The Academy of Athens recently completed a survey in order to assess Greece’s policy on digital research in the arts and humanities. The aim of this survey is to provide feedback to support the strategic aims of DARIAH. It identified potential stakeholders and invited major research and cultural heritage institutions to express their views on the current state of affairs.
The main research questions which the survey aimed to answer were as follows:
- Whether Greece has developed a cultural policy for the arts and humanities;
- If and to what extent are organisations aware of digital humanities as a new methodology;
- Who are the policy makers;
- Who are the potential stakeholders;
- Whether and in what way are institutions willing to contribute to DARIAH;
The survey also reports on Greek government agencies and their policy with regard to European research directives.
The survey results reveal the views of the interviewees with respect to the existence (or not) of a coherent national strategy in digital research in the humanities. The interviewees recognize the main obstacles for the implementation of a national digital infrastructure and provide an interesting self-assessment regarding Greece as compared to the level of other European countries. They were also asked to evaluate the functional and qualitative level of the readiness of their organisations to support digital research and to provide information on their participation in digitisation projects.
Another question aimed at establishing main funding sources. In examining views regarding their participation in DARIAH, interviewees were offered a selection of options of ways in which they could engage (e.g. through access to content or contribution to users’ requirements activities).
According to the conclusion of the report, the results of the questionnaire regarding the awareness of the organisations and their willingness to participate in broader initiatives are an encouraging sign of progress, but cannot alone guarantee a promising future for digital humanities in Greece.
The lack of a national infrastructure and a corresponding strategy cannot be overcome without the establishment of a body which will advise key policy makers and focus its efforts on coordination and education.
The Greek Research Infrastructure Network for the Humanities (DYAS) is a new network of universities, research institutions and cultural heritage agencies established to bridge this gap and provide coordination and guidance to digital scholarship in Greece.
DYAS will:
- Provide a platform for exchanging ideas, knowledge innovation and experimentation
- Help overcome isolation of researchers and the duplication of research activities
- Offer a collaborative environment in which research institutions will be able to enhance the quality of humanistic research.
The network will elaborate a proposal for linking the network with the European infrastructure DARIAH and will engage in a number of dissemination and training activities.
The DYAS consortium aims to build a collaborative national platform for the coordination and dissemination of humanities research at the national level. One of its main targets is to bridge the efforts of institutions and to save efforts and funds by avoiding the duplication of research. At the same time it will set agreed standards to which to adhere.
However, initiatives by institutions need government backing. A comprehensive national digitisation strategy formulated by the government at a national level is essential. The work is being done on the ground; it now requires the input of government to bring it together into a national policy and a trusted digital repository.
