Research Programmes and Activities 2022

Once more, in 2022, the John S. Latsis Public Beneft Foundation has kept providing its support to the operation and multifaceted work of the Research Centre for the Humanities (RCH), the main purpose of which is the support and funding of research in the Humanities through a wide range of activities, in order to serve as a springboard for young scientists who are preparing their own research initiatives. In addition, RCH organises workshops, conferences and meetings with the aim of further disseminating research results to both the scientific community and the general public.

In 2022, with the support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, the development of the RCH Digital Library progressed. The RCH Digital Library is an innovative publishing endeavour of RCH in collaboration with the National Documentation Centre. The organisational infrastructure of the RCH Digital Library was transferred to a new server of the National Documentation Centre, maintaining the material organised and interconnected to its database. In addition, the research programme “The Greek Revolution of 1821: Digital Archive” is constantly growing with the addition of new material resulting from the collaboration with universities, archives, and research institutions in Greece and abroad. The digital exhibits of the 1821 Digital Archive are also significant, as they present interesting aspects of the Greek Revolution in a modern and comprehensible manner through narratives used for the material interconnected in the Archive. Moreover, aiming to study the practice of participation in the fields of Public and Digital History, RCH collaborated with the Department of History & Ethnology of the Democritus University of Thrace, implementing an Original Crowd Sourcing Initiative, in the framework of which the general public is given the opportunity to contribute a piece of their personal history, the history of their family, or their birthplace, to the overall narrative of the Greek Revolution.

Finally, with the aim of supporting young researchers by offering them a space where they can meet, network and have their work unfold, the RCH has established the new “Research Fellows” initiative, which will allow researchers to join RCH and receive scientific guidance, practical and technical support, as well as financial support during the development of their research proposals. The aim of this new initiative is to create a community that shares common objectives, exchanges ideas and develops activities based on mutual support and collaboration.

• 47 applications for scientific research were submitted for funding in 2022 under the 1st Public Call, while 7 researchers collaborated with RCH as Research Fellows.

 “The Research Fellow initiative, introduced by RCH, offers significant support to young researchers who are trying to secure funding from European and national institutions and programmes. The support we have been receiving while preparing our research proposals is not only financial but also psychological. A systematic effort is made for us to obtain adequate information and expertise and to establish appropriate research networks in order to significantly increase our chances of success, thus contributing to an overall more successful academic career.”

Dr Kleoniki Alexopoulou
Research Fellow,
Research Centre for the Humanities

“The Research Fellow initiative is based on mutual support, one of the fundamental principles of communities. Through participatory processes, we aim for younger researchers to benefit from the experiences, knowledge and support of the senior ones.”

Dr Ada Dialla
Professor, Athens School of Fine Arts
Chair of the Board, Research Centre for the Humanities