for the historical memory of the Greek Jewish Communities.
Through the implementation of this project, the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki aims to preserve its historical memory, the cultural wealth of Greek Jewry, attract scholars and researchers from around the world to enhance Jewish studies in the country, and contribute to the broader tourism and cultural development of Greece.
One million nine hundred thousand pages will undergo digital processing and documentation, to be digitally manageable and searchable online. The material exhibits a typological diversity, primarily due to its multilingual nature, rare scripts, and predominantly handwritten content. The language is often Ladino, the native language of the majority of Jews who lived in the Greek geographical area as we know it today, based on Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic languages.
Leveraging the cultural tradition of the Communities, digital applications will be developed, such as: the historical digital reconstruction of the Thessaloniki Jewish community from the 18th century to the early 20th century, the Jewish musical tradition in Greece, Greek-Jewish portraiture, a digital ‘Atlas’ of Greek-Jewish culture, Jewish walks in Athens (Romaniote), and the presentation of exhibits from the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki with augmented reality (AR).
The contract duration is 18 months, with a budget of €4,530,464 (including VAT). The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and national funds under the Operational Programme ‘Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2014-2020’ of the Ministry of Development and Investments. The intermediate managing authority is the Special Service for the Management of the ‘Digital Transformation’ Programme (EYDPMET) of the Ministry of Digital Governance.
