EKEDISY
Ethniko Kentro Erevnas kai Diasosis Sholikou Ylikou (translation: National Centre for Research and Preservation of School Material, acronym EKEDISY) is a non-profit organization aiming at promoting the values of Greek culture and education. EKEDISY has founded the School Life and Education Museum in Athens, Greece which displays part of its collections covering a period of 4 centuries. The collections include objects from school life (one of the biggest collections of school books, costumes, supervision, archives, types of writing, photographs) and tokens of intangible cultural heritage (audio documents, testimonies, interviews on school life and education) .
The Museum operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs and participates as a regular member of the Network of Museums and Cultural Institutions of Athens, the Balkan Museum Network and NEMO - Network of European Museum Organizations.
School Life and Education Museum employs 5 permanent staff members, equips 25 volunteers with a wide range of abilities, liaises with 50 external associates and lists 300-plus members. In every daily basis, 100 children participate in Museum’s workshops and educational programs (in 2019 only, 15126 children from 385 schools visited the Museum), while at the seminars 3000 educators, teachers, parents and students took part during the same year.
Among its activities are:
• Design and implementation of educational programs for students of all levels
• Design and implementation of workshops for children, for families, intergenerational, intercultural, environmental
• Organization of training sessions, seminars, workshops for adults and teachers. (For example: Yearlong Museum Education Seminar, Yearlong School Classroom Management Seminar, Yearlong Intergenerational Program connecting children and grandparents, School Classroom Management Seminar, Art and Drama Therapy in Education Workshops, Theatrical Games Workshops, etc.)
• Organization of Scientific Conferences (collaboration with the Hellenic Educational Society, the Hellenic Children's Book Circle and other institutions)
• Organization of guided tours and cultural walks in groups of adults, students, clubs.
• Organization of cultural events, book presentations, art exhibitions, theatrical performances
• Publishing of books, monographs, conference proceedings
• Design and implementation of European Programs in collaboration with Museums, Cultural Institutions, Universities and Schools abroad
• Networking and collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, the Institute of Educational Policy, Universities, Municipalities, Museums and other institutions.
