The Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni and the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Stylianidis proceeded to the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on the issue of dealing with the effects of the climate crisis and the development of Civil Protection plans for archaeological sites under the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

The signing of the Memorandum was announced in advance during the working meeting of the two Ministers on November 18, 2021.

In particular, the following actions are envisaged:

• Assess the need to review existing Civil Protection Plans as a result of climate risks and the vulnerability of Cultural Heritage elements.

• Recording the conditions for drafting where required, new Civil Protection Plans or reviewing and strengthening existing ones.

• Launching procedures for the preparation of priority Civil Protection plans for specific climate hazards and archaeological sites that will be indicated by the Ministry of Culture.

• Designate additional needs in infrastructure, equipment and human resources to support existing or new Civil Protection Plans.

• Planning and drafting scenarios and conducting priority exercises in high-risk areas.

• Awareness raising activities on the effects of climate change through programs and activities in museums, archeological sites, and schools.

• Cooperation with the European Civil Protection Mechanism (EIORM) and other International Organizations (INE500, I00KOM etc.) for the use of relevant experience in crisis management and emergencies in the field of Cultural Heritage.

The two Ministries set up a joint working group. Konstantinos Kartalis, Professor of Environmental Physics at the Department of Environmental Physics of the Department of Physics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, is appointed Scientific Officer for the implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation.

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