How often have we all heard a story and then, when its teller is gone, have regretted not recording it?
In offering creative and meaningful work to young people, Istorima invites everyone to take part in ensuring that the past -our past- is preserved.
Istorima is a non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of an extensive Greek oral history archive through temporary jobs creation for hundreds of young people across Greece. Istorima is implemented through a founding grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as part of its Recharging the Youth Initiative, which has the goal of helping create new opportunities for Greece’s younger generations.
Created by co-founders Sofia Papaioannou, a journalist, and Katherine Fleming, a historian and NYU Provost, Istorima will provide temporary employment and training for over than 1.500 unemployed Greek youth over the next four years as they fan out across Greece, collecting oral histories in their home locales.
Istorima’s team of field reporters will collect histories and stories, old and new, on an array of historical eras and across the spectrum of topics. They will encourage their family members, friends, and townsfolk each to share their own narrative so that Greece's stories will be not be lost.
Over the course of the four-year grant period, Istorima aims to record over 50.000 stories. They will be preserved and catalogued in an archive accessible to researchers and the general public alike. Select stories will be made available, both in video and podcast, on www.istorima.org
Greek youth underemployment remains high, and the exodus of young Greeks from the country continues unabated. Istorima’s express goal is to help Greek youth find employment and remain in Greece. It aims to more deeply connect young Greeks to their place and to their history, and to bring people together through the shared telling of stories.
The first call for field recorders can be found at www.istorima.org