The Youth Center was established in October 1937 (Government Gazette 406/14-10-1937), under the direct dependency and supervision of the Municipality of Athens. Its funds were derived from a grant by the Municipality of Athens, while its administration was assigned to a Board (Adelfato) with a four-year tenure, consisting of the incumbent Mayor and seven Municipal Councilors. According to Article 2 of the founding decree, the purpose of the Youth Center was “the study, promotion, and development of the physical, intellectual, moral, and aesthetic education of the residents, and particularly of the extracurricular youth of both sexes, within the district of the Municipality of Athens” (Minute & Decision of the Municipal Council 3063/24-8-1937 “regarding the establishment of a legal entity under the name Youth Center for the promotion and development of the intellectual and physical education of the Municipality’s residents”, Minutes of the Municipal Council, book 87, pp. 139-143). Its axes of action, always focusing on the education/upbringing of young people, were subsequently described in Articles 12-15 of the founding decree (Minute of the Municipal Council 3486/25-11-1937 “Approval of the Charter of the Legal Entity established in the Municipality of Athens by the Royal Decree of September 18th of the current year, under the name Youth Center”, Minutes of the Municipal Council, book 88, pp. 195-212).
Over the years, the Center (or Board of the Youth Center) evolved into the Youth and Sports Organization (O.N.A.) and was later integrated into the Culture, Sports & Youth Organization of the Municipality of Athens (O.P.A.N.D.A.). In December 2015, a section of the oldest surviving archive to date—located during the project “Mapping of archival material of the Municipality of Athens”—was transferred to the Department of Historical and Municipal Archives. Further accruals of documents are expected.
The archive includes:
- Incoming – outgoing correspondence 1938-1939-1940-1941 (1 file with loose documents)
- Incoming correspondence 1944 (1 file with loose documents)
- Incoming – outgoing correspondence 1945 (1 file with loose documents)
- Incoming correspondence 1947–48 (1 file with loose documents)
- Correspondence 1949 (1 file with loose documents)
- Outgoing correspondence 1949 (1 file with loose documents)
- Correspondence 1950 (1 file with loose documents)
- Incoming correspondence 1950 (1 file with loose documents)
- Outgoing correspondence 1958 (1 file with loose documents)
- Payroll records of permanent staff 1963 (1 file with loose documents)
- Payroll records of pensioners, legal advisors, and statements of financial status 1967 (1 folder)
- Decisions of the President 1966–1967 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Staff personal files A–D (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Staff personal files K–L (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Staff personal files M–O (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Staff personal files P–T (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Dismissed staff personal files D–K (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Dismissed staff personal files L–P (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Dismissed staff personal files R–S (1 folder with sub-folders)
- Wage records 1981 – 1st Semester (1 folder with loose documents)
- Wage records 1981 – 2nd Semester (1 folder with loose documents)
- Payroll records – Permanent staff, 1981 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Payroll records – Pensioners, 1981 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Social Security (IKA) records, 1981 – 1st Semester (1 folder with loose documents)
- Social Security (IKA) records 1981 – 2nd Semester (1 folder with loose documents)
- Payroll records for computerization 1982 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Social Security (IKA) wage records 1982 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Wage records 1982 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Decisions Nos. 85, 1–240 (1 folder with loose documents)
- Decisions Nos. 86, 1–300 (1 folder with loose documents)
ACCESS
Access is open and is provided at the Department of Municipal and Historical Archives Reading Room.