Digistoryteller for Refugee Attica is a digital platform that documents the history of the arrival, settlement, and gradual integration of Asia Minor refugees in Attica, focusing on the period 1914-1949, with particular emphasis on the years 1922-1928. In contrast to common narratives that focus on the catastrophe itself or the later development of refugee 
municipalities (after 1934), this project focuses on the initial, difficult phases of settlement. It investigates the refugees’ constant movements until they found suitable living and working conditions, their efforts to survive through small businesses, the lack of access to basic goods, and the forms of solidarity they developed. Through archival research, aspects such as urban planning, political implications, relations with locals, and their economic integration are brought to 
light. Digistoryteller operates on two levels: first, it offers routes in various municipalities, enriching historical information for each point of interest with multimedia material such as photographs, music, audio testimonies, video interviews, and recipes. Second, it encourages public participation through a crowdsourcing system, where users can contribute their own documents, family stories, and testimonies. In addition, the project website includes thematic sections that analyze the historical context of the refugee settlement. Finally, the project innovates by creating physical products, such as three-dimensional puzzles and maps, that connect to the digital environment, offering a multi-faceted learning and exploration experience.
Project Τitle: Digistoryteller: Refugee Attica
Project Duration: August 2022-February 2024
Project URL: https://digistoryteller.eu/
Project Framework & Funding:
Operational Program “ATTICA” 2014-2020
Total – 360,405.96 euros (for UNIWA 118,380.96 euros)
Scientific coordinator (UNIWA): Angeliki Antoniou
Consortium – Partners:
- University of West Attica
- Humanities Research Center
- Diadrasis Ladas I and SIA IKE
- Aphrodite Kamara and Co. O.E.
- Social cooperative enterprise of collective and social benefit Innovative Cultural Items
Research Publications / Results / Patents
Antoniou, A., Chrysanthopoulos, C., Efthymiou, F., Papastathis, K., Theodosis, S., Kamara, A., & Triantafyllou, I. (2024). Τhe Digistoryteller project: walking around refugee Attica. Journal of Integrated Information Management, 9(1), 37-43.
Antoniou, A., Lampada, D., Kamara, A., & Kyriaki-Manessi, D. (2024). Phygital Heritage Experiences in Refugee Attica. Journal of Integrated Information Management, 9(2), 20-23.
Antoniou, A., Lampada, D., Kamara, A. (2024). Phygital Heritage Experiences in Refugee Attica. In proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on the Conservation of Monuments in the Mediterranean Basin (MONUBASIN 2024), Egaleo, Greece
Kamara, A., Antoniou, A., Lampada, D., Papakonstantinou, M. (2024) Digital cultural apps and sustainability: Digistoryteller and its potential, Proceedings of CAA GR, Serres, Greece (in press)
Invited Talks
Antoniou A. “Digital storytelling and local refugee memory: an educational competition”, conference of the Piraeus Group Cultural Foundation entitled “Local history, a school project?”, October 7, 2024. https://www.piop.gr/el/Activities/ekdiloseis -mouseia/IA-pagkosmia-imera-ekpaideutikou-2024.aspx
Antoniou, A. “Educational technologies in cultural information: the case of refugee Attica”, two-day conference of the Municipality of Kaisariani with the theme “Refugee settlements: Issues of management and promotion of local historical memory. The case of Kaisariani”, June 28-29, 2024.
