The Initiative

Our Vision

Cycladic Identity aspires to actively contribute to the protection of the cultural and natural heritage of the cycladic islands, where the Cycladic culture was born and where it evolved, and to positively affect the local communities in their everyday lives. We pursue this mission by supporting projects that help preserve, restore and reveal the unique elements of the cycladic identity. As cycladic identity we identify those elements and activities that fall under the areas of Culture, Environment (with special focus on Biodiversity) and Intangible Heritage of the islands.

Today, local societies are more vulnerable than ever to increased tourism, the abandonment of traditional customs and their rituals, but also climate change. Cycladic Identity seeks to provide the means and motivate the islanders to actively participate in the preservation of their own heritage, by safeguarding those elements that led them from the past to the present and can lead them to a sustainable future.

BIRTH OF THE IDEA

The Museum of Cycladic Art has been positively impacting the Greek society since 1986, producing significant cultural, educational and community work, through its unique archaeological and contemporary art exhibitions, and innovative cultural, educational and community programs.

Beholden to the cycladic islands and their unique heritage, during the past years, the need to expand the Museum’s mission and reach the islands to express this gratitude has grown stronger.

In 2022, these thoughts matured and gave birth to Cycladic Identity, an initiative that wishes to establish a direct dialogue with the local communities in the Cyclades, aiming to identify their needs and support projects that contribute to the preservation of the cycladic identity.

Cycladic Identity acts as a donations’ and sponsorships’ platform, raising and allocating funds to organizations and projects implemented in the Cyclades.

Fundamental elements of the operation mechanism are:

  • Mapping of the unmet needs of the islands
  • Identification of existing activities
  • Acquaintance with the organizations that act in the area of the Cyclades
  • Identification of the capacity and potential of those organizations

ADVISORY BOARD

Supporting the initiative’s vision by providing valuable funding and contributing to its strategic planning, as well as validating the final selection of programs to be funded, is the Cycladic Identity Advisory Board. Individuals of high caliber, known for their social sensitivity, the members of the Advisory Board have a long-term commitment to the initiative’s mission, ensuring that a solid, impact-driven strategy is implemented at all times.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Joining the Cycladic Identity mission and ensuring that important needs are identified and impactful projects are financed through objective assessment, is the Scientific Committee consisting of experts of national and international recognition. The members of the Scientific Committee, apart from being highly esteemed scholars in their fields of expertise, possess deep knowledge and understanding of the unique characteristics of the Cyclades and are close to the local communities.

ADMINISTRATION TEAM

The Cycladic Identity Administration Team consists of the President and members of the Museum of Cycladic Art human resources, as well as specialized external partners, who together are responsible for organizing, coordinating and supervising all actions related to the Cycladic Identity initiative.

Learn more about us

ΤΗΕ CYCLADES

The Cyclades are a group of islands, small patches of land in the Aegean Sea, which connect Asia with Europe. Humans have been present in the Cyclades since prehistoric times, inhabiting today 24 out of the 33 islands. In this geographical space, which formed a route for trade and the exchange of ideas from prehistory to the present day, the famous cycladic civilization flourished between 3.200-1.100 B.C. The Cyclades, despite the individual specificities of each island, share between them a unique identity that is expressed in the abundance of their historic monuments, their natural wealth, the expressions of their heritage through traditional arts, professions, customs and human relations. This identity is what the Cycladic Identity initiative envisions to preserve and reveal.