The physical and digital archive of the Greek broadcasting service of the Voice of America, one of the original language services of the network, is now donated to the Hellenic American Project (HAP), a nonprofit program under the Department of Sociology of Queens College in the City University of New York.
Sixteen boxes containing the Greek Collection of legacy broadcast media, as well as more than 60 digital video files were recently transferred to HAP, after the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA’s parent agency, and the Hellenic American Project Cultural Center, Inc. signed a memorandum of agreement in July 2022. The Collection included Greek broadcasts, as well as interviews with key figures that spanned the period of approximately July 1969 to June 2014.
After 72 years on the air, Voice of America’s Greek Service signed off for the last time on August 11, 2014. It was established on November 1, 1942, and went on to cover historic turning points of modern Greece, from the civil war in the late 1940s to the accession of the country to the European Union, and Greece’s struggles ten years ago to remain an integral part of the E.U.
“It is really important for us to make sure that our legacy broadcasting archives are preserved for the benefit of future researchers and historians,” said Acting VOA Director Yolanda Lόpez. “VOA’s historic broadcasts in Greek can become an important resource for the study of U.S.-Greece relations over the span of more than 70 years.”
The Hellenic American Project documents the presence of Greeks in the United States from the first wave of mass immigration in 1900 to the present. HAP operates as a research facility, archive, Greek American library, museum, and event space on the campus of CUNY-Queens College.
"The Voice of America Greek Service archive is an amazing resource for students, faculty, scholars, and the general public,” said Nicholas Alexiou, professor of sociology at Queens College and founder and director of the Hellenic American Project. “With this acquisition, VOA’s contributions will continue for the Greek American community and beyond."
