Pavlos Geroulanos, Member of Parliament for Athens 1 from PASOK – KINAL, proposed the separation of Greece’s monuments on a global, national and local scale with a proportional distribution of resources by the central state or local government. 12th Regional Development Congress in Patras.
He also suggested that landmarks should be classified according to their type into archaeological or topographic interest, noting that these categories enjoy protection and promotion. “In conservancy, I would undertake the protection and maintenance of the monuments, while the function of the monuments, the services around them and their promotion are emphasized. If it doesn’t have the whole package, it’s not remarkable,” he said.
He pointed to Agios Andreas in Patras as an example, explaining that there is no point in highlighting a monument individually. According to him, for such a monument to contribute to the cultural development of the city, it must connect with all the other amazing things around it, such as visiting it, then hiking or skiing, tasting some wine or even going clubbing.
He said that in order to promote a local monument globally, you need to ensure that you can manage the reception it will receive, citing the Patras Carnival as an example, stating that a local and then a global event must meet the relevant criteria each time to modernize it.
Mr. Geroulanos pointed to the need for a change in mindset and the importance of local planning and national funding, stressing that incredible resources have been needlessly wasted by fragmentation for many years. “We currently have the greatest concentration of power and wealth. “If there is no decentralization of wealth, you cannot fight with huge inequalities,” he said.
Lucie Kuligova-Manolopoulou, director of the Athens Czech Center of the Czech Embassy, and Atanasia Papathanasiou, head of the Letters Department of the Ministry of Culture, took part in the discussion on “Cultural development – the front line”.
The 12th Regional Development Conference (RGC) takes place at the Culture and Conference Center of the University of Patras from Thursday 30 May to Saturday 1 June and is organized by “PELOPONNISOS” Newspaper, Regional Policy Observatory, Western Greece Region. and the University of Patras.