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01-08-1999
A big development in Athens

It has, as they say, been a long time in coming, but it has been worth waiting for, Lazaros Efraimoglou's father and mother had to leave Asia Minor after the large Greek population was expelled in 1922. They eventually settled in Athens, where their English educated son eventually became a succeessful property developer, making a substantial fortune from the huge post-war expansion of the capital. On his retirement he established the Foundation of the Hellenic World, a private organisation devoted to studying and publicising 9000 years of Hellenistic achievements and traditions. His first thoughts were to do this by means of a big new museum, with associated activities, but he gradually changed his mind and decided instead to set up a cultural centre, which would carry out its work over a broader front. What he is in the process of creating may well prove to be a museum-type institution particularly well adapted to the needs and opportunities of the 21st century and likely to become one of the most modern and successful exhibitions and educational complexes in Europe.

His original idea, in what one might call the museum phase of his thinking, was to acquire a large site where suitable facilities could be developed in a park-like setting, but such a place proved impossible to find within reasonable distance of central Athens. So he settled for an 18,000 m2 former factory at 254 Piraeus Street. Having bought and converted the building, he has begun to install the Cultural Centre, helped by his son, Dimitris, a computer expert, partly trained in the United States. The first phase, comprising 2,000 m2, was opened in the spring of 1998. There is a large staff of researchers, museologists, educationists, historians, graphic designers, computer engineers and producers of audio-visual material.

The method is to present ancient and more modern history by means of both exhibitions and the latest technological facilities. Collections of three-dimensional objects are minimal. No attempt has been made to conceal the essentially industrial nature of the buildings, although a great deal of money has been spent on restoring and modernising them and their appearance has been greatly enhanced. Web sites have been created, detailid digital models of historic buildings constructed, films and documentary programmes developed -the 30 minute documentary, Miletus, a City in Four Dimensions, won first prize in the 1998 Amiens Festival of Archaeological Films. A beginning has been made with a genealogy project, which aims at reconstructing the family trees of the majority of Asia Minor refugees. The line of descendants will be continuously enreched as more and more children are born.

A data bank has been set up, covering most aspects of the Hellenic presence in Asia Minor over the course of centuries. It begins in the 12th century BC and continues at present until 1930.

There is to be one major educational exhibition each year. For 1998 it was on National Events and Historical Memory; for 1999 it is The Development of Hellenic Costume through Time, and for 2000 Hellenism in Asia Minor. The educational programme is directed particularly at young people, from 10 to 18, although it is designed to bring history alive and make it meaningful to all age-groups.

There is an Internet Cafe, with monitors on every table at which visitors can access all the Foundation's multimedia projects, as well as similar web sites around the world. The motto might be either 'Dont' waste a moment', or 'Learn while you eat and drink'.

The capital costs of the project have been met by the Foundation, but donations and sponsorship are being employed to finance new projects.

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