OPA! MAGAZINE FEATURED GEORGE STROUMBOULIS FOR LAUNCHING THE SAVE THE ARCHIVES INITIATIVE
Georgios Stroumboulis was featured in the popular Greek-Diaspora culture magazine, OPA! Magazine (opamagazine.com.au), in an article titled – Save the Archives. The article featured Georgios Stroumboulis’ work to start the new global initiative to preserve Greece’s migration history. Interviewed by magazine founder and president, Steve Agi, the feature appeared in both print and online.
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SAVE THE ARCHIVES
What is “Save The Archives”? Save the Archives (SaveTheArchives.com) is an independent initiative by the Greek diaspora focused on helping to preserve the migration history of Greek immigrants. This fundraising initiative supports the vigorous effort of digitizing the 200,000+ entry documents of Greek immigrants from 1950 – 1975.
Who are the people behind this effort? Simply it is the Greek diaspora that is passionate about Greece, its history and the people that have migrated outside of Greece to establish themselves within foreign communities around the world. They are the sons, daughters, nieces, nephews and grandchildren of Greeks that took the bold move to leave the motherland to start a new life in Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United States. They are looking to preserve this migration history by taking the initiative to digitize the physical copies of the entry documents before it is too late.
What is the International Organization for Migration (IOM)? Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration that works closely with governmental, non-governmental and international partners. With 125 member states, a further 16 states holding observer status and more than 400 field locations, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. Working independently of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Athens, the Save The Archives initiative is working to raise the needed funds for the IOM to be able to hire and procure the necessary resources to facilitate the digitization process of Greek migrant entry documents – helping to preserve our migration history and an important piece of our heritage.
What is the financial goal? Save The Archives has one goal – to preserve the entry documents from Greek migrants into countries including Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United States between 1950 - 1975. In order to digitize these 200,000+ entry documents, they need to sponsor the time, resources and equipment to make this happen. With €25,000, they will be able to write a check to the IOM in Athens to begin the process of digitizing the entry documents and saving a piece of our Greek heritage.
How will these funds be utilized? The funds will be managed by the IOM in Athens and allocated accordingly to hire the needed resources and personnel to convert all physical copies into digital files. As these documents are currently stored in the basement of the IOM headquarters in Athens, they are in danger of being destroyed and/or tossed - eliminating decades of history and heritage of all Greeks that left their motherland between 1950 - 1975.
When will the digitization process commence? Once they achieve the donation goal of €25,000, they will hand the IOM a check so they can start the process of hiring the needed staff and purchase the needed equipment to carry out this year-long process. It is estimated that the actual digitization of the documents will take 9-12 months.
What are the next steps once the documents are digitized? Upon achieving the financial goal, the funds will be donated to the IOM to undertake the digitization of the paper archives. With strong support coming from the Greek diaspora in Australia, plans on how the digitized archives will be presented are under way. Following the digitization process, academics and diplomats from Australia have discussed the creation of an online portal that can make the archives easily accessible by the diaspora.
How can you stay in contact with us during this fundraising process? We encourage all Hellenes around the world to stay connected with this great project by visiting the Save The Archives website at www.SaveTheArchives.com. There is also a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SaveTheArchives.com and a Twitter page at www.Twitter.com/SaveTheArchives.
Partnership announcement: Save The Archives is an initiative that is supported by the Greek diaspora. In an effort to make this a successful initiative and to attract awareness and support from the Greek diaspora, a partnership with OPA! Magazine has been established. Save The Archives organizer, Georgios Stroumboulis, teamed up with Steve Agi of OPA! Magazine to become the official partner in the Australia, New Zealand and Asia regions. Through its network and strong ties with Greek culture and communities, OPA! Magazine will be leading the charge to help with the preservation of the Greek migration documents. Georgios Stroumboulis is a Greek-Canadian citizen, now residing in Manhattan, New York. He has worked and lived in markets including; Canada, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Greece and now the United States. His entrepreneurial spirit and business experience has helped him be a part of various start-up businesses in the design, real estate, high-tech manufacturing and website arenas. His company, BouliBrand Media (www.BouliBrand.com), is based in New York City.
