On Line Provision of Exhibitions (GR0030)

The library and the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for the Parliamentarianism and Democracy organize exhibitions aimed at the study and promotion of the concepts of democracy and parliamentarianism, the search for collective memory and collective identity formation.
Digital platform processing of exhibitions, adopting technologies for virtual visits to the natural exhibit sites, enabling open access to exhibitions via the internet and mobile devices promote   citizens’   awareness and understanding of parliamentary function.
The development of an interactive relationship between the Parliament and the citizens, through educational and cultural activities, encourage their involvement in Parliamentary affairs, while enhancing Parliament openness.

Commitment 4.6. Online provision of exhibitions

Commitment text

The library and the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for the Parliamentarianism and Democracy organize exhibitions aimed at the study and promotion of the concepts of democracy and parliamentarianism, the search for collective memory and collective identity formation. Digital platform processing of exhibitions, adopting technologies for virtual visits to the natural exhibit sites, enabling open access to exhibitions via the internet and mobile devices promote citizens’ awareness and understanding of parliamentary function. The development of an interactive relationship between the Parliament and the citizens, through educational and cultural activities, encourage their involvement in Parliamentary affairs, while enhancing Parliament openness.

4.6.1. Adopt digital exhibitions platform

Milestones –Timescales

Completion by October 2015:

Platform adoption for exhibition collections’ digital viewing on the internet that will provide easy access to people with disabilities. Implementation should be based on international standards and protocols, open documented and published interface systems with third-party programs, open communication protocols and open environment for data transfer and exchange with other systems (National Documentation Centre, Europeana).

•       Development of applications for specialized services for exhibitions’ virtual tour.

•       Development of applications for access to digital exhibitions from mobile phones and other popular mobile platforms.

§  Digital exhibitions platform

Implementation (gradually) by June 2016:

•       Selection of exhibition collections to be transferred to digital platform.

•       Examination of the possibility of documentation and presentation of exhibits in multiple languages.

•       Digitization of exhibits.

•       Identification of copyright for each element to be used in digital exhibition.

•       Virtual tour for selected exhibitions. o Gradual publishing of digital exhibitions online

Editorial note: Commitments 4.5 and 4.6 have been clustered for the purpose of analysis in this report. They will be discussed jointly in the narrative below.

Responsible institution: Hellenic Parliament

Supporting institution(s): None

Start date: July 2014            End date: June 2016

Commitment Aim:

These commitments seek to improve Parliament’s social media services to provide regular and organized communication with citizens and improve public access to information, education and participation. They also endeavour, through Parliament’s Library and the Hellenic Parliament Foundation for the Parliamentarianism and Democracy, to create a digital platform where citizens could improve their understanding and awareness of Parliament. These platforms would enable citizens to review processes for historical exhibitions, take virtual visits to exhibit sites, and access exhibits online through mobile devices.^{[Note 29: An example of a Hellenic Parliament digital historical exhibition on the 1967-1974 dictatorship may be found here: http://foundation.parliament.gr/central.aspx?sId=111I451I1151I646I457767.]} The development of an interactive relationship between Parliament and the citizens through educational and cultural activities is intended to encourage public involvement in Parliamentary affairs, while enhancing Parliament’s openness.

Status

Commitment 4.5 Midterm: Not started

The Hellenic Parliament tried to effectively engage with different audiences by enhancing its social media policy and providing access to exhibitions online.

Interaction with the public through social media accounts was minimal by the midterm review. Milestone 4.5.1 attempted to address this issue by creating a unified strategy with overarching goals for social media use. The Hellenic Parliament viewed this commitment as a means of increasing visibility of its actions and as a feedback mechanism for the public. They wished to use their social media accounts to provide daily reports on political issues. Due to Parliament’s limited human resources, officials were not able to enhance properly the current social media policy. Government representatives reported that the Hellenic Parliament staff carried out an internal review of current practices that included possible future social media use scenarios. Nevertheless since this review has not been made available to the public, the Openwise IRM research team concluded this commitment had not started.

Milestone 4.5.2 followed the creation of the strategic goals with the formation of the teams necessary for citizen engagement through social media. At the same time, it aimed to automate some of the content provision. The government had not begun implementation on this commitment by the midterm review.

Commitment 4.6 Midterm: Not started

Milestone 4.6.1 (adoption of digital exhibitions platform) and Milestone 4.6.2 (transfer of collections to digital exhibition platforms) attempted to respond to the Hellenic Parliament’s need to engage further with the public and to create awareness of their mandate. No efforts aiming to secure funding or to provide an online display of Parliament’s exhibitions came to fruition by the midterm review. The government had not begun implementation of the two digital exhibition commitments within the time-frame of the Second Action Plan due unavailable funding.

Commitment 4.5 End of term: Not started

Based on the September 2016 interministerial OGP meeting attended by the Openwise IRM research team, the government made no progress on implementing this commitment.

Commitment 4.6 End of term: Not started

The government had not begun implementation on the two digital exhibition commitments within the time frame of the Second Action Plan due to insufficient funding. Funding never became available and as a result, the commitment ceased to be a priority. Since the midterm report, the Openwise IRM research team could not find evidence of any further attempts by the government to make progress on these two milestones.

Did it open government?

Commitment 4.5

Access to information: Did not change

Civic participation: Did not change

This commitment sought to improve the Hellenic Parliament’s social media engagement strategy. If fully implemented, it would have allowed members of civil society and the public to interact directly with the Hellenic Parliament in a more transparent and meaningful way. These improved strategies also could have offered an additional pathway for public participation during legislative consultation periods. However, due to Parliament’s limited human resources, officials have not been able to enhance adequately the current social media policy and public access improvements have been marginal.

Commitment 4.6

Access to information: Did not change

The online sharing of exhibitions could have allowed the public to engage on less political aspects of Parliament’s work and gain familiarity with its role and operations. Due to Parliament’s inability to fund the specific commitment, the proposed changes did not materialise, and had no effect on opening government.

Carried forward?

The third Greek Action Plan does not carry forward Milestones 4.5 and 4.6. the Openwise IRM research team suggested cooperating with NGOs with relevant social media and engagement expertise could offer an alternative avenue that would allow for the completion of these commitments.