About Us
OUR CAUSE
Keeping our heritage alive
Our Heritage is what we have inherited from the past, to value and enjoy in the present, and to preserve and pass on to future generations.
Heritage is important in helping shape our identity. It provides clues to our past and how our society has evolved. It helps us examine our history and traditions and enables us to develop awareness about ourselves.
Preserving our local heritage is important because it has the potential to re-energise neglected areas and provide opportunities for local people and those living in the diaspora to re-view, re-connect with and re-interpret their heritage, to help generate a greater sense of pride and belonging in the local area through increased participation.
Maintaining and enhancing our heritage provides a basis for local economic development and innovation in tourism, agriculture, education and business generally.
BERBATI HERITAGE runs under the auspices of THE PROSIMNI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION and aims at making the village’s history and cultural heritage accessible for education, research and recreation.
THE TEAM
Chris A. Zervas
Chris was born in Berbati in 1956, to Anastasios Zervas and Anastasia Sotiriou. In 1969, when he finished his first year of high school in Argos, he and his sister Sophia joined his parents who had emigrated to Bellingham (WA) in the United States.
In 1978 he graduated from the University of Washington (UW) with a degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Technology Engineering Management and embarked on a 41-year career with Boeing Company where he worked with design groups to incorporate environmental, health, safety and ergonomic aspects in product designs.
For the past 20+ years, Chris has been a dedicated family historian and has compiled a tree going back to the late 1700’s with more than 120.000 people in dozens of villages in Greece.
Chris is one of the founding members and a board member of The Prosimni Educational Foundation and the owner of BERBATI HERITAGE.
For the purpose of building this website, Chris teamed up with devoted hobby historian and web developer Patricia van der Wal, known for her cultural conservation work in neighbouring Stephani and who -as a descendant of the “Staikos” Koutsouris family- happens to have roots from Berbati.
Our Story
The Prosimni Educational Foundation
THE PROSIMNI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION is a non-profit organization based in the state of Washington (USA), founded on the initiative of our expatriate fellow villagers Georgios Andreas Zervas and Christos Anastasios Zervas.
The primary mission of the foundation is to contribute to the strengthening of alternative educational structures of secondary education, based in Prosymni (Berbati), to the provision of quality healthcare services for our fellow villagers, but also to the promotion and protection of the cultural heritage of the place.
The foundation’s primary mission is to raise funds for the support of various institutions that play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our youth and preserving our heritage.
OUR COMMITMENT
What we care about
Music School of Argolis
The Foundation proudly supports the Music School of Argolis by providing much needed resources such as music instruments, computer systems, infrastructure to nurture the talents of young aspiring musicians.
The Music School of Argolis was founded in 2009 and has been residing in the building of the former high school of Prosymni that was built in 1973 by the village’s great benefactor, the late Ioannis Karamanos.
Art School of Argolis
The Foundation’s efforts extend to the Art School of Argolis, where we invest in the education of aspiring artists, ensuring they have access to quality training and modern equipment.
The Art School of Argolis is one of only nine art schools in Greece and was founded in June 2021. The school is housed in the building of the former elementary school of Prosymni (Berbati), legacy of the village’s great benefactor, the late Ioannis Karamanos.
Folk Museum of Berbati “Marios G. Zervas”
The Foundation is dedicated to preserving our community’s rich cultural heritage by supporting and funding the establishment and ongoing operation of a historical museum, which will serve as a beacon of knowledge and cultural pride for the village.
The Museum will be housed in the old primary school of Prosymni (Berbati) located in the central square of the village.
Local Clinic of Prosimni
The Foundation is deeply committed to advancing healthcare by donating essential medical instruments to our local clinic, ensuring that quality medical care is accessible to all.
The local clinic is housed in the village’s community building.
Contact Us
Address
21250 Prosymna Argolis
Send Us a Message
Here’s how you can contact us for any questions or concerns.