Alexandra Mitsotaki is co-founder & president of the World Human Forum, a global citizen initiative which has its symbolic base in Delphi, launching international initiatives from important sites such as Delos, Aristotle’s Lyceum in Athens and Eleusis. In 1998 she founded ActionAid Hellas, the Greek affiliate of ActionAid, the international organisation against poverty and injustice. For the last 10 years she was in charge of the Hellenic Cultural Centre in Paris of which she is now vice-chair. Reacting to the financial crisis in Greece, in 2014 she co-founded Action Finance Initiative, the first microcredit organisation in Greece.

She is a member of the High Level Roundtable of the New European Bauhaus, an initiative of the European Commission aiming to connect the European Green Deal to our living spaces. Her interdisciplinary experience over the past years has made her a profound supporter of the importance of a holistic approach to tackle the big challenges of our time.

Michael Marmarinos was born in Athens.
He has studied biology (major: Neurobiology), acting and theatre directing.

In 1983-4, the “diplous Eros” theatre company was founded, and right after its first production, is subsidised by the Ministry of Culture. After a number of internal transformations and transfigurations, the group was renamed as “Theseum Ensemble” (TE). (www.theseumensemble.com).

His work is ruled by two persisting principles:
a)Theatre is the art on the humble history of people.
b)There is no moment in daily life which is not theatre, once the proper gaze is there.

Three main issues are reflected through his late works:

I. Always attracted by assemblies… This biological tendency of people prompts him to work on Chorus of ancient Greek drama, as an ancient structure that produces contemporary forms within the theatre and every-day life. A structure with unique qualities, a structure capable of producing theatre, text, chaos, history, politics. A structure / device for a contemporary gaze.
II. The possible paths that can urge an actor’s body to the turning point of becoming a performance document.
(Biology and his encounter with Bioenergetics and A. Lowen are of a crucial contribution)
III. Moments, insignificant or coincidental, violently inserted into dramaturgy, pushing it towards a poetry of documental.
This kind of writing tactics, capable of producing text, is what he usually names “Directing as Playwriting”.

Αs well as, Every Theorem inherent in all these phenomena.

Apart from Greece, productions of M.M have been staged – or others have been touring in various international festivals – in :
Austria, Belgium, China, France, Georgia, Germany, Holland, Japan, Italy, Korea, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela.

PHIL COUSINEAU is a freelance writer, documentary filmmaker, independent scholar, creativity consultant, and leader of mythology-based tours to sacred sites all over the globe. He has published over 40 books, including several best-sellers such as The Hero’s Journey: The Life and Work of Joseph Campbell, The Art of Pilgrimage, and The Olympic Odyssey: The : Rekindling the Spirit of the Great Games. His most recent works include The Book of Roads, Who Stole the Arms of the Venus de Milo? and The Lost Notebooks of Sisyphus. Cousineau has also written or co-written over twenty-five award-winning documentary films, including the Oscar-nominated “Forever Activists: Stories from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade,” and the landmark “The Peyote Road: Ancient Religion in Contemporary Crisis,” which helped guarantee religious freedom for Native Americans. Between 2009 and 2019, he has served as host and cowriter of “Global Spirit,” airing on PBS and LINK-TV. Cousineau has worked for decades as a story consultant on Myth in the Movies for Warner Brothers, 20^th Century Fox, Lucasfilm, and Pixar Animation Studios, as well as consulting on the myth of sports for Major League Baseball, and NFL Films. Currently, he lives with his family on Telegraph Hill, in North Beach, San Francisco.

Spyridon Rangos is  (Greece), Director of a Graduate Program, and the President of the European Society for Ancient Philosophy. He has been educated as a classical scholar and historian of ideas in the University of Athens, the University of Cambridge, where he took his Ph.D., the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris), and Princeton University. His research interests focus on the interrelationships between philosophy and religion, and the history of metaphysics in Greek antiquity. He has published extensively on topics ranging from Alcman’s cosmogony and Empedocles’ notion of the divine, to Plato’s “sudden moment”, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and Proclus’ approach to poetry and myth. His new book Θαυμάζειν – Ἀπορεῖν – Φιλοσοφεῖν : The Beginning of Philosophy and Philosophy as a Beginning in the Classical Era will be published shortly by the National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation.

Dr. Anastasia Giannakidou is a Professor of Linguistics and the College at the University of Chicago. She studied Classical Philology and Linguistics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and received her PhD in Linguistics from University of Groningen, the Netherlands. She is one of the founders and the director of the newly established Hellenic Studies Center at the University of Chicago. She is also a co-director of the Center for Gesture, Sign and Language, and a collaborator in the Bilingualism Matters initiative in Chicago. Anastasia’s main interests are on linguistic meaning, the relation between meaning and form, and how language is used to convey subjectivity, including ideology.

Prof. Giannakidou is particularly interested in studying variation and diversity across languages. Her main language of study is Modern Greek; and she has done comparative work on German, Dutch, Spanish, Basque, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese, and has worked on diachronic syntax and semantics. She is the author of numerous articles and books including Polarity Sensitivity as Nonveridical Dependency, Definiteness and Nominalization, Mood, Tense, Aspect revisited. Anastasia is presently working on a book entitled Truth and Veridicality in Grammar and Thought, forthcoming with University of Chicago Press.

Achilleas A. Stamatiadis holds a BA in Government, History, and International Affairs from Northeastern University. He is a Harvard GSAS program alumnus having spent a research year in Cambridge, Mass and
holds an MA in Comparative literature, Ancient Philosophy and Leadership from the
University of Chicago. Upon receiving his MA degree, he was invited to give a series of Lectures on Humanistic Leadership at UChicago’s CHS, CCH in Paris, and The Paideia Institute in New York City. A section of his MA thesis on ‘Heavenly and Terrestrial manifestations of Aphrodite from Pre-Socratic to Victorian times’ was published by University of Pennsylvania’s ‘Discentes’ journal and can also be traced via The Library of Congress online catalogue.

He has served, for a term, as Special Advisor at The Hellenic Republic’s Foreign Affairs Office and is a full-time Mentor at The Trebuchet Convisero Consortium of Tufts University’s Institute for Global Leadership.

In 2023, backed by a team of academics and executives, he established the Faros Leadership Initiative to advance Research on models of Humanistic Leadership, Renaissance Studies, and the revival of Civic Consciousness inspired by Virtue Ethics. As both a practitioner and researcher, he strongly feels that the Humanities have a lot to teach us about World Human Values and aspires to call himself a Humanist via the daily application of such values, in both words and deeds.

Stefanos Gandolfo is director of Columbia Global Center in Athens. He has a distinguished academic background spanning Yale, Peking University, and the University of Oxford, possessing a wealth of intercultural and international education experience.

He led key initiatives to address disability rights and globalise higher education as Special Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister and previously Chief of Policy in the Ministry of Education.

Nikolas Kolonias is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Multidisciplinary Studies Department, Faculty of Fine Art at Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He studied cybernetics, anthropology and eastern philosophy at School of Oriental and African studies (SOAS), University of London and philosophy of aesthetics at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD from Amsterdam University and his dissertation was entitled ‘The Diagrammatic Strategies of Digital Machines’ it examined the optics of the digital image in relation to aesthetics, neuroscience and eastern philosophy of the mind.

He is the author of ‘Art in the Age of Cybernetic  Machines’, (Chiang Mai University Press, 2021) and The Brain  as a Screen – Deleuze and Contemporary Art in Thailand.’  (Chiang Mai 2019).

Aruna is an experienced meditation teacher, with The Brahma Kumaris, a sought-after speaker on spiritual matters, and an author. She has lived in various parts of the world and spent over 40 years studying, teaching and facilitating spiritual self-development. As a speaker, her approach is practical and down to earth, yet infused with a profound understanding of the emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions of life.  Aruna is a certified Negotiator in Conflict Resolution. She is a keen advocate for natural health, which she embodies by practising and promoting a vegetarian, dairy free and healthy lifestyle. She is the author of 8 books and writes a successful blog: https://www.itstimetomeditate.org 

Maria Papadimitriou is a Greek contemporary visual artist. After graduating with an honors degree in painting from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA), Paris, Papadimitriou began practicing as a visual artist in 1989. She realizes her artworks through sculpture, installation, public art, video, and photography.
As an artist she is renowned for her ability to investigate collaborative projects and collective activities that highlight the interconnection between art and social reality. She teaches at the Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, and is the founder of T.A.M.A. (Temporary Autonomous Museum for All, est. 1998) and SOUZY TROS Art Canteen. Since 2017 she is the co-leader artist at Victoria Square Project in collaboration with the American artist Rick Lowe.
In 2003 she won the DESTE prize for contemporary Greek art and in 2016 she was awarded with the rank of “Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques” by the French government. Papadimitriou’s work has been shown internationally in private and public institutions, including NEON Foundation, Athens (2021); Cijaru Association, Otranto (2021); Mario Merz Foundation, Torino (2020, 2019); Biennale Gherdëina (Garden Valley), South Tyrol (2020); Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens (2017); Onassis Foundation, New York (2016); 56th Venice Biennial, Italy (2015); DESTE Foundation, Greece (2014); Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseille, France (2012); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (2011); Royal Academy of Arts, London (2010-11); The Haifa Mediterranean Biennale, Israel (2010); 10th Lyon Biennial, France (2009); Kunsthaus Graz, Austria (2009); 7th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2007); 1st Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (2007); 1st Bienal de Arquitectura Arte Paisaje de Canarias (2006-7); Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Milan (2006); Bâtiment d’Art Contemporain, Geneva (2007); EPO Munich (2006); MM Projects Rincon, Puerto Rico (2004); Olivetti Foundation, Rome (2004); Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid (2004); Manifesta04, Frankfurt (2003); 25th Sao Paulo Biennial (2002).

Civil Engineer from University of Patra (1979).
Seminars for Business Process Reengineering, Sales and Marketing, Management.

Social activity
• Administrator of Elefsina Arts and Culture NPCP
• Founder and Administrator of Friends of Elefsina NPCP
• Ex Vice Mayor of Elefsina
• Member of the Board of Patra University Students Union

Professional Experience
Renewable Energy Advisor 2013-2024.
Entrepreneur in Energy Systems, Café – Restaurant, Publishing House, and Hotel Services 2006-2024.
Business Executive in Private Sector 1987-2007 and 2017-2018.
-in position of Chief Executive Officer, of General Director, Commercial Director, Marketing Director, Sales Director, Customer Support Director (in Renewable Energy and IT Companies)
Freelance / Civil Engineer.
-Studies / Constructions of Private Projects and Constructions of Public Projects since 1979 to 1987.

Major Projects
• Development and Construction for PPCR of large RES projects (PV, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal) and small – medium Biomass, Biogas, Hydro-electric and Geothermal projects.
• Develop Affiliate Network of Multirama shops based on Franchising – on behalf of the Board of Directors.
• Establish a countrywide network product resale and service offering companies – Singular Business Centers / Nationwide network.

Danae Christoudi (GR) was born and raised in Eleusis and has been involved with community, arts, and local initiatives from a young age. She is a final-year student in the Department of Performing and Digital Arts at the University of Peloponnese and has been a member of the Cultterra Association since 2018. Since then, she has participated in capacity-building programs related to culture and the arts. Her initial motivation for joining Cultterra as a teenager was her belief that the city needed more color, light, and energy.
As an artist and cultural manager, she expresses herself through performance art, experiments with materiality, and engaged in analog photography. Her work focuses on the relationships between people, places, and aspects of the self. Since the year of the title, she has been working with the 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture.

Born in Athens. Economist, specialized in the design, implementation and evaluation of European projects, with a focus on culture, capacity building, networking and social innovation. Currently, she is Head of Operations & Programs in World Human Forum. She was Director of Cultural Training in 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture during the period 2018-2024, after joining the team in the second phase of the bidding process of Elefsina for the ECoC title in 2016. She was project manager of a wide portfolio of 2023 Eleusis projects, designed to build capacities in local communities and cultural operators, to organize international conferences and networking meetings, contemporary dance activities and performances etc., as well as taking care of the organisation’s international relations. She is Board member of the Culture Next Network.

Maya Dong is a Bai. The Bai are an ethnic minority living in the Yunnan Province in southwest of China. Raised in a rural village she grew up with nature, earth, trees, water and animals. In 2004, when Maya was twelve, China’s iconic choreographer Yang Liping recognised her talents and invited her to join Yunnan Yang Liping Arts & Culture Company. Maya has danced in Yang’s most important works such as Dynamic Yunnan, Under Siege, and Winter Peacock. She is one of the Company’s longest serving members. 

Farooq Chaudhry, a renowned dance producer, has played a significant role in shaping the British dance scene. Born in Pakistan and raised in London, Chaudhry embarked on his dance career in the 1980s and later pursued an MA in Arts Management from City University.
In 2000, Chaudhry joined forces with artist Akram Khan to establish the internationally acclaimed Akram Khan Company. Through his visionary leadership style, Chaudhry prioritised creativity and developed innovative business models to support Khan’s artistic aspirations.
Chaudhry’s deep passion for the arts, strong business acumen, and genuine desire to connect with communities worldwide led him to serve as a creative producer for various international artists and organizations. Notable collaborations include the English National Ballet and iconic Chinese choreographer Yang Liping, where Chaudhry significantly enhanced their global status and reputation.
As a producer, Chaudhry has made a lasting impact on the global artistic community. Moreover, he has also contributed as an educator, sharing his expertise through consulting, mentoring, and lecturing at esteemed institutions such as London Studio Centre, Goldsmiths University, and the London Business School.
After two decades of challenging conventions, Chaudhry has earned recognition as a global cultural leader. His remarkable contributions were honored with an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University and Goldsmiths University. Additionally, he served as a Tate Trustee from 2019 to 2023 and received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his outstanding work in promoting diverse talent in the dance industry.
In 2021, Farooq Chaudhry founded Feng Ling Productions, a company fueled by a profound curiosity for Chinese and East Asian artists, narratives and aesthetics. The goal is to produce significant international collaborations in dance, music, and theatre. The company’s vision is to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary worlds, presenting works that exude integrity, grace, and inventiveness.

Gerasimos Kouvaras has 25 years of engagement as executive director, instructor, advisor and volunteer in and for the civil society sector at the national and international level. Since 2007, he has been Country Director of ActionAid in Greece and during his tenure, he has also served as an elected member of the Federation Leadership Team of ActionAid International. Before joining ActionAid, among others, Gerasimos served Amnesty International as Director for Greece and the Greek Ministry of Education as Special Advisor on Volunteering and the Youth Sector. In that capacity, he led the National Office for Youth Policies and chaired the Working Group on Youth of the Council of the EU during the Greek EU Presidency in 2003.

Gerasimos is a PhD in Management candidate at Bayes Business School of City University of London and his other academic background includes an MBA from Nottingham Trent University, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki. As an instructor, he has given several lectures and workshops in Greece and abroad within his areas of expertise to audiences including university post-graduate students, UN staff, public officials, NGO senior staff, youth leaders and Tedx attendees. His artistic background includes Opera Studies at the Greek State Conservatory and over 150 performances as a member of the Greek State Radio Choir, an international distinction as Artist Photographer (AFIAP) from the International Federation of Photographic Art, and the publication of a poetry collection of haiku poems in Greek. Gerasimos is currently Vice Chair of the Board of the International Forum for Volunteering in Development (FORUM). Last but not least, Gerasimos is Executive Director of the World Human Forum and coordinator of the Hellenic Inner Development Hub.

Brendan W. Case, Th.D., serves as the program’s Associate Director for Research, working both to develop integrative research strategies that draw together explorations of human flourishing from across the social sciences and humanities, and to disseminate the Program’s work through external partnerships and public events. Dr. Case is the author of  The Accountable Animal: Justice, Justification, and Judgment (T&T Clark, 2021), and co-author (with William Glass) of  Least of the Apostles: Paul and His Legacies in Earliest Christianity (forthcoming from Pickwick Press). His work has also appeared in journals such as  Modern Theology,  Studies in Christian Ethics, Franciscan Studies, and Pro Ecclesia, and he is also a regular contributor to  The Church Life Journal, among other popular outlets. His works in-progress include a long-term project to develop a theological account of love that brings fundamental Christian convictions into conversation with classic debates in moral philosophy and contemporary debates in the social and behavioral sciences. Before coming to Harvard, he completed his Th.D. at Duke Divinity School, and served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.

Jochen Sandig was born in Esslingen, Germany. In 1990 he moved to Berlin to study psychology and philosophy. Following the founding of the Tacheles Art Centre in 1990, in 1993, together with Sasha Waltz, he founded Sasha Waltz & Guests. In 1996 he co-founded Sophiensaele, an independent venue for dance and theatre productions in Berlin-Mitte, which he directed until 1999. From 2000 to 2004 Jochen Sandig was a member of the artistic direction at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz. Since 2004 he has been the director of the independent Sasha Waltz & Guests GmbH. In 2006, together with Folkert Uhde, Jochen Sandig founded radialsystem in Berlin. In 2010 he was awarded the French cultural order »Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres«. In February 2012 he celebrated his first direction work with »human requiem«, a staging of Johannes Brahms’ »Ein Deutsches Requiem« in cooperation with the Rundfunkchor in Berlin and Simon Halsey. Since its premiere the production travelled to Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Granada, Rotterdam, Athens, Hong- Kong, Adelaide and New York. The production was awarded with the »Classical Next Innovation Award 2016«. As a social and political activist he became one of the three co- founders of the World Human Forum in Delphi, Greece. Since 2019/20, Jochen Sandig is artistic and executive director of the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele / Internationale Festspiele Baden-Württemberg. In the year 2022 Jochen Sandig was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Experienced entrepreneur, startup advisor,  and board member, residing in between the worlds of entrepreneurship and academia.  Throughout her career, Eleftheria has dedicated herself to working with women entrepreneurs globally, enhancing their human and professional capacity and building mission-driven businesses.  Committed to guiding startup founders to realise their vision and scale their businesses, she helps them unlock their power within and provides strategic guidance. Her practice is informed by her scholarly work,  which focuses on leader & leadership development with an emphasis on inner growth as a foundation for  external performance, workplace inclusion, and transformation at personal, organisational, and societal levels.  Currently, she is co-editing  a forthcoming book collection on Inner Development Goals. Beyond her professional endeavours, Eleftheria is a fervent community supporter.  Among others, she co-founded the initiative #SheHustlesAfrica in Nigeria together with the indigenous NGO AKAWI to empower African women entrepreneurs and help them solve business challenges and reach their goals.

Marlen Mouliou is Assistant Professor of Museology at the Department of History and Archaeology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and a member of the Special Cross-faculty Committee of the MA in Museum Studies. She is responsible for the Public Archeology activities organised in the context of NKUA’s Excavation at Marathon and Coordinator of CIVIS Alliance Open Labs in the NKUA. In 2023, she has been awarded a Fellowship by Fulbright Foundation in Greece.
In the past, Marlen held several key positions in the International Council of Museums (CAMOC-ICOM), the European Museum Forum and UNIVERSEUM (European Academic Heritage Network). From 2016 till May 2022, she was a Member of the Panel of Judges for the European Museum of the Year Award, and also chaired the Panel for two years. For 16 years, she worked as an archaeologist-museologist at the Ministry of Culture (Directorate of Museums, Exhibitions and Educational Programmes).
Her research interests focus on: the social role of museums, museums as spiritual places, museum history and contemporary museums’ operations, public archeology, etc. In 2020, she created The Museum Inside Me,  a participatory initiative aimed at promoting the public value of museums. Together with Mark O’Neill and Jette Sandahl, she co-edited the book Revisiting Museums of Influence. Four decades of Innovation and Public Quality in European Museums,Routledge, 2021
Marlen studied Archaeology at the NKUA and Museology (MA, PhD) at the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, UK.

Sofia Sfakianopoulou was born in Athens to Greek parents of Egyptian origin. She graduated from the Athens School of Philosophy and has a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Heriot-Watt University. Certified consultant of Immunity to Change, member of the IDGs Hub in Athens, member of Theory U school, mentor of Women on Top. She collaborates with the Cat49 internal communication agency. She has a 20-year career path characterized by continuous advancement that allows her to focus on different business domains and sectors. Her work serves the need to promote sustainable change within organizations, placing people at the heart of these transformations. In today’s world, organisations have the power to make a positive impact on a more sustainable world. Her purpose, in these highly challenging and ever-changing times, is to raise awareness of new ways of working together that lead to more meaningful relationships for both the present and future generations. With concrete and effective tools, she creates the conditions for people (individuals, groups and organisations) to have the urge to continuously grow and be an authentic and meaningful expression of themselves. 

Katerina Kafentzi (KAFKA) is a music broadcaster, lecturer and researcher. She has studied History and got her start in radio and the music industry, working as a journalist, music supervisor and a content specialist, hosting various shows, followed by an eight-year stint as a program director and as an Assistant General Manager of the Greek Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation overseeing 25 radio stations. In the years since she’s had a hand in many music related projects from documentaries, movies, art & athletic events to workshops and seminars in Europe and the U.S.

Gary A. Bolles writes and lectures around the world on the future of work, learning, and the organization. He is the author of “The Next Rules of Work: The mindset, skillset, and toolset to lead your organization through uncertainty,” your guide to the brave new world of work for the post-pandemic era. He has over 1 million learners on LinkedIn Learning, with courses such as “Learning Mindset,” “Learning Agility,” and “Leading Change.”

As adjunct Chair for the Future of Work for Singularity Group, Bolles helps people understand the impact and opportunities of exponential change for individuals, organizations, communities, and countries. As a partner in the consulting agency Charrette LLC (“Initiatives With Impact”), he helps organizations, communities, educators and governments develop strategies for “what’s next.” As co-founder of eParachute.com, he helps job-hunters & career changers with programs inspired by “What Color Is Your Parachute?”, the world’s enduring career manual.

Bolles is the former editorial director for six technology publications, a serial entrepreneur, and a former Silicon Valley executive. He is a co-founder of SoCap, the world’s largest gathering of impact entrepreneurs and investors. Bolles is dedicated to helping individuals, organizations, communities and countries to collaborate on effective strategies to ensure that all people can have access to meaningful, well-paid work and lifelong learning opportunities.

Learn more at gbolles.com.

A globally recognized leader in standards development and intellectual property, Dr. Ing. Konstantinos Karachalios Strategic Advisor for IEEE Executive Director (USA) and former managing director of the IEEE Standards Association and a member of the IEEE Management Council.
As managing director, he has been enhancing IEEE efforts in global standards development in strategic emerging technology fields, through technical excellence of staff, expansion of global presence and activities and emphasis on inclusiveness and good governance, including reform of the IEEE standards-related patent policy.
As member of the IEEE Management Council, he championed expansion of IEEE influence in key techno-political areas, including consideration of social and ethical implications of technology, according to the IEEE mission to advance technology for humanity. Results have been rapid in coming and profound; IEEE is becoming the place to go for debating and building consensus on issues such as a trustworthy and inclusive Internet and ethics in design of autonomous systems.
Before IEEE, Konstantinos played a crucial role in successful French-German cooperation in coordinated research and scenario simulation for large-scale nuclear reactor accidents. And with the European Patent Office, his experience included establishing EPO’s patent academy, the department for delivering technical assistance for developing countries and the public policy department, serving as an envoy to multiple U.N. organizations.
Konstantinos earned a Ph.D. in energy engineering (nuclear reactor safety) and masters in mechanical engineering from the University of Stuttgart.

John C. Havens is the Executive Director of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. With rapid developments in advanced AI technology, John plays an integral role in ensuring technologists prioritise ethical considerations when creating autonomous intelligent systems. The Global Initiative, backed by 700 volunteers, established a landmark ethical framework, which has been adopted by leading organisations, such as the OECD, UN, and IBM, as the basis for their AI principles. A highly influential figure in the tech world, John is highly sought-after for speaking engagements, talking on several topics, including IoT, social media, emerging media, AR, and AI.
Educated at Messiah University, John majored in history and theatre, graduating with a BA in History in 1991. For 15 years, he worked as a Principal Actor, appearing on Broadway, TV and Film and with notable brands, including Sony, AMEX and Mattel. In 2005, he wrote the first About.com Guide to Podcasting, identifying alternative sources of ROI on online media while social media was still in its infancy. John became Chief Connections Officer at Idea Champions in 2006, creating The Breakthrough Café. During the same year, he founded Podcast Vision and Voice, a media consulting firm, before becoming a Lead Organiser at PodCamp NYC.
In 2007, John joined Blog Talk Radio as Vice President of Business Development, providing counsel for leading clients, such as Ford, Walmart, PepsiCo, Harper Collins, The Pentagon and UPS. A distinguished expert in emerging digital technology, he became EVP of Social Media at Porter Novelli, working with prominent brands, including P&G and HP. In 2018, he became a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Human Rights and Technology and Executive Director of The Council on Extended Intelligence. John also holds the role of Sustainability Practice Lead with the IEEE Standards Association.
A regular contributor to The Huffington Post, The Guardian and Mashable, John is the author of Heartificial Intelligence and Hacking Happiness. A thought leader in digital disruption, John has been featured on USA Today, Forbes, BBC News, Mashable, PR Week and Advertising Age. He now shares his industry-leading knowledge in speaking engagements, captivating audiences with the latest insights in AI, IoT, AR and emerging media.

Myrto Vounatsou is the artistic and creative director of the World Human Forum. She holds a BA (Hons) in Media & Communication and an MA in Arts Management & Arts Criticism. She has studied classical singing but also delved into traditional music. She was for many years Senior Press Officer at Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall and head of communication at the Molyvos International Music Festival. In the past, she regularly collaborated with cultural institutions both in Greece and abroad as a project coordinator. She has always been fascinated by the relationship between the arts, nature, education, and technology.

Ivy Ross is the Vice President of Design for the Hardware organization at Google. Over the past six years, she and her team have launched 50+ products winning over 240 global design awards. This collection of hardware established a new Google design aesthetic that is tactile, colorful, and bold.

A winner of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Ivy’s innovative metal work in jewelry is in the permanent collections of 12 international museums.

Ivy has held executive positions ranging from head of product design and development to CMO and presidencies of several companies, including Calvin Klein, Swatch, Coach, Mattel, Bausch & Lomb, and Gap.

Ninth on Fast Company’s list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business 2019, Ivy believes the intersection of arts and science is where the most engaging and creative ideas are found.

Most recently, Ivy co-authored with Susan Magsamen Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us , a NY Times best selling book .

Susan Magsamen is the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics, a pioneering neuroaesthetics initiative from the Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Susan’s work focuses on how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the brain, body and behavior and how this knowledge can be translated to inform health, wellbeing and learning programs in medicine, public health and education.  

She is also the author of the Impact Thinking, an interdisciplinary translational research model to enhance human potential through the use of arts and aesthetics. This model is a generative framework that applies a new scientific method to arts and aesthetics research and, at the same time, considers how the research can be scaled, disseminated and evaluated for impact. In addition to her role at IAM Lab, she is the co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint project in partnership with the Aspen Institute. The Blueprint aims to create the field of Neuroarts where arts and aesthetics are mainstream in medicine and public health. Magsamen is also the co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us written for the general public.  

Nathalie Babouraj (DocLaLuna) starts her journey as a military doctor for the firefighters of Paris. During that period, she’s part of a NATO group on the future of integrative health. She leaves the army to become an entrepreneur, a coach for empowerment of women, a writer and an artist. Her mission is to contribute to the transformations of the world with an integrative and embodied vision where there is space for “AND” instead of “OR”. Her latest topic is to highlight how an ancient wisdom like Ayurveda can help us align with our purpose of life, as individuals, but also as a collective, with the concept of Dharma. Even in chaotic times. The good news is that neuroscience is supporting this vision. That’s the topic of her TedX conference, her podcast, her book to come. And the One-woman-show she has created. Because art, humour and beauty are the essential ingredients to connect us together in our diversities.
https://www.doclaluna.com/ 

Dr. Tracey Shors is Distinguished Professor in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology and a member of the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University. Dr. Shors has 150 scientific publications in journals including Nature, Science, PNAS and Nature Neuroscience. Her research findings have been featured in Scientific American, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on NPR and CNN. Her research efforts were recently recognized with W. Horsley Gantt Medal from the Pavlovian Society for the “noble pursuit of truth.” Macmillan and Flatiron Press published her popular book about stress and trauma: Everyday Trauma. She is also the creator of the evidence-based brain fitness program MAP TRAIN MY BRAIN (maptrainmybrain.com).

Gina Belafonte is an award-winning Producer, Director, Actress, Educator, Prison Abolitionist, and Freedom Activist. Co-founder of Sankofa.org, Gina has been using art as a tool for over 25 years to communicate messages of hope and civic engagement. Since its creation in 2013 Sankofa.org has been on the front lines and at the intersection of art and activism, organizing thousands to stand up for justice. As one of the lead organizers, Gina helped create one of the largest Marches in US history, as a Women’s March Los Angeles co-Chair, MC and producer. One of Gina’s favorite things is collaboration and she has contributed to and partnered on many projects with artists such as Whoopi Goldberg, Alfre Woodard, Billy Porter, Laverne Cox, Jesse Williams,  Douglas Miles, Shepard Farey, Ernesto Farrell, Hank Willis Thomas, and For Freedoms to name a few. Her leadership at Sankofa.org has led to some of the largest Voting campaigns in US history. “Art has a unique way of opening hearts and minds. Giving audiences an opportunity to see themselves reflected in the art itself. Art not only show’s the world as it is but as it could be.”

Dr. Christina Dalla is Professor of Pharmacology at the Medical School, 2nd Department of Obstetrics – Gynecology, Aretaieio Hospital of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, President of the Mediterranean Neuroscience Society and President of the Hellenic Brain Council. She is also member of the board of directors of the Greek Association of Academic Women (ELGYP) and the European Brain Foundation in Brussels. Dr. Dalla serves as a member of the Gender Equality Committee of her University since 2021 and she is chair of the Gender Equality Committee of the Medical School. She is co-chair of the event’s working group at ALBA Network: towards diversity and equity in brain sciences, chair of the Communication Committee of the Federation of European neuroscience Societies/FENS, section-editor at European Journal of Neuroscience and member of the Educational and Scientific Committees of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology-ECNP. She also serves at committees at the National Medicines Association of Greece (EOF) and the Ministry of Health. Her work focuses on sex differences in neuropsychiatric disorders and novel treatments with a focus on depression and anxiety. Dr. Dalla received her first diploma from the Pharmacy School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2000 and continued her studies in Neuropsychopharmacology, Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and Neurosciences in Athens, at the University of Liege in Belgium and at the Rutgers University of New Jersey, U.S.A. with two European Union Marie Curie Fellowships. She has received numerous awards and distinctions, such as the “L’Oreal-Unesco” for Greek Women in Science and the ECNP fellowship award. Dr. Dalla has more than 100 scientific papers and invited chapters, over 5700 citations and more than 130 abstracts and talks at international and national conferences. Finally, she is actively participating in public activities for brain awareness and women’s medicine, such as publishing of books for the public.

More info:

http://psychopharmacology.med.uoa.gr/education/public-activities-media.html

https://www.ecnp.eu/research-innovation/networks-thematic-working-groups/List-ECNP-Networks/psychedelic-research

https://www.brainfoundation.eu

https://www.alba.network

https://www.fens.org

https://www.medneuroscisociety.org

Dr. Theodoros Tsoutsouras was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He studied Medicine at  the University of Pecs, Hungary.  He specialised in Respiratory and Intensive Care medicine in Athens, while  completing his masters degree in health management. He underwent further training as a senior medical clinical fellow in the UK in Oxford at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Harefield Hospital of the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation trust, the Royal Free Hospital London and Homerton University Hospital. He developed an interest in quality improvement and safety while managing complex transplant patients and completing yearly audits. He is currently a consultant at the Hellenic Red Cross Hospital of Athens managing a vast and diverse population of patients in the Intensive Care setting. His long experience with gravely ill patients has led to the continuous development of means  of improving  everyday medical practice, palliative care and the  general well being both emotional and psychological, of patients and family at the end of life.

Anthony P. Bossis, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine, an Adjunct Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, and an Investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at UCLA.   Since 2006, he has conducted FDA-approved clinical research with the psychedelic compound psilocybin.  His primary psychedelic research interests are the treatment of end-of-life existential distress and advancing our understanding of consciousness, meaning, and spirituality. Dr. Bossis was director of palliative care research and co-principal investigator on the landmark 2016 clinical trial demonstrating a significant reduction in emotional distress from a single psilocybin session in persons with cancer, specifically, a rapid decrease in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and demoralization along with improvements in spiritual well-being and quality of life.   He is the study director and the lead therapist on an FDA-approved clinical trial investigating a psilocybin-generated mystical experience upon religious leaders. Dr. Bossis is a training supervisor of psychotherapy at NYU-Bellevue Hospital Center and co-founder and former co-director of the Bellevue Hospital Palliative Care Service. He is a faculty member at The Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies, the Art of Dying Institute in NYC, and the graduate psychedelic studies program at the University of Ottawa.  He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and a guest editor for the journal’s Special Series on Psychedelics. Dr. Bossis has a long-standing interest in comparative religion, mystical experience, and the interface of psychology and spirituality.  He maintains a private psychotherapy and consulting practice in NYC. Anthony is a proud Greek American whose grandparents hail from the beautiful island of Limnos.

Mark A. Geyer Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences Emeritus at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and directs the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit of the VISN 22 Veterans Administration Mental Illness Research, Clinical, and Education Center. Since receiving his doctorate in Psychology in 1972, he has focused on basic research addressing psychotic disorders and the related behavioral and neurobiological effects of psychedelics and other psychoactive drugs. For four decades, his group has had continuous funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the behavioral effects of psychedelics and entactogens. At UCSD, he is a founding member of the Consortium for Translational Research in Neuropsychopharmacology (CTRIN) and Translational Research in Psychophysiology, Exploration, and Cognition (TRIPEC) groups. In 1993, he co-founded the Heffter Research Institute, which pioneered and supported much of the scientific research that has prompted the exploration of psychedelics as potential therapeutics in humans. He has recently co-founded the Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative at UCSD, which is exploring the efficacy of psychedelics in the treatment of pain disorders. Dr. Geyer is respected internationally for his research on the psychophysiology, neurobiology, and pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He has published 470+ peer-reviewed papers and 50+ reviews, including many addressing the mechanisms subserving the effects of antipsychotics, psychostimulants, psychedelics, and entactogens. He is the lead Series Editor for Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, which has completed 43+ volumes. He was involved intensively in the NIMH-funded MATRICS, TURNS, and CNTRICS Programs and has served as a receiving Editor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Neuropharmacology, Psychopharmacology, and Schizophrenia Bulletin, and as Scientific Advisor to European Union’s Innovative Medicine Initiative. He is a Fellow of AAAS, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), and American Psychological Society, Past-President of the International Society for Serotonin Research and the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, member of Scientific Council of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (aka NARSAD), 2011 awardee of Bleuler Prize for Research in the Schizophrenias, and the 2014 Julius Axelrod Mentorship Awardee from ACNP. Dr. Geyer’s broad experience as a researcher, grant reviewer, journal editor, and teacher lends invaluable scientific and professional expertise to several organizations, as he provides leadership to develop strong programs in the behavioral psychopharmacology and clinical applications of psychoactive agents.

Dr Tserkezoglou has been trained as an Obstetrician Gynecologist but has practiced mostly Gynecologic Oncology, from 1986 to 2010 at the Athens Cancer Institute. Since 2010 she is the Director of “GALILEE” Palliative Care Centre, an ecclesiastical NGO, the first one in Greece to offer home and day care services since 2010 and inpatient care since 2018. “GALILEE”, also provides interdisciplinary professional and volunteer, theoretical education on the basic principles of Palliative Care (PC), as well as hands on training of postgraduate students. Advocacy and public raising awareness on PC issues are also being pursued.

Postgraduate Education / Honors:

• Visiting Fellowship, Gynecologic Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (1988)
• Diploma in Palliative Medicine, University of Cardiff 2010
• European Academy Fellowship: Leadership in PC (2015)
• Distinction of Honor from the Academy of Athens in 1984
• Distinction of Honor from the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FIGO) 1996
• European Society of Gynecological Oncology (ESGO): Professional Recognition of Gynecologic Oncologists 2023

Other Activities:

Coordinator of the Greek Country Team of the ATOME (2011-2014)
Member of the 1st National Committee for PC, of the Ministry of Health (2018)
Vice Chairman of the 2nd National Committee for PC of the Ministry of Health (2023)

Yiannis Takousis is co-founder of the Greek Psychedelic Society. The organisation was originally called “A New Eleusis”, in honor of the Eleusinian Mysteries. He founded the organisation in 2021, hoping to bring together people who share his vision for a better future.

Yannis Takousis’ academic and professional background is in computer science, but he has a strong interest in non-ordinary states of consciousness. His interest in psychedelics grew when he learned about psilocybin’s effects on chronic depression. Since then, he has been committed to educating the public, dispelling myths about psychedelics, and contributing to the global psychedelic sciences movement in any way possible.

Yannis Takousis’ vision is that, through the work and dedication of a fungal network of passionate volunteers, the Greek Psychedelic Society will bring about positive changes to Greece’s legal, cultural, and psychological landscape, as well as reconnect us with our forgotten mystical traditions, thereby establishing “a new Eleusis.”

Nikos C. Stefanis MD, PhD, FRANZCP, is the Chairman of the First Department of Psychiatry at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School (NKUA-MS) at Eginition Teaching Hospital in Athens, Greece and vice-chairman of the University Mental Health Research Institute in Greece. He also chairs the First Episode Psychosis Task Force within the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry and is a member of the Schizophrenia Network of the European College of Psychopharmacology (ECNP).

He trained in Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital / Institute of Psychiatry in London UK. He joined the faculty of the First Dep/ment of Psychiatry at the NKUA-MS in 1999 as a lecturer, receiving tenure in 2008. He was elected and served as Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Western Australia (2010-2013). He has published extensively aspects of his research in high impact international scientific journals including Molecular Psychiatry, the American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry and Schizophrenia Bulletin

He has received grants from the Greek Ministry of Research and Technology, the European Regional Development Fund, the NIMH (USΑ) and was the country coordinator for several large European Collaborative Projects.

His main academic interests have gravitated towards the better understanding of the complex interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors that shape the vulnerability for major psychiatric disorders and innovations in psychopharmacology. He is a vocal advocate for mental health reform in Greece

DAPHNE  ECONOMOU was born and grew up in India. She continued her education in England and holds a degree in English Literature. She is a published writer and translator.
On her return to Greece, she worked on a National Project for the rehabilitation of elderly refugees from Asia Minor, whilst simultaneously running a children’s theatre group.
With her husband Constantine Economou, a civil engineer, she had three children, George, Marianna and Themos.  Themos suffered from cerebral palsy and this led to Daphne’s lifelong involvement with children with disability.
To address a deficit in the care of children with cerebral palsy in Greece, she and her husband, together with a group of outstanding members of Greek society co-founded Cerebral Palsy Greece/Open Door, in 1972.
Daphne has served Cerebral Palsy Greece/Open Door in many capacities, always retaining her particular interest in cultural and artistic activities and inaugurating a series of innovative artistic events for people with and without disabilities at CPG’s Open Door Centre. She believes strongly that art is a crucial factor in the life of people with disabilities, particularly when this involves people without disabilities too.
She is currently Honorary Chairperson of Cerebral Palsy Greece/Open Door.
She was elected President of the International Cerebral Palsy Society in 1996. Her articles have been published in scientific journals and she has spoken at many international meetings
For her work with the disabled she was awarded the Gold Cross of Bienfaisance by the President of the Greek Republic in 2002.
She is a founding member of the ELIZA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2008.
Daphne’s first book, Saturday’s Child. A journey through an Indian childhood was published in 2007, Poems in 2013, 81 Cadogan Square (in Greek and English) in 2017 and The Blind House in 2018.

Artistic Director to the Centre of Contemporary Dance is amongst the important voices in Indian Contemporary dance. He has studied Kathak with Pt. Rohini Bhate and later was a guest student at the prestigious Palucca Hochschule in the Dance Teaching Program in Dresden. He continues his Kathak training under Guru Neelima Adhye.

With numerous feature films and theatre/stage productions as a performer as well as a successful choreographer, his collaborative work was featured at various Art Festivals such as Fringe Festival, Canada, Dokumenta, Kassel, Germany, Kochi Biennale 2018/19.

In the past he has received the prestigious McArthur Fellowship for 2015/16. Apart from various films, stage shows and theater works he is most rooted in his work with people suffering from Parkinson and other Community Projects which have become a philosophy of his work.

Political Scientist specialized in Organizations, Social Responsibility and Development. Laura has worked for the Colombian Mission to the UN as an intern to the Security Council, the Colombian Agency for Reintegration where she helped former guerrilla members reintegrate into society, and for the Corona Foundation, where as a social project coordinator she helped  strengthening tools for vocational orientation and socio-emotional skills in teachers working in conflict zones in order to prevent kids on joining armed groups.

In 1999 Laura was kidnapped at the age of nine with her mother, sister and 190 other people by the National Liberation Army (ELN) while attending church, an ordeal she was able to luckily escape from after a few hours.  Some less fortunate church-goers remained in captivity for several months. In 2001 Laura was again kidnapped, this time alone, after terrorists from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hijacked her school bus.

After living inside violence, she truly believes that peace is only possible if we rehumanize those who have harmed us, and if we learn to forgive. Her testimony has been key in helping Colombian society to end stigma towards ex-combats and has inspired many affected by war but also by felling’s of grieve, hate and resentment to forgive and heal.

Freddy Mutanguha is CEO of the Aegis Trust and Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Freddy led the development of Aegis’ peace education programme in Rwanda and is now leading Aegis’ work to take this model beyond the borders of Rwanda to areas at risk, including the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Kenya. Joining Aegis in 2004 during the construction of the Kigali Genocide Memorial as a team leader responsible for genocide documentation, he was appointed Country Director in 2006. Freddy is Chair of the board of Miracle Corner Rwanda, an organisation which aims to empower the community in Rwanda by helping young people to acquire the vocational skills they need to thrive socially and economically.
He holds a master’s degree in project management from the Maastricht School of Management and trained as a teacher, securing a bachelor’s degree in Education from the Kigali Institute of Education. He survived Rwanda’s 1994 genocide as a teenager, and as an orphan head of household, in 2016, the Justice and Security Foundation declared him a Peace award winner for his outstanding contribution to peace. He is also profiled in the Atlanta Human Rights Museum as a prominent activist for human rights.
Helping to found AERG, Rwanda’s student survivors association, Freddy went on to become vice-President of IBUKA, the national umbrella association for Rwandan genocide survivors. He is an External Advisory Committee member of the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive in Los Angeles, and lectures internationally on the impact of the Genocide and the importance of forgiveness as way of post-conflict reconstruction.

Dr. Anezina Solomonidou works at the space agency of Greece, the Hellenic Space Center, as the Scientific Officer of Space Science and Space Exploration. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Greece from the Department of Geology of the University of Patras, specializing in Volcanology. She then expanded her knowledge with a master’s degree in Planetary Geology at the University College London (UCL) in London, where she focused on modeling the cryovolcanoes of the icy moons of the outer solar system. She received her PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Observatory of Paris in France, in a collaboration agreement with the University of Athens. In 2014, she started working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Los Angeles, California as a researcher of the Cassini space mission, while since the beginning of 2018 in parallel work with NASA, she worked at the European Space Agency (ESA) in Madrid in Spain on the preparation of the new space mission to the outer solar system named JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE), as well as NASA’s mission to the Jupiter system, Europa Clipper. Starting in mid-2022, she works at the space agency of Greece, the Hellenic Space Center, as the Scientific Officer of Space Science and Space Exploration. Dr. Solomonidou and her research team have proposed a series of planetary experiments adapted to the exotic environment of the icy moons of the giant planets and has contributed to the design of future space missions, Finally, she is President and Vice-Chair in European and International planetary science committees and unions, while she participates in outreach activities in Greece and abroad. 

Chiara Baldini is a researcher and freelance curator from Florence (Italy). She investigates the evolution of the ecstatic cult in the West, particularly in ancient Greece and Rome, contributing to anthologies, psychedelic conferences and festivals. She is the program curator of Boom Festival’s cultural area Liminal Village since 2010. In 2015 and 2016 she also set up and curated ConTent, the first cultural area in Fusion Festival, Germany. She has recently co-curated an anthology called “Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine” investigating the intersection between the feminine principle and altered states of consciousness. She is currently a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She has been living in Portugal for the past 12 years and she often plays as DJ Clandestina.