Last Monday morning, the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, visited the General State Archives in Psychiko. There, 55 million pages of historical, administrative and cultural state archives are being scanned — documents dating back to the founding of the state that require special handling and expertise. The minister then visited dozens of other institutions where the same process is underway: documents that until recently were piled up in basements, storage rooms and old record offices are now being digitized and will soon be accessible through modern information systems.

This is a colossal project in terms of both size and importance, one that will change every citizen’s daily life. So far, 817.5 million pages have been scanned manually, one by one. This represents 68% of the total number of pages to be digitized. With a budget of €590 million from the Recovery Fund (plus an additional €161 million in VAT covered by national resources), this is the largest archive-digitization project ever undertaken — over 1.2 billion pages — including their integration into new, comprehensive information systems. Everything must be completed by the summer of 2026, when the Recovery Fund program ends.

State Archives – 55 million pages are being scanned

Preservation
Documents of immense historical value are being saved from humidity, rodents, time — and even recycling. But our daily lives will also change, because digitization transforms the way Public Administration operates. Forget searching in basements and files, going up and down stairs and dealing with stamps: once archives become digital, they can be interconnected, analysed and used for more targeted policy planning, faster procedures and improved everyday functioning of public services.

From the administration of Justice to healthcare and the management of public land ownership, the ability to access reliable information in real time radically changes how the state operates.

State Archives – 55 million pages are being scanned

Conclusion
The project goes far beyond the transfer of documents from paper to screen. It is a substantial institutional reform that lays the foundation for a Public Administration that is more modern, more efficient and more citizen-friendly. Unsurprisingly, the minister is personally monitoring the project. “At this moment,” Mr. Papastergiou tells Proto Thema, “we are implementing the largest digitization project ever carried out in the country.

For the first time, archives from Justice, Health, the Cadastre and Urban Planning departments are becoming genuinely accessible and usable, drastically reducing bureaucracy. Citizens and businesses will be able to easily and quickly find the records that concern them, in digital form.”