The Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Directorate for the Management of the National Monuments Archive were awarded a prize in the category “Best Applied Idea” in the thematic section “Education and Culture” at the Digital Governance Awards 2020-2021 for the project “Archaeological Cadastre”. The award was presented by the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni to the team responsible for the project.

On the award for the project “National Cadastre”, Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, noted: “Digital applications make a dynamic contribution to the rational, sustainable management, promotion and protection of cultural heritage. At the same time, they create new possibilities for accessing cultural assets in an easy and functional way that was not possible in the past. The Archaeological Cadastre is a modern tool that makes it possible to plan the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage and the use of national property in an informed manner. It is of capital importance for the smooth planning and execution of public works, but also for the development of investments, offering to every interested citizen or investor, valid and direct information about the real monuments and archaeological sites in each region of the territory, their status and special conditions of protection. Through the Archaeological Cadastre, the Ministry of Culture and Sports actively contributes to the wider effort to complete the National Cadastre and other related platforms for the management and exploitation of public property. The effort of the project team was very laborious and demanding, and today’s award is a moral recognition for all the Ministry staff who contributed to the completion of this complex project. Through innovative digital applications, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism contributes in practice to the simplification of procedures, the improvement of accessibility to public information and, in general, to the digital transformation of the country.”

The award was presented by Lina Mendoni to Maria-Xeni Garezou, Deputy Head of the Directorate of Management of the National Monuments Archive and Head of the Department of Management of the National Monuments Archive and Archaeological Cadastre, and to the team members Christina Romanou, archaeologist, Nikos Syrris, computer engineer, Eugenia Kalogeratou, architectural engineer and Yannis Karachalios, civil engineer. The project team was also headed by Eugenia Gerousi, Head of the National Monuments Archive Management Directorate, and historian Irini Spyropoulou. The award ceremony was also attended by the Secretary General of Culture George Didaskalou.

The Digital Governance Awards are awarded for the first time to public sector bodies or public officials and civil servants who designed or implemented innovative applications during the period 2020-2021, aiming at the digital transformation of public administration and the improvement of the administrative environment in the country. On the occasion of the first award ceremony, the National Register of Mitos Procedures, which brings all administrative services under a single umbrella, was also presented.

The Archaeological Cadastre is a key pillar of the National Monuments Archive, which together with the Digital Repository of Movable Monuments constitute a single digital register of the entire national cultural heritage, through which all elements of material cultural heritage throughout the country are available and usable. The Archaeological Cadastre includes more than 18,000 monuments, 3,800 archaeological sites and historical sites and 845 protection zones, all of which are recorded on a digital archaeological map of the territory accessible through the web portal https://www.arxaiologikoktimatologio.gov.gr/el.