Theme: New Land

Milestones and anniversaries are opportunities to reflect on the past, accept the present and imagine the future. It does not matter how we got here; our achievements or struggles have not been able to keep us inert. We can only build on what we learned, harness the energy of what we have become and move forward; to a new land where we will always carry the experiences that made us who we are but we will aspire to new hopes, dreams and ideas.
This year, our event's theme is "New Land". Inspired by the milestone of our 10th anniversary, we invite our speakers to share their vision of the future. Will we shape the new land of tomorrow or will we have to adjust to what is beyond our control and how will this new land shape us?
This New Land marks the redefining and renegotiation not only of ourselves but also of the world in this new era and in those new territories that sprawl in front of us; it is the door to new things without the fear of change but with an insatiable desire for creation and new experiences.

Vasiliko Theater
Leoforos 30is Oktovriou, 2
Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54621
Greece

Alexandros Eleftheriadis

Electrical engineer - Musician

Alexandros Eleftheriadis is an entrepreneur, VC partner, musician, and ex-academic in electrical engineering. He is Chief Scientist & Co-Founder of Vidyo, Inc., as well as a founding member of the investment team at Big Pi Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on Greece. He is also Co-Chair of the Real-Time Communications Subgroup in the Alliance for Open Media, a group founded by Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Netflix, among others, which develops a new open source and royalty-free video codec for the Internet called AV1. Prior to that, he was an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia, as well as a Marie Curie Chair and Associate Professor at the University of Athens. He holds more than 140 patents internationally. He received a Ph.D. In Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and a Diploma of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the National Technical University of Athens.

Anna Kasapoglou

Criminologist

Anna Kassapoglou was born in Thessaloniki where she studied Political Science at the Aristotle University. She holds an MSc in Criminology & Criminal Psychology from the University of Plymouth in England. She completed a PhD in the Department of Social Administration & Political Science of the Democritus University of Thrace on the effect of imprisonment on inmates convicted for financial crimes. She worked with Arsis and KETHEA – Promitheas a Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals. From 2012 to 2018 she coordinated the literature education group in the prison of Diavata and the poetry group of released inmates for 6 months in 2018. She has worked as administrative assistant in the Courthouse of Thessaloniki, as a scientific assistant for Merimna & as a trainer in educational programmes for prison stuff in the subject of inter-cultural approach and for police officer in the subject of addiction. She is conducting research on the impact of literature on drug rehabilitation.

Dimitris Kraniotis

Ark4Art co-founder

Dimitris Kraniotis was born and raised in Athens. He completed his BA in the Department of Political Science & Public Administration of the School of Economics & Political Sciences at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. Then completed his first postgraduate course at the University of Sussex in International Relations with specialization in European Studies. At the same time, he was trained at the City, University of London in the field of International Communication and Development. Dimitris has worked in a number of UK Higher Education Institutions. He has organized a number of educational and cultural events. For the last eleven years, he has been living in London, where he is actively involved in the promotion of Greek culture abroad as one of Ark4Art's founders, a company that organizes events based in London. Ark4Art is also present in various European cities such as Amsterdam and Paris.

Elli Stai

Journalist

Elli Stai was born in Athens. She studied Law at the University of Athens and Political Sciences in Paris. She began her career working as a lawyer for a while before moving on to become a journalist. Elli managed to have a successful career across all media outlets, in print (Avgi, Akropoli, Masimvrini), on the radio (Flashradio), and on television. She has presented many popular talk shows and has been the main anchor for all the major Greek TV channels (ERT/NET, SKAI, Mega, Star, ANT1, and Alpha). She has also taken the role of the main commentator for news broadcast by Mega channel and ALPHA. Since October 2018, she has been the main anchor and in charge of the evening news bulletin of the newly founded channel Open Beyond.

Filia Mitromara

Journalist

Filia Mitromara was born in Volos. She studied Journalism and she is a member of the Periodical and Electronic Press Union. She is a journalist with a long experience in the creation and management of various Greek magazines. She began her career as a staff writer in magazines such as Hello!, Men's Health, Life & Style and others. She has been the editor-in-chief & editor in health magazines such as Prevention, and Shape. She has designed and edited several health, fitness, and psychology-related books. Over the last four years, she has been working on the digital world as a social media manager on health and wellness related to Greek portals like omorfamystika.gr, thriveglobal.gr, boxpharmacy.gr, and isida.gr. She is a firm believer in the power of volunteering. She has been a member of Scouts of Greece , and she has been supporting the interactive recreational program «Thallo» in elder care units. She is the owner of the wellness blog www.pharmalista.gr and a proud mother of one.

Gabriella Ficz

Scientist

An academic researcher at the Barts Cancer Institute of the Queen Mary Univ. of London, Gabriella Ficz is investigating the molecular aspects of epigenetics & their implications in health and disease. Gabriella holds a Ph.D. from Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, where she learned how the regulation of the hundreds of genes present in a cell unfolds during the development of an organism. She has been at the forefront of the discoveries of the new functions of the new epigenetic modifications identifying signaling pathways in embryonic stem cells that induce widespread epigenetic reprogramming & she has demonstrated the instructive role of epigenetics using CRISPR/Cas9 based epigenetic editing. Today, she asks questions about what happens when the cells lose the identity they once had and what impact this has on disease initiation. Her aim is to find a means to slow down these processes that trap us into an irreversible age driven decay of organismal function.

George Zarkadakis

AI Engineer & Writer

George Zarkadakis is the head of Willis Towers Watson’s consulting practice in Great Britain & Western Europe on domains as “the Future of Work & the impact of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace”. He has over 25 years of experience in management consulting, media, marketing & communications, as well as in digital strategy & innovation. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence & is the author of “In Our Own Image: will Artificial Intelligence Save Us or Destroy Us?”. He is also the author of several novels published in Greece, Italy and Spain. Apart from his professional and writing career George has a keen interest in the popularization and communication of science and technology. He launched and directed "Focus", the biggest popular science magazine in Greece, and wrote "Eureka!", a very successful popular science television program. For his international work in the public engagement of science, he was awarded a knighthood by the French government. He lives and works in London

House of Drama

Dance Group

The House of Drama is a dance group that was established in 2011 due to the need of its members to tell their stories through dancing and pop art. It is the creation of Marios Miltiadou, who is the group’s artistic director. The theatricality, aesthetics, passion and dedication for this group are the basic elements that characterize the “family” of The House of Drama. Within a short period of time, the group has managed to complete major video projects, attend various events both inside and outside Greece, and win awards and distinctions in major related events. In 2017, The House of Drama emerged as the winner in Greece's Got Talent.

Katerina Vrana

Stand up comedian

Katerina Vrana performs stand up comedy in both Greek and English all over the world. She has been making audiences laugh through sold-out shows in Athens and London as well as at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. CNN has included her in its list of “Female Comedians you must see”. In December 2016 she came third in Laugh Factory’s international competition “Funniest Person in the World”. In April 2017, while on tour in Malaysia, she fell seriously ill and nearly died. For the past year and a half, she’s been concentrating on her rehabilitation as she's still facing problems with her movement, eyesight, and speech. Lately, Katerina focuses on her new show "Staying Alive: I nearly died you know" which premiered in Athens in February 2019.

Kerry Brown

China Expert - Historian

Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London. He is an Associate of the Asia Pacific Programme at Chatham House, London. From 2012 to 2015, he was Professor of Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia. From 2006 to 2012, he worked at Chatham House as Senior Fellow and then Head of the Asia Programme. From 1998 to 2005, he worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing, and then as Head of the Indonesia, Philippines and East Timor Section. He lived in the Inner Mongolia region of China from 1994 to 1996. He holds an MA from Cambridge, and a PhD in Chinese politics and language from Leeds University. Professor Brown has directed the Europe China Research and Advice Network. He is the author of almost 20 books on modern Chinese politics, history and language.

Kiki Tsakaldimi

1st Greek woman who climbed Mt Everest

Kiki was born in Alexandroupolis. She left her birthplace to capture her early dreams and satiate the “I want to see the world” curiosity. She graduated from the “Technology in Medical Instruments Institute" of Athens and returned to her home town where she follows a completely different career. She works with her best friends, books, as an administrative member of Alexandroupoli’s public library. “Everything is possible as long as you believe it” you’ll often hear her say and tries to inspire and encourage her friends to face life with optimism and simplicity. In 2017 she became the first Greek woman to climb Mt Everest and continues to follow her dreams to achieve the impossible. She’s an actor of the “Experimental Theater of Thrace”. As curator of TEDxAlexandroupolis Kiki wishes to create a unique & unforgettable experience for all TEDxers, inspired by Mark Twain:“So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore;Dream;Discover.”

Lakis Gavalas

Fashion Entrepreneur

Lakis Gavalas was born in Piraeus, Greece. He studied dance. After working as a dancer both in Greece and in Italy, he choreographed fashion shows for Armani, Trussardi etc. Shortly after, he became Sales & Image Manager for the Trussardi Showroom in Paris. He studied Visual Merchandising in Milan & Paris and got acquainted with the Pret-a-Porter vendors. After 9 years in Paris, he returned to Greece and opened a showroom in Athens, importing affordable & commercial collections. 2 years later, he started a successful cooperation with famous designers like Moschino, Dolce & Gabbana, and Burberry. Thanks to his personal relationship with the designers, they visited his fashion events, the largest ones Greece had seen so far. Up until 2011, Lakis Gavalas PLC was a model company, in terms of partnerships and turnover boasting established partnerships with major companies from abroad. In 2011, as the economic crisis deepened, the company faced problems in financing and eventually dissolved.

Lydia Kollia

Athelete

Lydia Kollia is a Pole Sports athlete with accomplishments both on a national and a global level. She joined competitive sports in rhythmic gymnastics when 5 years old, managing to become a Greek champion in 2001, 2003 and 2005. She was a member of the Greek national team. In 2012, she completed her studies in Marketing Management. She holds several degrees in the field of gymnastics that allow her to work as a Group Resistance Trainer and Yoga Instructor. After 10 years of abstinence from competitive sports, in 2016 she entered the field of Pole Sports. She managed to achieve many successes in the Greek Pole Dance Championship, the World Pole Sports Championships, the Pole Art World Championship and PoleArt Greece in both Semi Pro and Elite categories. Her latest achievement is the gold metal in the Pole Art 2019 World Championship. In addition to that, she coaches the next young champions of this new and extremely difficult sport.

Malin Viola Wennberg

Sustainable Fashion Advocate

Malin Viola Wennberg is a Sustainable Fashion Advocate at heart, working as Communications Manager at Mistra Future Fashion in Stockholm Sweden. Malin has a background in PR Communications & Fashion Concept Development working with various established companies & start-ups in the Nordic Region and the US. Malin holds an MA in Fashion Studies from Parsons School of Design in New York City and her doctoral dissertation focuses on the perception of sustainable production in luxury items. Mistra Future Fashion is a cross-disciplinary research program aiming at a systemic change within the fashion industry and society. The research is focused on enabling a Circular Economy by taking on a full system perspective in examining every step of the fashion value chain. Mistra Future Fashion is initiated & funded by MISTRA the Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research. The program is hosted by RISE in collaboration with 15 research partners and involves more than 50 industry partners.

Marcie Mayer

Social Entrepreneur

When Marcie Mayer last spoke at TEDx Thessaloniki in 2012, she had only just begun working on what would later become her life's work: acorns. Marcie has created a network of people in Greece and Turkey who now collect and sell acorns for her artisanal food production company on Kea island. Besides developing and marketing recipes with acorns, Marcie manages the exportation of acorn caps for traditional leather tanning in Germany and Turkey. The longer she works with acorns, the more applications surface and she is now cooperating with a major natural cosmetic company to use the byproduct from acorn flour processing in cosmetics and elsewhere. Marcie's life on Kea is very far from her Silicon Valley upbringing and university experience at UC Berkeley. She was recently awarded for Innovation by the Athens Chamber of Commerce Business Woman Forum. Her company OAKMEAL was launched in 2015 and her products have received many prestigious awards in Belgium, France, Germany and Greece.

Marios Papalexandrou

Renewable energy engineer

Marios Papalexandrou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering by the University of Western Macedonia, Greece and an MSc in Sustainable Energy Engineering by KTH, Sweden. He was fascinated by solar energy during his Bachelor studies, but it was wind energy that defined his career. He has been working as a renewable engineer for the development and construction of offshore wind farms in the North Sea and around the world since 2007. These projects can cover the energy needs of almost 4 million EU citizens on an annual basis. Marios is the CEO of Aeolus wind consultancy and creator of the game Age of Renewables. This is an educational card game that was successfully backed at a Kickstarter fundraising campaign last year. He has been a guest lecturer at Kingston University, London and at IST University, Lisbon since 2018.

Mike Lindsay

Constellation Designer

Mike Lindsay is a Space Mission Designer & Regulatory Engineer at OneWeb, a company that aims to bridge the global digital divide. OneWeb has begun to launch the world’s largest constellation of satellites, which will provide broadband Internet connectivity from space. Keeping space clean, pioneering new regulations & guidelines to support this and designing a system that will help connect the unconnected are just a few of Mike’s passions. Creating new musical genres is another. Prior to joining OneWeb, Mike started his career at NASA Ames Research Center designing, building, and flying advanced space missions. NASA Ames embraced high-risk philosophies and strove to utilize novel cost-saving technologies in its spacecraft and mission architectures. After five years of learning at NASA, Mike transferred to Google, from where OneWeb spun off in 2014 with Mike in tow. Mike holds a BSc. degree in Aerospace Engineering & an MEng. degree in Space Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Monika -

Singer - Songwriter

Monika Christodoulou started as a Myspace sensation from her hometown of Athens,Greece. Her debut LP “Avatar” (2008) became platinum in Greece and soon she was headlining major festivals around the country. Her second platinum LP “ Exit” (2010) established her as a major Greek artist and led her to NYC’s famous Dunham studios where she recorded her third album “Secret in The Dark” (2015). As an internationally well-respected artist, while organically breaking through European markets such as France and Belgium, she was signed by major labels and distributors and in 2016 she was signed with Songs Publishing as one of the most valued acquired artists of the year. 2 tours in the US and EU, plus 1 French tour and live session “Tiny Desk” on NPR made her a familiar name in media outlets such as Vogue NYC, New York Times, Liberation, BBC Radio 1 and The Guardian. She has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the world.

Nick Chrissos

Innovation Strategist

Nick Chrissos is the Director of Innovation in EMEAR for Cisco. With over 25 years of IT and Networking industry experience, Nick’s career includes both technical and business positions such as CTO of Collaboration in the UK and the Head of Unified Communications Technology in Europe. Nick is a proponent of sustainable and responsible technology solutions and sits on numerous advisory boards consulting on cutting-edge technology solutions to transform the way we work, live and play. He currently leads multiple government co-funded projects in the UK, from the deployment of 5G infrastructure in rural areas (5GRF), to test autonomous vehicles in the center of London (SMLL). As the Project Director for CityVerve in Manchester, he led a consortium of 20 public and privately held companies who, along with Cisco, pioneered uses of IoT technologies to redefine ‘smart’ in a living and working city to produce a smart city blueprint for the rest of the world.

Panagiotis Paraschou

Dancer

Panos Paraschou is a Greek deaf student attending the National School of Dance in Athens. He was born in Larissa and raised in Thessaloniki. Panos began dancing at the age of 7. His sister inspired him to watch dance music videos. At the age of 14, he attended various dance classes: ballet, contemporary dance, and hip-hop classes taught by Tatiana Papadopoulou and Areti Koutsikopoulou at the 2nd Arabesque Dance School. He holds a degree with merit from the Royal Academy of Dance in the United Kingdom. In 2014, Panos attended the Department of Educational and Social Policy at the University of Macedonia and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Special Education. He has participated in the Erasmus+ programme spending a semester in the Department of Special Educational Needs and Inclusion at the University of Northampton. His favorite dance is contemporary because it makes him feel free. Nowadays, he wants to pursue his dream, continue to develop and understand the structure of dancing.

Philipp Hergovich

Economist

Philipp Hergovich is an economist. He grew up in Oggau, a village in the eastern part of Austria. He did his undergraduate program in Economics at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, followed by a Master’s program at the Institute for Advanced Studies. During his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna, he worked on a variety of topics among them, Monetary Policy, Digitalization, and Online Dating. A joint paper with Josue Ortega entailed massive media attention, in which the authors showed that Online Dating can result in stronger and more diverse marriages. During his studies, Philipp worked at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research and at the Austrian Consulate General – Commercial Section in Toronto. He is currently employed in the data mining division of Raiffeisen Analytik in Vienna.

Taha Yasseri

Computational Social Scientist

Dr. Taha Yasseri is a Senior Research Fellow in Computational Social Science at the Oxford Internet Institute, a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science & a Research Fellow in Humanities and Social Sciences at the Wolfson College, University of Oxford. He from the Department of Physics at the Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran in 2005, where he got his MSc in 2006 working on Complex Networks. In 2007 he moved to the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Göttingen, Germany, where he completed his Ph.D. in Complex Systems Physics. He spent two years as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Budapest University of Technology & Economics, working on the socio-physical aspects of the community of Wikipedia editors, focusing on conflict and editorial wars along with Big Data analysis to understand human dynamics, language complexity and popularity spread. His main research interest is in human dynamics, social networks, and collective behavior.

Vassilikos -

Singer / Songwriter, Founder of Raining Pleasure band & Solo Artist

Vassilikos is one of the most talented Greek artists of his generation. Both with his band, Raining Pleasure, and as a solo artist he has successfully stood out since the early 90s and has inspired a whole new generation of artists dominating both the radio stations and the charts. He has released 7 albums with Raining Pleasure, where he has had many roles over the years: founder, composer, singer, bassist/guitarist, and lyricist. Vassilikos and his band have toured not only in Greece, but also Germany, Turkey, and Romania, all the while participating in several European Festivals such as Rock n’ Coke & Hurricane where they shared the stage with bands such as Pixies, The Cure, Pearl Jam, Kasabian, and Arcade Fire. This year, Vassilikos is getting ready for the release of his most personal project to date, Amazing Grey, a seemingly pop album but which contains obvious dark underlays. It's his first solo album consisting of his very own, original songs.