The Ionian Islands Museum Network was created two years ago in the midst of the pandemic, arising from a dialogue and synthesis of ideas between representatives of museums and cultural institutions from the islands of Zakynthos, Ithaca, Corfu, Kefalonia and Lefkada. Like all museum organisations, it marked International Museum Day, which is celebrated on May 18, with a series of events on the theme “The Power of Museums” held between May 15-17 on Corfu.

The Ionian University and its Museum first established the network. “Since 2020, in an effort to strengthen their extroversion, the Ionian University and the Museum have set themselves the goal of strengthening the policy of cooperation in the field of museums and culture, in order to create a strong network with institutions that will give additional prestige to the efforts to promote and manage the cultural capital of the Ionian Islands. In this context, it coordinated the efforts to establish the network, which led to the signing, by the representatives of 13 non-profit museum organisations of the Ionian Islands, of the memorandum of cooperation and then of the internal operating regulations,” said Stavros Vlizos, network coordinator, associate professor and director of the Museum Collections of the Ionian University, talking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA).

“Everyone’s shared belief is that the viability of this effort is ensured only through a democratic nature of operation, the participation of volunteer representatives from all bodies and advisors in the working groups, the effective structure, as well as the final decision-making by the plenary. It is obvious that the cultural institutions of the Ionian Islands that accepted the invitation of the Museum of the Ionian University turned this initiative into a collective effort based on solid foundations with auspicious prospects for development,” Vlizos stressed.