Implementation of programs and activities aiming at the enhancement of the intercultural dialogue, the social inclusion of vulnerable groups (including women), raising awareness and social cohesion (see more in Sections 4 and 6).

The arm’s-length organizations of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, plus those it regularly subsidizes, alongside a number of Municipal Authorities throughout the country, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, libraries and local schools, as well as private cultural bodies, often organize awareness raising activities addressed to the broad public on combating racism and social exclusion, through art.  Furthermore, many cultural bodies organize actions to promote the artistic work of creators from vulnerable groups (disabled artists, former addicts, migrants, etc.) and their equal participation in the cultural life of the country – see more in Section 4.

All the public and most of the private cultural organizations and institutions have a ticketing policy for vulnerable groups – see more in Section 4.

Promotion of Policies for Gender Equality (in the field of culture) – see more in Section 6.

Development of research in the fields of culture, tourism and the cultural and creative industries, by a number of research and technological centres, natiowide. 

In August 2014, the new organogram reformed the structures in the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. As regards contemporary culture, the competent General Directorate reorganized. Some of the changes favor, inter alia, the promotion of cultural diversity as they facilitate the development of vertical activities/policies in the whole spectrum of contemporary culture.  It is noteworthy that, in the new organogram, the 2005 Convention is clearly mentioned and its implementation has been assigned to two General Directorates: the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, in concert with the General Directorate of Contemporary Culture. In this way, the protection and promotion of cultural diversity is pursued through the cooperation between cultural heritage and contemporary culture, primarily with synergies and integrated policies in the cultural and creative sectors.    

The Ministry of Culture and Sports/Department for Regional Cultural Policy and Festivals has developed a digital platform, where the cultural activity of municipal and other cultural agencies across the country is promoted, articles and studies concerning cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue are posted, and a database of the festivals (cultural, scientific and more) taking place each year in Greece is available.  Future plans for the above platform include making it available in more languages.

Also, in 2011, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture established the “Cultural Operators Portal", an online source of information about cultural operators across the country, including statistical data on their profiles, activities, base of operations, legal status, employment status, geographical scope, etc. Thus far, 1686 cultural agencies from all over Greece have been registered, submitting their profiles and possible requests for funding.

The National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) was the reference document for the programming of European Union Funds at a national level for the 2007–2013 period. Greece’s strategic planning for that period was implemented through eight (8) Sectoral Operational Programs (OP), five (5) Regional Operational Programs and twelve (12) European Territorial Cooperation Programs. These programs were funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 

In the NSRF 2014-2020 culture is mainstreamed in practically all sectoral and regional operational programs, since culture, together with tourism and the cultural and creative industries, has been identified as one of eight priority sectors which are expected to make a greater contribution to economic growth. The implementation of the NSRF in the sector of culture is expected to further promote and enhance the heritage of all periods for the benefit of wider audiences, to support contemporary culture, institutions and creators, and in particular to strengthen its support for the cultural and creative sectors that have been recognized as important drivers of growth. Promoting employment, education, and life-long learning and enhancing institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administration in the culture sector are among the priorities of national policy. 

The “Creative Europe-Greece”, Desk is responsible for the promotion of the “Creative Europe 2014-2020” program of the European Commission in Greece. -“Creative Europe-Greece”, Desk - Department of International Relations and European Union of the Ministry of Culture and Sport.

The Ministries of Culture and Sports and Foreign Affairs in bilateral cooperation agreements constantly propose the inclusion of a specific reference of the 2005 Convention. These bilateral cultural agreements and programs are guided by the objectives of the Convention and some refer explicitly to them.

Greece participates actively in all of the European Union organs and institutions. Greece’s presence in international fora has a major historical dimension (founding member of the UN, longstanding member of the EU) and is of particular importance given that respect for international law and human rights are a fundamental component of Greek foreign policy. Greece actively participates in the institutional procedures. Our country attributes particular significance to the Council of Europe’s role. Greece, also, participates in all groups of Open Method of Coordination meetings.

The Ministry of Culture and Sports participates in international art exhibitions, Book Fairs and music exhibitions (MIDEM & WOMEX).

The Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs coordinates the activities of the European "e-Twinning" program.Greece is among the top-ranking countries as regards the participation of schools, the teaching community and pupils in the program.

Many of the country’s research institutes collaborate with their counterparts worldwide and participate in international networks and programs on cultural issues.

For the purpose of promoting the diversity of cultural expressions, the public Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT SA) cooperates with the EBU (of which it is a founding member), as well as with COPEAM, in the exchange of cultural programs.  ERT SA also participates in the EUSCREEN  program with documentaries from its archives (cultural and educational programs from 1980 to 2012).    

A number of Greek Municipalities participate as active members in European and other international networks of cities, in order to exploit the potential for further development through peer-to-peer learning and the exchange of know-how and by enhancing their position in the area of cultural and creative industries and thematic tourism, among other areas.  

Since its establishment in 1992, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture has founded branches in Odessa, Alexandria and Berlin. It also operates offices or centers in London, Vienna, Brussels, Washington, Trieste, Belgrade, Bucharest, Tirana, Sofia and Melbourne. The Foundation is active in offering Greek language courses, organizing cultural events and producing publications aimed at promoting the Greek language, literature, arts and culture abroad. Furthermore, the HFC heads the Greek network of the Anna Lindh Foundation for Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and Dialogue between Cultures, and is a member of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC). 

In 2007 the European Cultural Centre of Delphi (ECCD) established “the Young Artists program”, featuring a series of workshops, master classes, lectures and artistic presentations for students and new artists from all the fields of the performing arts, with the aim of encouraging young artists and art students from Greece and other European countries to enter into a creative dialogue, to become acquainted with each other’s artistic proposals and to work together to produce the final result. (EUNIC). In this framework, the ECCD, in cooperation with the network “L’Union des Théâtres de l’Europe" (UTE) and the National Theatre of Greece, organizes a range of activities.

Τhe Ministry of Culture and Sports offers bursaries to foreign students for the International Summer School for Greek Language, History and Culture which is run by the Institute for Balkan Studiesbased in Thessaloniki, in order for the students to improve their knowledge of Greek history, culture and language. During the period 2012-2014, the Ministry bursaries to, among others, 30 students from countries with developing economies (Egypt, China, Republic of Korea, Israel, Turkey, Mexico and Argentina).

The International Writers' and Translators' Center of Rhodes (IWTCR) was established in 1996 by the Municipality of Rhodes with the aim of creating a forum for intellectuals, writers and translators. Since its foundation, the Center has run a program of residencies for writers and translators and, since 2008, for researchers and artists from all over the world.

The Center provides accommodation free of charge for a period of two or six weeks. The guest is obliged to acknowledge that part of his or her work, when it is published, was written during their stay at the Center and also send a copy of it to the Center. Furthermore, their stay must, guests must actively participate in events that either they or the Center proposes.

In 2012-2015, the Center offered residence to 7 writers and translators from countries with developing economies (South Africa, Turkey, Pakistan and India) and to 19 writers and translators from countries with economies in transition (Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia).

In 2012, the Green Cultural Routes were run on a pilot basis in the prefectures of Attica, Rethymno and Lesvos with the collaboration of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs, local authorities, environmental organizations and local community organizations.

Walks in nature, themed guided tours to archaeological sites, natural sites and museums, educational programs for school groups and families, lectures and short presentations are the focus of a ten-day period (1-10 June) closely associated with World Environment Day on the 5th of June. 

The Green Cultural Routes have been designed by the Museum Directorate in the framework of the National Action Plan for Education on Sustainable Development. The action is to promote sustainable development by training citizens to protect and promote aspects of the country’s cultural heritage and natural environment. The action was implemented in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in 3, 12 and 29 districts respectively, while this year involved more than 150 organizations in 31 counties of Greece.

In 2015, 34 archaeological sites and museums of the Ministry of Culture and Sports planned numerous events throughout Greece, in collaboration with 21 municipalities, 17 primary and secondary education schools, 5 centers for environmental education, 4 universities, schools, cultural associations, environmental organizations, unions and civil associations, and many volunteers.

In the last few years, an ecosystem of various public and private entities, including a number of co-working spaces and clusters has been operating in the area of CCIs in Greece.

The cultural and creative sector in Greece is facing numerous challenges, namely the rapid change caused by the digital shift and globalization, market fragmentation relating to linguistic diversity, difficulties in accessing finance, complex administrative procedures and a shortage of comparable data. 

The Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Development, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, has included the cultural and creative sector as one of the 8 priority sectors of the new Operational Program Competitiveness-Entrepreneurship-Innovation (OPCEI) 2014-2020. Also, the above Ministries cooperate with each other for the enhancement of SMEs.

The General Secretariat for Research and Technology has funded a substantial number of   R&D projects for the period 2007-2013 in the area of cultural heritage, focusing on preservation, restoration of monuments, ICT applications and digital content, and cultural tourism.

Agora, Thessaloniki’s Film Market ( part of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival )  and - with a constant presence through all these years - established a productive and unique form of helping and introducing professionals from South-East and Central Europe, the Balkan region, the Mediterranean as well as the rest of the world to invited industry professionals, consultants, tutors and potential collaborators.

A private sector example   is the case of Corallia gi-Cluster.  It  has a strong focus on video games   and the visual arts.

The General Secretariat for Gender Equality (within the structure of the Greek Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction) is the governmental agency responsible for planning, implementing, and monitoring the implementation of policies on equality between women and men in all sectors. The GSGE drafted the 2010-2013 National Program for Substantive Gender Equality, which  was a program of national scope. Its actions covered all the country’s regions, addressing a wide range of regional as well as national public policies.  The GSGE is now updating the 2016-2020 National Action Plan for Gender Equality, to which the theme “Gender and Culture” is being included, indicating the significant role of culture in the process of securing gender parity. In 2012-2015, the GSGE continuously acted  in concert with cultural institutions and other agencies to promote gender equality through a coherent set of cultural activities. Furthermore, the GSGE monitors the signing of the “European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life”. To date, the Charter has been signed and accepted by all (13) the Regional Authorities of Greece, as well as by 163  (out of 325) Municipal ones.