The event “Sharing Our Past” took place today, Thursday, June 4, at the Pangrati Friendship Club, with great success and active participation from the public. The initiative marks the launch of the pilot project “Memory Lockers,” which is being implemented through a partnership between the Department of Municipal and Historical Archives of the Directorate of Decentralization and Administration and the Department of Archival Science, Library Science and Information Systems at the University of West Attica (PA.DA.), in collaboration with the Department of Senior Citizens of the Directorate of Social Solidarity.
The aim of the program is to preserve the city’s “unofficial” history and to create a repository of collective memory through intergenerational interaction between elderly residents and undergraduate students, under the academic guidance of Professor Yannis Stoyannidis and the Historical Archive of the Municipality of Athens. The participation of elderly residents is crucial, as they are now recognized as active custodians of urban memory, passing on their lived historical and social experience to the younger generation.
At the same time, a call was issued to residents and regulars of the Club to become memory donors, contributing artifacts that reconstruct the social life of the neighborhood. The program highlights the pivotal importance of oral tradition for preserving diverse narratives that focus on the material and immaterial aspects of daily life, as well as on the ever-changing human geography of the Athenian neighborhood.
On June 6, 2026, a guided tour and informational meeting for Club members will be held at the premises of the Historical Archives of the Municipality of Athens, with the aim of familiarizing them with the procedures for preserving and maintaining the city’s historical heritage.
It should be noted that the scientific classification and management of the documents are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
