Theme: PLAY

From a young age, Play is a notion that represents a powerful, motivational force, coming from within ourselves. A force that as we grow older, accompanies us through the journey that we call life. It’s in our dreams, our jobs, our activities, basically every aspect of it and it’s giving us purpose and the necessary motivation to keep going! At the first listen to PLAY we are automatically transported to our childhood and we nostalgically reminisce about those moments, but TEDx NTUA 2022 sets it as a goal - and a challenge - to overturn this spontaneous thought.

PLAY is present in every aspect of life, it follows us "silently", it evolves as we grow older and change, always remaining a means of escape, a reminder that everyday life is not as strict and monotonous as it sometimes seems. It accompanies us in almost all areas, from everyday life to dreams, from work to entertainment, from stop to play!

On May 21, the team of TEDxNTUA 2022 will give its own interpretation. Don’t miss it!

Michael Cacoyannis Foundation
Pireos 206, Tavros
Athens, Attiki, 177 78
Greece

Anna Ntountounaki

Swimmer - Law Graduate

Anna is a Greek swimming champion who competes for the team of Panathinaikos. She started synchronized swimming at the age of five and switched to classic swimming at 15, to reduce her training hours in view of the increased studying needs for Lyceum and the Greek SATs. Little did she know back then, that her talent and dedication to the sport she loved the most, would lead her to compete in the last two Olympiads, to hold European medals and world titles, as well as numerous national records, making her one of the leading Greek athletes, with a bright future ahead of her. Outside of the pool, A. Ntountounaki is a graduate of the Athens Law School and holds a master's degree in Commercial and Corporate Law from the University of London.

Apostolos Apostolakis

Tech entrepreneur and investor - Founding Partner at Venturefriends

Apostolos Apostolakis is a Greek businessman who grew into an investor. His name is associated with Greek startups and entrepreneurship in the field of technology. He studied Civil Engineering at NTUA in 1991 and while going through the first year of his studies, he implemented the idea of creating the e-shop, the first one in Greece, together with a fellow student. In 2002 he obtained an MBA in Finance and began working as a consultant at Boston Consulting. However, the employee position didn’t suit him and so, in 2004, he returned to Greece and to e-shop, which was developing at a steady rate. From 2010 to 2012 he became the co-founder of e-food, doctoranytime and a Board Member at taxibeat. All three companies have evolved into great success stories, with continuous growth and innovation to date. The next step in his career is the founding of VentureFriends, a venture capital fund. Through this, he has supported financially and as a consultant many Greek and international startups.

Eugene Trivizas

Professor of Criminology, Author of Children's books and Playwriter

Eugene Trivizas is a lawyer and a criminology professor at the University of Reading. He is known for his literary works, including over 100 published children's books, a book for adults, and 20 plays. He has received numerous awards and his books have been translated into multiple languages and included in textbooks in Greece and the US. One of his most famous works, "The Three Little Wolves," reached the second place of the American best-sellers list and was praised by The Economist for its amusing and thought-provoking nature. The library of the University of Minnesota Minneapolis has collected all of Trivizas' literary works, studies on his work, manuscripts, and other material in a special research collection.

Konstantinos Gardikis

Musician & Research And Development Director at APIVITA

Konstantinos Gardikis is a highly educated individual with a background in pharmacy and pharmaceutical nanotechnology. He has a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology and has been involved in teaching and running pharmacies. In addition, he has been the inventor of 17 patents, reflecting his innovative approach and achievements in his field. He is also a talented musician, with a passion for combining science and art in his work. He has been active as a composer, performer, sound artist, and producer, and has released two albums. The first album, "Honey," was released in 2018. The second album, "#Artificial," was written using AI and was released in 2021 in physical, digital, and NFT form. This album was created as a result of the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, which left Gardikis with a laptop and piano as his main means of occupation. Gardikis is known for his innovative approach to combining seemingly incompatible elements and has received recognition for his work.

Lena Divani

Writer

Lena Divani is a historian and writer. She studied at the Department of Political and Public Administration at NKUA and obtained her PhD at King’s College London, on the politics of exiled Greek governments. She worked as a law professor at the School of Law, Economics and Political Science of NKUA, until her recent resignation, as a sign of protest against the current condition of Greek universities. She has had various visiting academic positions at Harvard University, King's College London, the League of Nations archives in Geneva, and the Greek Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is also a founding member of the National Commission for Human Rights. She made her literary debut in 1994 with the collection of short stories "Why don't you talk about me" and won the "MARA RALLI" award for first-time writers. She has since published multiple novels, short story collections, and children's books, and her work has been translated into multiple languages and adapted for television.

Mirela Pachou

Musician - Lawyer

Mirela Pachou was born and raised in Rhodes. Her involvement with music began at a very young age when her parents gave her a small piano as a gift for her birthday. At the age of 7 she started piano lessons. When she moved to Athens to study, she decided to deal with the accordion, which developed into a trademark of her performances. She graduated in Law from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens and in 2019 she completed her PhD in Public Law. In her first public appearance, she performed "Two Butterflies" on Miltos Paschalidis's album "Strangers in a Changing Place" and became widely known through their many years of collaboration. In 2014, she released her first album entitled "Mirela" by Ogdoo Music Group, which received a warm welcome. Ever since, she has collaborated with great names of the music scene such as Lavrentis Machairitsas, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Vassilis Papakonstantinou, Christos Thivaios, et al.