The SYMIS WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION was founded in 1946 following
a proposal by our fellow townswoman Pasithea Zouroudi Salingarou, who
had spearheaded the establishment in Athens of the Association
of Intellectual Women of the Dodecanese. Wishing to unite all the
women of the Dodecanese in the national struggle for the just demands
of the Dodecanese people, she proposed the establishment of branches
of the Union of Intellectual Women of the Dodecanese throughout the Dodecanese.
So she also proposed to the women of Symi that a
branch be established through her cousin, Teacher Georgios Zouroudis, with
activities in the Symi branches of the UNION OF INTELLECTUALS
WOMEN OF THE DODECANESE. However, the women of Symi did not want to be dependent on Athens, and so in 1946 an autonomous Association was founded under the name Union
of Women of Symi. Many women supported the movement.
The Association’s goals were purely charitable, offering extensive charitable work to the island’s community, since in those years immediately following
World War II, life for the residents was very difficult.
In 1983, the bylaws were amended with the primary aim of
protecting and supporting the island’s underprivileged children and
providing the means for their education, as well as promoting the full economic, political, legal, and social equality of women, and preserving and promoting
Dodecanese folk art. Thus, the Association’s activities since 1983 have been diverse to this day. Over the years, it has been highly active in the fields of culture, as well as the promotion and preservation.
In 1983, the association’s bylaws were amended with the primary aim of
protecting and supporting the island’s underprivileged children and
providing the means for their education, as well as promoting the full economic, political, legal, and social equality of women, and preserving and promoting
Dodecanese folk art. Thus, the Association’s activities since 1983 have been diverse to this day. Over the years, it has been highly active in the fields of culture and the promotion and preservation of tradition.
It began teaching traditional dances from the local area and gradually
from all over Greece.
Today, it maintains a costume collection with more than
250 traditional outfits, runs a school of classical ballet
and contemporary dance, and a theater workshop, and supports the festival of
Symi, participating in 5 events each year. It also invites
various cultural associations to participate. It travels
at the invitation of other organizations and participates in festivals outside
Symi. It organizes folk art exhibitions, revives the island’s customs, and
participates in all of the island’s cultural events. It is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors whose term is two years and has approximately 150 members.