conference

BUSINESS ARCHIVES IN GREECE

POSSIBILITIES AND PERSPECTIVES

Business records have broad scientific and social value. The central role played by the economy and business activity, through the production and circulation of goods and services, makes them important elements of local, regional and national cultural heritage and tools for knowledge extraction in the fields of economic and social history.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the rescue, and research utilization from the familiar historiography, of historical records of businesses and economic project organizations. This development is linked both to the development of economic history in Greece, and to the realization on the part of some companies of the value of saving their historical records in order to promote their corporate image. However, the belief remains that a significant amount of business records remain at risk, in conditions that threaten their final destruction. Lack of relevant culture, unclear legal status, business and family choices often determine the loss to the archival and historical community of the relevant archival stock.

The main objective of the meeting is to highlight availabilities and gaps. More specifically, the work of the conference will concern: a. the mapping of the main categories of records of companies and bodies/entities of related archival collections and the description of their possible particularities, b. the presentation of new examples and good practices of saving historical records by public bodies and private companies, and, c. finally, outlining the goals and priorities to be set by the involved scientific communities, as well as other interested parties, for the further development of the field.

Organized by National Hellenic Research Foundation-Hellenic Society of Economic History 

20 Οctober 2023, 09:00-17:00
National Hellenic Research Foundation, “Leonidas Zervas” Hall,
Vas. Konstantinou 48, Athens