The worldwide community of museums celebrates International Museum Day on 18 May 2018.
A plethora of events are taking place in the museums across Greece, while admission will be free to the public. Guided tours, exhibitions, art workshops, educational programs, speeches, virtual tours, concerts, theatrical performances, poetry recitations, workshops and interactive digital presentations are some of the events the public will be able to enjoy.
The Hellenic Chapter of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), which has selected today for the celebrations, chose a museum to be honored for 2018. It is the OTE Group of Telecommunications, located in Kifissia, which highlights its collections and work that is directly related to the theme of this year’s celebration.
The Telecommunications Museum is an investment of the OTE Group for the preservation of the cultural heritage and the history of telecommunications in Greece. Its collection includes over 3,400 items and rich archival material with more than 25,000 telephotos, documents, telegrams, maps, as well as audiovisual material. It also uses advanced digital technologies to guide visitors and interact with the exhibits.
The theme chosen for 2018 is “Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics”.
The objective of International Museum Day is to raise awareness of the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.” Organised on and around 18 May each year, the events and activities planned to celebrate International Museum Day can last a day, a weekend or a whole week.
Participation in International Museum Day is growing among museums all over the world. In 2017, more than 36,000 museums participated in the event in some 157 countries.