“Kymi’s Echoes” project aims to revitalize the Folklore Museum of Kymi, reigniting its connection with the local community through living memories.

Local museums in Greece often face multiple challenges. The once thriving Folklore Museum of Kymi, is no exception. It now struggles to meet modern museological standards, due to financial constraints and understaffing leading to an increasing risk of detachment from the local community.

In 2023 - 2024, Diadrasis implemented the educational programme "Kymi’s Stories". The primary aim was to bring the youngsters closer to the Museum and to encourage their active participation in the preservation and promotion of their intangible heritage. Children were called to connect the Museum exhibits with the living traditions of Kymi by collecting oral stories. As the project nears its completion, we are currently reviewing the collected stories, which will soon be published in a digital repository on the Museum's website.

The local educational community embraced the project with enthusiasm. Drawing upon valuable insights from both the locals and the Museum's staff, we recognized the potential of the employed methodology and the need to expand the project. Therefore, with “Kymis echoes”  we propose a scaled-up version wherein a wider range of locals will actively preserve and promote their cultural heritage. 

Specifically, more community members, including children living in remote areas, teachers, local associations etc., will receive training on oral history practices in order to gather oral testimonies that will enrich the existing digital repository of the Museum. These stories will then give voice to the exhibits -via QR codes- offering the visitors an authentic storytelling experience by the locals.

By utilizing the power of oral history our goal is to renew the bonds between the community and the museum, enhancing the community's sense of belonging, and turn oral stories to a dynamic tool for interpretation. 

Kymi’s Echoes: Reviving the Local Museum through Living Memories 

"Folklore Museums stand as a 'living' repository of memories and the past. The moment we first stepped into the Folklore Museum of Kymi, we realised we had found a treasure: a gem of stories we should listen to". 

“Kymi: a European port with a past glory” 

Kymi is a harbour town located on the island of Evia in central Greece. The town is often called "The Balcony of the Aegean'' due to its strategic location and breathtaking landscape. Since ancient times, Kymi has served as a vital marine crossroads, engaging in trade activities with the most known coastal European cities, such as Marseille. 

The 19th century was a turning point for Kymi witnessing significant changes and growth, not just economically but also culturally. Trade, agriculture, and maritime activities have shaped the tangible and intangible cultural identity of Kymi. The neoclassical buildings in the town, with distinctive European influences, serve as a tangible reminder of the maritime glorious past and the trade routes with Europe. While, on the other hand, traditional songs, still heard today, written for sailors by their women awaiting their return remind us of the connection between everyday life and intangible heritage.

Despite the architectural remnants and nostalgic songs that echo the past, today only a few reminders evoke Kymi’s glorious past. One such reminder is the Folklore Museum of Kymi, which not only preserves the past but also keeps local history alive for future generations. Moreover, the living memories of the people could serve as another intangible evidence of Kymi's abundant cultural heritage.

“The Folklore Museum of Kymi” 

Founded in 1980 and housed in a historical building, the regional Folklore Museum of Kymi is the largest and best-organised one on Evia island. The Museum’s exhibits - almost two thousand-  are dating from the period of 1800 to 1930, including household objects, agricultural tools, clothing and decorative arts. 

While during our visit, we were impressed by the extensive collection, we  often had hard times comprehending the exhibits and their narratives. Soon it became obvious that the museum follows outdated museological standards, where emphasis was given on quantity of items  rather than  on quality in terms of interpretation. This "more is more" approach, with the extensive collection, certainly overwhelms visitors and detracts from their ability to comprehend the exhibits.

When founded, the Museum was embraced by the community with numerous volunteers, funders, and supporters, but nowadays it faces significant challenges. The lack of funds affecting the Museum’s operations and visibility also prevents it from sustaining its previous role at the core of community life. Activities are decreasing each year, posing a significant threat: the local community's distancing and overall neglect.

To tackle part of these challenges, we decided to bring the community back to the Museum and strengthen once again their connections... and thus, the "Kymi’s Stories" project was born. 

Our past project: “Kymi’s Stories”

"Kymi's Stories" has been an educational initiative by Diadrasis in the years 2023-2024. Its primary objective was to record, preserve, highlight, and promote local intangible cultural heritage through the active participation of children. Discovering through interactive learning the rich collection of the Folklore Museum of Kymi, young people connected the Μuseum's exhibits with the living traditions and memories of Kymi by collecting oral testimonies.

For this purpose, the project developed in three complementary stages (Education - Data Collection- Dissemination): 

Starting from the Museum and its collection, the students explored the Museum and the local intangible heritage via educational games and activities. After their Museum visit, students were called to research and record on the field the traditions of their community by collecting oral testimonies. To facilitate this, a series of workshops on oral history collection methodologies and practices were designed and delivered. At present the project is about to complete. Till April, the best stories, which are currently reviewed and rated will be published to a digital repository hosted on the Museum's official website.

What’s next? 

Analysing lessons learned and insights by the local community, we recognized the potential of the employed methodology and the need to expand the project. Therefore we propose the “Kymi’s Echoes: Reviving the Local Museum through Living Memories”, which will further benefit both the Community and the Museum in terms of broader engagement, museum’s interpretation and sustainability. 

The project aims to revitalise the Folklore Museum of Kymi and reignite its bond with the local community through living memories.

For that purpose, we suggest the following: 

a) Scale up the project and broaden its impact 

Following discussions with local stakeholders, there is a clear desire to evolve and expand the project in order to engage a wider range of community members, among youngsters. We seek assistance to reach not only more individuals from the surrounding areas, but also established groups, such as local cultural institutions etc, from diverse backgrounds, in order for them to participate in oral history workshops and become part of preserving their local cultural heritage. 

Following the successful steps and methodology of the pilot project, the collected oral stories will be published to the existing digital repository, hosted on the Museum's website making them accessible to a wider audience and promoting at the same time community centred efforts working with heritage. 

B) Turn oral testimonies  into an interpretation tool 

“Kymi’s Echoes”, will not stop in the collection and one way dissemination. On the contrary, searching for interaction and innovation, the collected oral testimonies will themselves become interpretation tools within the Folklore Museum of Kymi. Specifically, we will create QR codes that will link oral testimonies from locals to selected museum exhibits, giving the opportunity to visitors to listen to the authentic voices of the local community. In this way, the proactive local community will be rewarded for their contribution by  becoming “co-curator” of their Museum. 

Our vision is by leveraging the power of oral history to strengthen the bonds between the community and the museum, increase the community's sense of belonging, and turn oral history into a dynamic tool for interpretation.

European heritage should be accessible to everyone, regardless of background or social status. It should serve as a source for personal growth and development. Thus, Diadrasis offers diverse cultural activities to interactively experience heritage, mainly to rural communities like Kymi's that are often excluded from the country’s cultural panorama. With “Kymi’s echoes'' we invest in oral testimonies as a leverage of social cohesion, spreading the European value of Cultural  collaboration (k) among diverse communities. 

Focusing on the various layers and cultural diversity (b) of the region participants will be of diverse ages, religion and nationalities, ensuring inclusive participation for all in cultural activities. For ensuring inclusion, attention will be given to youth participation by involving students from rural surrounding areas, often lacking such opportunities (i). 

In this way all community members will be welcomed to  share their stories and become an active component of the Museum’s narratives (d). Local people are undoubtedly the protagonists of this project. It is their story that will give voice to the museum's exhibits, actively shaping the narratives of their place (e). With the use of technology - QR codes- a small rural community will have their voice heard and engage with new and wider audiences(l). In conclusion, this project blends tangible and intangible elements of rural European heritage actively interconnecting heritage, history, and present cultural life of Kymi (f).