Redundancies at the Foundation of the Hellenic World
Something is rotten in the State of Greece. This time the stench comes from the Foundation of the Hellenic World, which used to promote research on Greek civilisation outside the strict borders of the modern Greek state. This private Foundation (though heavily subsidised by the government) reached its peak a decade ago, when I received my postdoctoral fellowship from them. They funded my research on the Economy of Roman Asia Minor under the guidance of Prof. Stephen Mitchell at the University of Exeter. Today the tables have turned. I have just found out from a reliable source that they have already fired two archaeologists/ historians, a philologist and a sociologist, while they reduced a numismatist’s post to one day per week. And bad news keep coming. The administration decided to cut 18 % of the staff’s salaries. Salaries that have not been paid for the past two months anyway. Of course, more redundancies will soon follow. How many researchers will be jobless by the end of 2012 is only a matter of conjecture. It all depends on the finances of the foundation, the financial state of Greece (which we all know is not rosy), the TROIKA. By now we are well aware that historians and archaeologists are not highly valued in Europe, where economics has become the new religion. And I am wondering, has any of the powerful European politicians considered how the world would look like without historical knowledge?
Surely not!!!
And even less have they thought that humanistic and social studies, along with knowledge deriving from studying mistakes and corrections made in the past, could be of so much help in imagining at present time and implementing in the future a human-scale development for the world…
And we will all pay for this!
“though heavily subsidised by the government”
That’s a joke!
The total contribution by the Greek government (some 5 to 6 years ago) was a little less than 0.3% of our operating budget!
(I work for FHW, but my views and opinions do NOT represent the Foundation. I just know the facts.)
I stand corrected in that but I do hope you revealed your identity. How else do you expect to be taken seriously?
What about indirect funding by the state?
A great number of school pupils on a standard basis is sent to participate in the FHW educational programmes for school groups, but with an expensive ticket. Doesn’t that count, besides other forms of (obvious or covert) aid?
This is not the only private foundation to be favoured of course…
Anyway, the crucial matter at hand is that four people were summarily FIRED while an attempt to organize a “syndicate” was under way.
The latter, of course, died before birth…
The truth of the fact does not change according to the “reporter”.
After all, what’s in a name? a rose by any other name would smell as sweet..
And as for the “peak a decade ago”, the Louvre would disagree with you…
http://pella.virtualreality.gr/
and the Ministry of Education as well…
http://local.e-history.gr/
(to name a few)
Anyway, as Pirandello might say, “Right you are, If you think so”.
Have a nice day.
Since you seem to care so much for truth, by the way, is it true that currently the FHW employees are coerced to sign new contracts, with a 15-20% reduction to their wages?
How trite…
At the same time, are the new contracts falsely scheduled for 6-hour work per day, while the working hours are still 8 (eight) for every employee?
How humane… perhaps illegal too…
What about the indirect funding by the state?
A great number of school pupils on a standard basis is sent to participate in the FHW educational programmes for school groups, but with an expensive ticket. Doesn’t that count, besides other forms of (obvious or covert) aid?
Moreover, the crucial matter at hand is that four people were summarily FIRED while an attempt to organize a “syndicate” was under way.
The latter, of course, died before birth…
By the way, is it true that currently the FHW employees are coerced to sign new contracts, with a 15-20% reduction to their wages? How trite…
At the same time, are the new contracts falsely scheduled for 6-hour work per day, while the working hours are still 8 (eight) for every employee?
How humane… rather illegal too…
These are all very serious allegations that should be explored further! If it is true, then we are dealing with fraud on top of everything else!
This is yet another awful aspect of the Greek crisis.
Today, someone said that ‘if you work as an archaeologist for 3 years, you can never work in Greece as an archaeologist again (what on earth is that???)’. Do you know if that’s true?
I understood that you “only” had to change contract/employer. (I agree that even that would be a stupid law, but it wouldn’t be as stupid…)
Thank you for your blog!
Archaeologists in non permanent posts can work in the public service for no more than 60 months (5 years). After that they can work only in the private sector. This rule is not just a disgrace, it is stupid. The government excludes the experienced archaeologists!
Thank you. I’ve found a couple of things on the eikositetramino (and a friend has affirmed that it really is as stupid as it sounds), so I’m going to write an English-language summary of that. I’ll be sure to mention the “eksintamino” when I do.
It is, simply put, an outrage! Archaeologists used to work for years with contracts, hoping most time in vain for better conditions of employment.
This hostage status marks now a whole generation…
Young people in the recent years face an irrational state that has no remorse to fire experienced employees. Moreover, here in Greece, where in the name of reason can archaeologists (conservators, etc) work, if not in the public sector? Make no mistake, there are very few private excavations and quite few other positions relevant!… and, as the FHW case indicates, opportunities and conditions in such private institutions can be rather questionable…
Nonetheless, the whole thing with this restriction is not only immoral and ridiculous; most probably it is also UNCONSTITUTIONAL (antisyntagmatiko) and even against European legislation. But someone has to make a case out of it and eventually prove it in a court of law. Politicians obviously won’t do it, for jurists, I can’t tell…
“questionable”?
Is this: http://excavations.ime.gr/ “questionable”?
(not to mention this: http://excavations.hellenic-cosmos.gr/ )
My remark was “rather questionable” and I had specific things in mind. Anyway, about the first link I would have nothing to comment, but on the second… well, since you asked, rather questionable, indeed!…
It is quite known that the latter excavation is referred by FHW insiders as the “big hole” and for no good reasons. Ironically enough, the person responsible for the research and publication of this installation (ληνοί, πατητήρι, etc) is one of the people fired. The “big hole” is internally deemed as being responsible, in part, for the Foundation’s dire straits, but the whole story might be bigger and the hole may go deeper.
Now, there goes another intriguing feature:
Undertaking a EU-funded project, in connection e.g. with the purchase of a large German coin collection (2007). Digitization of the coin collection by a FHW-linked company and then a money prize (2010), with the participation of the said company in the evaluation (very matryoshka-doll angle!). Then, suddenly, in 2012, the numismatist working on the coin collection was asked to work one day per week… Hmm, maybe something is rotten also in a certain private Hellenic foundation…
The History and Archaeology Department of the FHW doesn’t exist anymore. The owners of the foundation decided to shut down the department. All staff members (except two) were fired last week.
What?? Who left?
As far as I know, everybody but two people (who they were transferred to other depts so there’s no History and Archaeology Dept).
I think somebody should make a big fuss about this!
And here’s the evidence…
http://www.fhw.gr/people/index.php?tmima_id=10&lang_id=en
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