December 2003
Dear Friends of Kythera,
In January in Sydney we'll be making our first live presentation of the www.kythera-family.net, with Kytherian music, drinks, mezethes and an in-depth lecture about the site, its humble origins and boundless future. The website task-force led by Angelo Notaras, George Poulos and I will be there to answer all questions and we look forward to seeing you, your friends and relatives and all who are interested in the heritage of the island of Kythera. It will be held on Wednesday, 14th January, 2004 at 6.30pm in the auditorium of the Castellorizian Club, 448 Anzac Parade, Kingsford, Sydney. Drinks and mezethes will be provided.
See the many historic and often magnificent entries on the big screen; learn about the ambitious goals of the creators of the site; and see what makes Kythera-Family.net one of the most important efforts to collect and preserve our cultural heritage for the world-wide Kytherian community. No prior internet/computer experience or interest is required to enjoy the presentation!
For those of you far from Sydney the only consolation I can offer is that we are willing to do the presentation in other “Kytherian” cities (Brisbane, Canberra, New York, San Francisco) if enough interest is shown. Simply contact me at [email protected] and we can discuss it.
Island Entries
Our collator on the island - Rowan Parkes - has uploaded her first collection of entries and they are extraordinary. Rowan submitted most of the entries under the name of the person who related them to her. One of them - “Kytherian Riddles” - is an old joke which your great-great-grand-parents probably laughed about while picking olives 150 years ago. If you have suggestions as to whom Rowan might interview next or which village needs more exposure on the site then send me your ideas and I will pass them on to her.
Your direct submissions are of course just as important to the site. If you haven't submitted yet, because you are afraid it would be too complicated, we have created an illustrated brochure - “The Users' Guide” - which shows you how to submit in 4 easy steps. We’ll be sending it out soon to all on the Kytherian Association Newsletter mailing list.
Photography Transformed
The photography category of the site was becoming unwieldy with more than 300 entries submitted to it. So it has been transformed from one category into 17 categories, divided under the headings “Photography Island” and “Photography Diaspora”. The main advantage is that those looking for pictures of a specific type, such as “vintage island portraits” or “modern landscapes” can do so without distraction. Please take a look at it and let us know if you think we have missed a category.
Progress
There are, at the time of writing, 722 entries on the site. It is a tribute to all Kytherians that so much material is being actively submitted. More than one hundred visitors are viewing thousands of pages on the site each day. Please help us keep up this momentum by submitting an entry soon.
Sponsorship & Contact:
Although the site leadership work without remuneration, continual additions to the site, the digitalisation of important island archives and the part-time employment of our young Kytherian collators all draw from our website fund. If you are interested in supporting Kythera-Family.net finan-cially please contact Angelo Notaras during business hours on (02) 9810 0194.
The Kythera Site Task-force
Kytherian Association of Australia
P. O. Box A203 Sydney South 1235.
[email protected]
