The "Accredited Museum" badge was officially awarded to Kazantzakis Museum by Greek Culture Minister

On Friday 29/9/2023, the Minister of Culture and Sports Mrs. Lina Mendoni, bestowed the official award of the "Accredited Museum" label to the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum. The award ceremony took place in the context of the 3rd Information Meeting for the Accreditation and Certification of Greek Museums entitled "Inclusive, attractive and sustainable museums" which took place at the National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum.

The decision of the Ministry of Culture and Sports to designate the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum as an "Accredited Museum" was announced in the summer of 2022 and was the successful conclusion of a long, difficult but also constructive process that began five years ago under the coordination of its former Director, Mrs. Varvara Tsakas.

With the decision to award the "Accredited Museum" mark, the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum became the first museum in Crete and only the 10th in Greece to receive this title. Thus, it was certified by the Ministry of Culture and Sports that the Museum meets specific quality standards, that it has demonstrably applied good practices in all areas of its operation and that it meets to a high degree the demanding criteria for recognition of a Museum (legal form, organization in professional and scientific standards, preservation of cultural heritage, economic operation, quality of human resources, fulfillment of educational and social role, development of partnerships, and goal setting).

At the awarding ceremony of the Badge by the Minister of Culture, representatives of the four organizations that were awarded the "Accredited Museums" badges spoke about the Accreditation experience, Ms. Alexandra Rapti, Director of the Piraeus Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP), Ms. Annie Psarra, Vice President of the Board of Directors Municipal Gallery of Larissa – Museum G.I. Katsigra, Prof. Michael Taroudakis, President of the "N. Kazantzakis Museum" Foundation and Mrs. Tatiana Averof-Ioannou, President of the E.Averof-Tositsa Foundation.

During his speech at the event, which was also attended by the Director of the Museum, Mrs. Marilena Milathianaki, the president of the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum pointed out: "The recognition of the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum by the Ministry of Culture is an important reward for the hard work of its executives who, under difficult circumstances, try to keep the spirit and work of Nikos Kazantzakis accessible to the whole society. The recognition came after a demanding but also multi-beneficial evaluation process which started in 2018 and was completed last year, on the eve of the celebration of the forty years since the foundation of the Museum which we are celebrating this year".

The Recognition of the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum is closely linked to the development of its activities and the outreach actions carried out in the last decade and could not have been achieved without the long-term support of the Grand Sponsor of the Kazantzakis Museum, Mr. Vangelis Marinakis.