Identity
Identity
The Penelope Gandhi Mission is a pioneering initiative of the University of the Mountains.
The work of the Mission is guided by the Rector, Mrs. Eleni Glykatzi Ahrweiler.
Cultural heritage, the connection of the past with the present, the link between generations and their values, as well as issues of environmental and aesthetic education, the re-internationalization of Cretan/Greek culture, are just some of the benefits of this initiative, which intervenes creatively in society by developing small-scale, high-value economies and new home-based forms of production.
Years
Actions
Villages
The Penelope Gandhi Mission team, for the past 10 years:
It documents, utilizes, preserves, and showcases the wealth of Weaving.
It creates Weaving Hubs – Centers of Weaving throughout Greece.
Since 2007, it has organized over 480 weaving activities (visits, discussions, knowledge exchanges) in Crete, the islands, and Greece.
It records meetings with weavers, stories, chests of woven fabrics, techniques, tools, textiles, embroidery, and patterns.
It designs and organizes successful Exhibitions-Interactions for weaving & yarn-meaning.
It re-internationalizes Greek Cretan culture by connecting with global forums of art and science.
It sows flax, produces silk, processes wool, and produces handmade yarns.
It dyes with natural dyes & purple, like the Minoan Cretan girls.
It creates certified Minoan textiles/fabrics for the market, museums, and collections.
Students discover the power of tradition through hands-on programs that bring the loom into the classroom and knowledge into practice.
Exhibitions and collaborations internationally
Penelope Gandhi travels in Greece and abroad, showcasing weaving as a bridge of culture, peace, and freedom.
Scientists teach weaving in primary schools as an elective course (in collaboration with the Ministry of Education), with 120 interventions in 90 schools in Crete since 2008. The goal is to connect knowledge with life, developing skills for culture as an economic tool for the future.
The Penelope Gandhi Mission team is supported by weavers of the Cretan Workshop, volunteers, international scientists-artists, Greek professors, academics from Europe and America, the University of Crete, the Technical University of Crete, the Mediterranean University, municipalities, schools in Crete, the Benaki Museum, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, and folk experts.
Exhibitions – Interactions
The Penelope Gandhi Mission implements innovative educational interventions in collaboration with professors from the Department of Education at the University of Crete, the Regional Directorate of Education of Crete, the Ministry of Education, the European School of Heraklion, the school advisors of Crete, and the Research Center of Greek Folklore of the Academy of Athens.