A program of educational and social activities at the Athens Olympic Museum, supported by a grant from SNF
Supported exclusively by SNF, the program aims to promote the values of Olympism and highlight the inextricable link between sports, culture, and education. It entails the development of interactive educational installations and activities building on the museum’s permanent collection, events to activate the museum space, and external programming.
As part of SNF’s international grantmaking to empower humanity, including by promoting the value of education and culture as shared assets that belong to all of us, the Foundation supports the work of the Athens Olympic Museum and its efforts to expand access to the history and philosophy of Olympism. SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos said, “We are proud to be able to support the Athens Olympic Museum, helping people enjoy educational and social programs at the museum, and beyond, that promote values such as our common global Olympic heritage and a sense of fair play, in sports and in every other field of life.”
The SNF grant includes the design and creation of educational facilities, the development of interactive sports simulation exhibits, the production of materials for activities and implementation of inclusion and accessibility programs within the Museum, as well as the design of resources to be able to hold of activities outside the Museum. Participants in Agon activities will have the opportunity to discover the history and values of the Olympic spirit and the Olympic Games, the two pillars of the program, through experiential learning, exploration, and educational activities.
The Agon program encompasses activities designed for a variety of audiences and age groups: children and students, young refugees, visitors with partial or total vision loss, caregivers, young people, families, older adults. It’s for all those who want to experience what it’s like to be an Olympic or Paralympic champion, for visitors who want to explore the history of Olympism in its birthplace. Individual programs will start rolling out gradually from the end of 2021 through spring 2022.
Odisseas Athanasiou, Chief Executive Officer of LAMDA Development, which initiated and supported the design and development of the Athens Olympic Museum, recognized the importance of this collaboration. “I would like to sincerely thank the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) for its grant to support the mission of the Athens Olympic Museum to disseminate the history and values of Olympism to an ever-wider audience of all ages, Greek-speaking and non-Greek-speaking. SNF’s contribution to fulfilling the vision of the Athens Olympic Museum has been invaluable.”
Just five months after its opening, the Athens Olympic Museum has already welcomed visitors of all ages from Greece, Europe, Asia, and America; has organized educational visits by school groups, clubs of young athletes, and groups of unaccompanied minors; and has hosted its first summer camp, all as part of its educational mission.
With the rollout of Agon, an Olympic Legacy, the Olympic Museum of Athens continues to evolve, enhancing its educational potential and making the common cultural asset of Olympism and its history available to the public through the creation of programming at and beyond the museum.
