MGSA Innovation Fund Recipients: April 2026

[MGSA exec. director]

The MGSA Innovation Fund Committee is pleased to announce the award of three (3) Innovation Grants for the April 2026 cycle.

Alexander Kitroeff,  ELIAM

Greek Historical Archives of the Eastern Mediterranean 

$1,000

This project focuses on the urgent preservation and digitization of a rare collection of approximately 300 letters discovered on the island of Kasos, dating from the 1880s to the 1930s. The correspondence, linking Kasos with Alexandria and Port Said, offers unique insight into the social, economic, and migratory networks of Greek communities in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in relation to the Suez Canal region. By digitizing and making these materials publicly accessible, the project preserves fragile archival sources and opens new avenues for research on Greek diaspora history and everyday life, while advancing ELIAM’s mission to document and disseminate the Greek experience in the region.

Dimitrios Machlouta, McGill University - Immigrec in collaboration with the Hellenic Library of Montreal.

Preserving the Legacy of Greek Montreal through Digitization of Community Archives and Oral Interviews

$1,000

This project aims to preserve and expand access to the history of the Greek community in Montreal through the digitization of rare archival materials and the transcription of oral interviews. In collaboration with the Hellenic Library of Montreal, the team will digitize fragile community records—including newspapers, books, and directories—while also preparing a corpus of interviews exploring language, identity, and everyday life among Greek Canadians. By making these materials accessible through Immigrec’s digital infrastructure, the project enhances research resources in Modern Greek Studies and contributes to the preservation of an important diasporic heritage.

Katerina Zacharia, Department of Classics - Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, Loyola Marymount University

Voices from the Margins: Artistic Initiatives for Social Inclusion in Contemporary Greece 

$1,000

This project develops a publicly accessible podcast/vidcast series that explores contemporary Greek culture through conversations with artists, filmmakers, and cultural practitioners. Building on the LMU Greek Cinema Week program and its partnership with the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, the series highlights themes of migration, displacement, identity, and social inclusion in modern Greece. By documenting and disseminating these voices through open-access platforms, the project expands the public reach of Modern Greek Studies, fosters transnational scholarly and artistic networks, and provides a durable digital resource for research and teaching. 

Congratulations to all our award recipients! And sincere thanks to all applicants for sharing their work with the committee. 

New deadline: October 1, 2026

https://www.mgsa.org/Initiatives/innovation.html

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Vangelis Calotychos

MGSA Executive Director

Visiting Associate Professor

Department of Classics

Brown University