The Laboratory of Archival Documents and Press of the Department of Philology [ΕΑΤΤ] of the University of Patras, which was founded 10 years ago (August 2016–2026) on the initiative of Katerina Kostiou, professor of Modern Greek Literature, is organizing a multifaceted event on Friday, October 9, and Saturday, October 10, titled “Archive, Literature, Education, and Cultural Democracy,” as part of the Welcome UP 2026 program. This event is aimed at writers, the academic community, people from the public sphere involved in literature and culture, as well as the country’s intellectual community, and of course students and the entire university community. The aim of this initiative is, on the one hand, to thank the writers or their heirs who trusted us and donated their archives to the EATT, and, on the other hand, to inform those interested in research about the ways in which the archival material can be utilized.

The first archive donated to the EATT was the Argyris Chionis Archive in 2017. The First Scientific Conference on his work was held in 2021, and this year the first doctoral dissertation on the intertextual structure of his literary universe was completed. As can be seen on the EATT website (https://eatt.philology.upatras.gr/), the collections already include archives of important writers and periodicals (e.g., Giorgis Pavlopoulos, Giannis Patilis, Aris Maragopoulos, Socrates Skartsis, Athina Kakouri, Neni Efthymiadis, Athina Papadaki, Iro Nikopoulou, Planodios, Peripolos, Oropedio, Odos Panos, and others), while the acquisition of other archives is pending. It should be noted that these acquisitions are made based on the Laboratory’s capacity to utilize the archival material and in accordance with the research interests of the Department’s faculty and collaborators.

The event is also aimed at authors and people in the literary world who wish to learn more about how the EATT operates. The event includes a presentation on the EATT’s ten-year history and overall activities. What sets the EATT apart from other, more robust and established literary archives is its institutional connection to research and education. EATT functions not only as a repository but also as a research center, integrated into an academic institution (the Department of Philology at the University of Patras) and linked to the graduate program. Given that interest in the concept of archivality has been rekindled in our digital age, the event will also include an international conference on archives, featuring presentations by authors, scholars, and academics, all of whom are connected in some way to archives (Athina Vourvou, Christos Lazos, Elli Lemonidou, Aris Maragopoulos, Christos Bintoudis, Giannis Patilis, Francesco Scalora, and Giorgos Tsaknias).

The event will take place at the University of Patras Conference Center and at the EATT premises. On Friday afternoon, October 9, at 5:00 p.m. at the Conference Center, there will be a presentation of EATT’s overall activities, including the experience of the virtual reality project “Places and Languages in Joyce’s Ulysses.” On Saturday, October 10, starting at 10:00 a.m., a one-day conference on archives will be held at the EATT premises, featuring guest speakers from Greece and abroad, as per the program.

The admission is free. You may access full schedule here.