COSMOTE: Free Wi-Fi in museums and archaeological sites of Crete
10/6/20
- Part of a wider program providing free Wi-Fi at major archaeological sites and museums in Greece
- Mycenae and Ancient Corinth in the Peloponnese will follow
COSMOTE is providing free wireless internet (Wi-Fi) at four iconic archaeological sites and museums in Crete: The Knossos archaeological site, center of the Minoan civilization; the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which houses findings from all over Crete, covering over 5,500 years of the island’s history; Spinalonga island in the Gulf of Elounda, which has been home to, among other things, a Venetian fortress, a castle town and a leper colony; and the Museum and Archaeological Site of Ancient Eleuthena, which houses findings from excavations of the ancient city in Rethymno, mainly from the dawn of Greek civilization and the time of Homer.
Free internet will make it easier for visitors to Crete and to these archaeological sites and museums to access information on the history and civilization of the island, and it will enable cultural organizations to develop new, interactive guides and ways of presenting their exhibits.
“Our civilization, archaeological sites and monuments are Greece’s greatest legacy. The modernization of their promotion and the use of new technologies empowers visitors in multiple ways and provides access to our cultural heritage from anywhere on the planet. Especially today, our safe return to normalcy is linked with the use of technology, improved services and our adaptation to the new digital reality. This significant sponsorship from COSMOTE will help to achieve these goals. Investment in culture is investment in our country’s future,” commented the Secretary General for Culture, Giorgos Didaskalou.
“Greek civilization is an anthropocentric civilization, and humans, by nature, want to learn and to share,” Nikos Stampolidis, the Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, emphasised. “People want to share their experiences, information, knowledge, aesthetic with others, Greeks and foreigners. And, through technology, they find ways, via the web, to create guided tours and present artefacts and sites of antiquity.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Sport, COSMOTE has undertaken to provide free Wi-Fi at major archaeological sites and museums throughout Greece, with the aim of promoting Greek history and civilization with the power of technology.
“Using digital media, visitors of Crete and the rest of Greece can send photos, sound and audio files of our culture to the rest of the world. After a difficult time for our country, technology remains a vital tool for enhancing the contact with knowledge and our history, as well as for promoting Greece’s modern image globally. In this perspective, COSMOTE’s provision of free internet equipment and services at major archaeological sites and museums in Greece takes on a symbolic nature. With the help of technology, we are moving ahead and create a better world for all,” noted Stefanos Theocharopoulos, the OTE Group’s Chief Technical and Operations Officer.
Wi-Fi access is already available at the National Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Akrotiri in Santorini, Delphi, Delos, the Archaeological Museum and the palace of the Grand Master in the Medieval town of Rhodes. Infrastructure is currently being installed at the Acropolis of Athens and at Mycenae and Ancient Corinth in the Peloponnese.
COSMOTE has invested over €2 million in this project. The company has undertaken the planning, design and installation of Wi-Fi infrastructure at points selected by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the provision of the necessary equipment, the operation and maintenance of the networks, and free internet services.
The protection and promotion of Greek cultural heritage is part of the OTE Group’s sustainable development strategy for a better world for all.
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