The Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, in her speech at the Athens Talks conference of the Attica Region, noted that “culture is an extremely valuable and dynamic asset for economic development and social cohesion, having proven, with measurable data, the ability to more than triple the performance of realized investments in the national product. It significantly strengthens employment and entrepreneurship in other sectors of the economy linked to culture, while emerging as a strategic factor for recovery and development and a strong comparative advantage for the country.”

Since 2019, Lina Mendoni emphasized “at the Ministry of Culture we have set up and are implementing a dynamic and constantly updated tool, the “Cultural Development and Prosperity Map”, which concerns all 13 Regions of the Country. It recommends a set of coherent, realistic and flexible policies in the field of cultural management and at the same time a road map for the implementation of structural reforms and targeted investments in cultural infrastructures and actions with a horizon of 2027.

Today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we are implementing the largest investment program. More than 825 projects and actions – I have not included those that we have already agreed with the Regions that will be included in the NSRF 2021-2027 – with a total budget of 1.2 billion. euro. The Ministry of Culture never had similar resources and did similar projects. Projects that change the cultural map of the country and cover every aspect of culture: cultural heritage, of all forms and historical periods, contemporary creation, digital transformation employing thousands of workers, of all specialties.”

Especially for the overall management of the natural and cultural reserve of Attica, which is endowed with the most popular monuments and important cultural infrastructures of all kinds, Lina Mendoni noted that “our strategic goals are summarized as follows: 1. Protection and preservation of of historical and cultural heritage with a focus on sustainability and sustainability. 2. Enrichment and improvement of the quality and attractiveness of cultural infrastructure and services. 3. Reorganization, decentralization, diffusion, dispersion, targeted and balanced redistribution of traffic throughout the Region, in order to de-saturate and mitigate the seasonality of tourism through the emergence of new decentralized poles of attraction and the organized networking of points of interest. 4. Utilization of the tool of cultural routes, which connect individual monuments and places of Culture with other natural attractions and points of tourist interest with a common thematic axis”.

As cultural routes, the Minister emphasized, “are the best tool for strengthening cultural tourism and encourage organized and comprehensive visits within the framework of a single experience, we chose Attica – in extremely fruitful and effective cooperation with the Region and the Regional Governor, Nikos Hardalia – for the current programming period, within the framework of the NSRF 2021-2027, the creation of a Integrated Spatial Investment, a “trilogy”, an intervention of organization and overall promotion in Athens, Elefsina and Lavrio. The goals are to spread the tourist movement spatially throughout the Region through the connection of the historical center of Athens with the archaeological sites and monuments of Elefsina and Lavrio, to extend the length of stay of visitors by enriching their experiences and the strengthening of the evolution of Athens from a passage to a destination”.
“The projects, which at this stage are included in the OCHE – the 19+1 included in the title of my presentation – come to complement the projects that were completed within the framework of the NSRF 2014-2020 and those that are currently ongoing through the Fund Recovery. They complement our strategic planning, which is the protection and promotion of the Attic cultural stock and the evolution of Attica into an upgraded cultural destination, through strengthening the attractiveness of the cultural wealth, with a view to increasing visitorship and strengthening its spatial diffusion in the entire Region”.

Then the minister referred indicatively to the most important of the 19+1 projects of OCHE:

-Preliminary works for the expansion of the National Archaeological Museum
-Reopening of the Old Acropolis Museum
-Aristotelous High School and its connection with the Athens Conservatory
– Program of the pilot application of performing arts medicine at the Athens Conservatory
-Organization and pilot operation of the Center for Culture and Creation “Acropolis”

New cultural uses, after being restored with “Trilogy” funds, acquire three buildings:
– On Stadium 47, the house of Alexandros Soutsos which will host part of the Theater Museum Collections
-At 7 Dioskouron Street, in Plaka, it is being converted into the Karolos Koun Museum
-On Tripodon Street 32, also in Plaka, the well-known “Kokkovikou house”, which is being converted into screening and event spaces.
– Highlighting the archaeological site of Elefsina
-Protection and promotion of the very important archaeological site of Ramnountos
-Maintenance and restoration of the Fortress in Aigosthena
– Highlighting the archaeological site of Thorikos
– Completion of the works at the Dafniou Monastery
– Completion of the restoration works of the Church of Agios Georgios and Transfiguration of Christ the Savior, in Eleonas Megaron
-3rd phase of the restoration of the buildings-monuments in the historical core of the Tatoi estate.

As Lina Mendoni pointed out, “there can be no doubt that the common goals we have set – the Region and the Ministry of Culture – are ambitious and extremely demanding. Attica is changing, its cultural infrastructure is being upgraded and made universally accessible.”