Roula Bachtalia is working as Programme Manager at the egg - enter•grow•go The Programme egg is an integrated incubation, acceleration and co-working programme, a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of Eurobank, designed and implemented with Corallia. Roula Bachtalia is an active business person with a solid understanding of the digital business strategy and a tenacious drive to generate new business opportunities. She is working in senior positions in the field of Sales & Marketing for more than 25 years. She has a postgraduate degree (MBA) in Business Administration from the Bath University in UK. She is elected member of the Executive Committee of the Women Entrepreneurs in EEDE and Chairman of the Greek Alumni Association of Bath University. Roula Bachtalia is certified marketer of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and certified project manager from the International Project Management Association (IPMA). Hide CV

Konstantinos Bliatkas is a journalist, writer, screenwriter and television anchorman of news related programs. He is an awarded documentary producer - both in Greece and abroad- for a series of historic documentaries ("The century of Thessaloniki», «People tell the Story», etc.), he is also the creator of well-known newscast and entertainment programs on public television such as "Triti Matia", "I parees ", "Milontas Politika" etc. He was General Director of National Television -ERT3 (2010-2013) and editor of the newspaper "Macedonia". Hide CV

Aphrodite Bouikidis is the Partnerships Development Coordinator for CulturePolis. Prior to this, she was the Founder of Ashoka Greece. She has directed student leadership and social innovation programs with Next Generation Initiative, a Hellenic-American non-profit organization that supports leadership and mentorship opportunities for students and young professionals across the U.S. Aphrodite also spent three years on the Middle East and North Africa team at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), where she helped develop and support civic participation programs, including programs focusing on women, youth and civil society organizations. She earned a master of arts degree in international relations from the University of Chicago and was named a StartingBloc Social Innovation Fellow in 2010, and selected to join the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders network in 2014. Hide CV

Michail Dimou is Full Professor in Economics in the University of Toulon. He is the Director of the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Toulon and the President of the French Speaking Section of the International Regional Science Association. Michel Dimou is co-editor of the Journal Région & Développement. He has participated in several missions to expertise research projects in France and in Europe and has been invited Professor in Italy, Vietnam, China and the United States. Michel Dimou has published over 30 articles in different scientific journals, many book chapters and three books. He is specialized on urban economics, spatial economics and migration economics. Hide CV

Nikos Efthymiadis is Chairman of REDESTOS - Efthymiadis Agrotechnology Group, established 1935, a leading business group in Greece and Southeast Europe in the field of Agricultural technology, supplies and services. His social activities are the following: Chairman of the STABILITY PACT / Business Advisory Council for Southeast Europe, Brussels, President of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece – FING, President of the Thessaloniki Technology Park, Chairman of the Business and Cultural Development Centre, President of the Northern Greece Businessmen’s Cultural Association, Vice President of the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in S.E. Europe – CDRSEE, Chairman of the Business Information and Clearing Center – BICC, President of the Industrial Dept. and Member by Excellence of the Board of the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Permanent Committee for Trade Facilitation – Hellaspro. Furthermore he has contributed to several European think tanks on development and cooperation in Southeast European region. Mr. Efthymiadis is also Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Thessaloniki. Hide CV

Stefanos Giotakis is a graduate of Financial Studies (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and an MBA graduate (University of Macedonia). Currently he is working in the Research Committee of Aristotle University, monitoring “Education and Lifelong Learning” projects, as Head of the corresponding unit. In 2012 he and a friend cofounded Artifesto, a company which aims to beautify the city’s walls with the help of its Citizens. In 2015, after endless efforts and “fights” with the Greek bureaucracy, Artifesto succeeded in changing 2 huge building walls. Stefanos, as the Marketing Director of this small company, is currently setting the basis for Change Reaction, a new section of Artifesto which is looking on the greater picture of our cities, not only changing their walls.. but everything which disturbs us. Hide CV

Güntzel, whose work addresses the alienated relationship between humanity and nature initially started to cover the topic in 2009 after reading an article on rotating plastic carpets in the Pacific Ocean and its effects on marine life. In the following months she established a cooperation with marine biologists working on the most remote of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands KURE ATOLL monitoring the impact of marine debris on a rare breeding colony of Laysan albatross phoebastria immutabilis. The atoll lies in the path of a major Pacific current, resulting in tons of debris floating in the area causing an enormous hazard to sea life especially to seabirds mistaking the debris for food. The biologists agreed to provide Güntzel both with debris items found in the boluses of dead Laysan albatrosses and collected on the beaches of the atoll on a regular basis for her work. In the course of the following years she started collecting garbage herself on different beaches all over Europe to create sculptural works and conceptual series and to analyze the correlation between human consumer behavior and the state of the oceans. In 2011 Güntzel extended her practice to experiment with performance and intervention in public space especially dealing with the role of garbage/plastic in human civilization and man’s self concept. Much of her work is inspired by scientific research. Hide CV

Studied Architecture in Thessaloniki, Greece, (Dip. Arch. AUTh 1975), and continued with post-graduate studies in Paris (Certificat CRU 1976, DEA EHESS 1976, DEA Paris1 1977, Diplôme CRU 1979). He received his PhD at Paris-1-Pantheon-Sorbonne University, France (1979). He is a professor of Architectural and Urban Design at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and also director of the postgraduate program “Environmental Design of Cities and Buildings” of the Greek Open University. He has been a visiting professor at the post-graduate school of Architectural Association (London, 1991-1993).

He has also contributed considerably to academic administration, as Vice Head  (2001-2005) and as Head (2005-2009), (2013-) of the School of Architecture of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as a founding member of the new School of Architecture of the Technical University of Crete in Chania (2003-2005), as Vice Head (2004-2008) and as Head (2008-2010)  of the department of Spatial Planning and Development of AUTH.

He has published more than 200 articles in scientific journals, proceedings of Greek and international conferences and architectural magazines.  He has written or edited 35 books on architecture and urban design. As an active citizen, he has often presented his views and ideas in newspapers and magazines, on television and radio.

He has participated as scientific coordinator, or main researcher, in 30 research projects from various bodies and institutions (European Union, Ministries, Municipalities, and Universities). He is author of numerous private and public projects which include housing, cultural facilities, university buildings, urban design, town planning and restorations. His architectural work has been published and presented in special editions and exhibitions in Greece and abroad and furthermore, has participated in organizing and managing architectural exhibitions of major importance.  His work has received more than 30 awards and distinctions in national and international architectural competitions.

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Kostis Karatzas was born in Thessaloniki. He studied Civil Engineering at the Aristotle University, followed by an MSc in Emergent Technologies & Design from the Architectural Association in London, and an MBA at Imperial College Business School. After working and teaching in London, exploring the fascinating world of engineering, architecture and design, he returned to Greece. He is the founder of The Greek Foundation, board member of IANOS Culture Chain, and actively involved in various other projects in Greece and abroad. Hide CV

Martin Kohler works as publisher, researcher, lecturer and photographer in Hamburg, Berlin and São Paulo. Numerous research visits and fellowships brought him to universities in Massachusetts, London, Rotterdam, Seoul, São Paulo, Istanbul, Barcelona, Prag or Daejeon. As a trained landscape architect he teaches city and culture at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg and urban photography at HafenCity University, Hamburg and has founded and curated several art projects in public spaces such as the Hafensafari (2009). He has deployed photography as a research method in various projects including a series of "urban transects" in London, Seoul and elsewhere. Hide CV

Stella Kostopoulou is Associate Professor of Regional Economic Development at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economic and Political Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh). She has also taught at Cyprus University of Technology, Hellenic Open University, International Hellenic University, Democritus University of Thrace, University of Thessaly, and gave lectures and seminars at Universities abroad (Peking University, La Trobe University, York University). She is the Director of the Laboratory of Applied Economics and Development and Departmental ECTS/Erasmus/LLP Coordinator of the Department of Economics, AUTh. Her research interests include regional economics and planning, tourism development, cultural industries and local development. Hide CV

Orestis Kourakis is a Fulbright Fellow, specialised in computation archaeological photography. He studied photography in the graduate program of Savannah College of Art and Design (GA). Degree received with honors. In 2013 he initiated an interactive platform for Ancient Greek and Roman collections as a visiting research scholar at Columbia University (NY). Moreover, he initiated an interactive multi-sensory museum education project as a visiting artist in residence at Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ). In 2011, he has been selected by the Louvre Museum exclusive photographer for the 2011-2012 “Ancient Macedonia, the kingdom of Alexander the Great” exhibition at Louvre (France). He has been the official and exclusive photographer and cinematographer of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Greece) since 2006 and has collaborated with many leading museums and institutions worldwide. In 2010, he collaborated with ICS-FORTH in the prototypical multimedia information system "Macedonia from fragments to pixels", presently hosted in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. He teaches photography and post production in the American College of Thessaloniki since 2010 and has given series of lectures on archaeological photography at many institutions worldwide. His work has been published in more than 50 scientific books and journals and has had 20 group and solo exhibitions worldwide. Apart from archaeological photography he has been the cinematographer and editor of awarded archaeological documentaries and he is also exploring other photographic fields such as: aerial orthophotogrammetry, 3D reconstruction, Augmented Reality, digital infrared/ultraviolet, robotic panoramic/360 photography, RTI and other innovative techniques. Hide CV

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Onur Ozkaya is a practicing designer and a lecturer at Cambridge School of Art and Chelsea College of Art in London. He started experimenting with furniture and industrial design as an architecture student at Architectural Association, London. His research and practice have been focusing on geometry, composite materials and complex manufacturing techniques to explore contemporary design solutions in the field of architecture and design. He completed his graduate degree at the Architectural Association and worked for Foster and Partners between 2007-2009. His recent furniture projects received several design awards in Tokyo (Tokyo Designers week 2014) and Italy (A’design Awards 2013-14). Based in London, he has been working across a wide range of disciplines, developing many consumer products from furniture to various commercial design commissions. Hide CV

Lefteris Papageorgiou, CEO of Entranet Inc, has more than 15 years of experience in construction and sustainable energy projects. He has been a successful entrepreneur with 17 ventures in different areas of construction, renewable energy and manufacturing. Many of the companies he founded were acquired by European Investors. He studied at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where he received his Master’s of Science in civil engineering. Lefteris is running the entire spectrum of the Company’s (Florida, London and Thessaloniki) day-to-day operations. Entranet is an innovation leader developing speech recognition/voice synthesis consumer applications for the interaction between people and smart devices. Entranet has designed the smart home of the future for the elderly and has been awarded for that with the National Championship in Innovation 2014-2015 for Greece by the European Business Awards and has received the highest ranking at the EU project ‘’Wider: the smart home for the elderly’’. Hide CV

Aspasia Papazi is a mechanical engineer specialized in designing and modeling of mechanisms. She graduated from the School of Mechanical Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2010. She has taken part in design projects focusing at the development of a rescue robot detecting in cases of natural disasters, at the design and analysis of an autonomous robotic cart collecting data out of a river bank in collaboration with the Hydraulics Lab of the Colorado State University, as well as at the design and construction of safety equipment in collaboration with for Novocaptis, Thessaloniki. Since 2012 she works on restoration, conservation and simulation of ancient mechanisms. Currently she is working at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kastoria for the reconstruction of the Byzantine Museum of Kastoria. Hide CV

Yannis Psycharis is a Professor of Regional Economic Analysis at the Department Economic and Regional Development, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece. He has also taught at the Department of Planning and Regional Development of the University of Thessaly in Volos (2000-2009). He is the former Director of the Greek National School of Public Administration and Local Government (2010-2012) and is currently President of the Greek section of the European Regional Science Association. His research interests include regional economic analysis, regional policy, regional public finance and public administration. Hide CV

Founding director of ArtBOX.gr | Creative Arts Management, Christos Savvidis has been the Artistic Director of large-scale events such as: Art Athina - Athens international art fair (2006-2008); Action Field Kodra visual arts festival (2004-2008); XV Biennale de la Mediterannee in Thessaloniki (artistic direction and organization, 2011). He has organized and coordinated projects, such as: Forum European Cultural Exchanges (founding member and coordinator, 2000-2009); Greek Pavilion in the Venice Biennale (coordination, 2001 and 2006); exhibition "Roaming Images" in the framework of the 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (project leader, 2011).

He has also curated projects and exhibitions, such as: "Moscow Poetry Club / Making Words", within the framework of the international art exhibition of the 53rd Venice Biennale "Making Worlds" (co-curator and co-organizer, 2009); and the Greek participations in BIDA - International Biennial of Sports in Contemporary Art, Spain (curator and coordination, 2005 and 2007). "Europe Exists" curated by Harald Szeemann and Rosa Martinez (assistant curator, 2003). Between 2010 and 2012, Co-Director of Arts Management of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art (Thessaloniki, Athens), and Artistic Director of the Museum's Project Space with Lydia Chatziiakovou. Christos Savvidis is member of IKT (International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art).

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Matoula Scaltsa, prof. of History of Art and Museology, A.U.Th., was born in Athens. She studied art history and archaeology at the University of Athens, obtained her MA from the Department of Arts Policy and Management, City University, London and her doctorate from the School of Architecture, University of Thessaloniki. She has conceived for the Greek Open University the Post-graduate Programme “Management of Cultural Institutions” and she is (2001-now) the Head of the first Interuniversity Post-graduate programme of Museology-Cultural Management in Greece at the A.U.Th. She has published extensively on art, artists, museums and galleries in Greece and abroad, artistic education and cultural industry. She has mounted more than 50 exhibitions of visual arts and historic documents for big cultural foundations in Greece. In 1995 she acted as Deputy-Artistic Director of the Organization “Thessaloniki, Cultural Capital of Europe ‘97”. Her work in applied museology includes museum exhibitions of permanent collections of the Ecclesiastical Museum in Alexandroupolis, Thrace, the Museum of the Holy Metropolis of Thessaloniki, (reviewed in the British Journal Museum Practice), the Gerovassiliou Wine Museum, Thessaloniki, The Folk Museum in Velvendos, Central Macedonia, the Xanthi Tobacco Museum, Thrace, the Museum of the National Bank of Greece, Athens, the Sikelianos Museum, Lefkas, etc. She is President of the Association of Greek Museologists, member of the Governing Board of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Museums Association, UK. Hide CV

Jan Philip Scheibe’s individual artistic work is basically characterized by installations and performances in the public space and in the open landscape, often linked to light. His main focus lies on the artistic analysis of the transformation of built and natural environments under the impact of global development, rising population and human conduct in general and the distress it causes to people (→ solastalgia/eco-psychology). At the same time he reflects why and in which way the reception of nature/landscape is often defined by idealization and romanticization. Since one of the main themes Scheibe has been dealing with in the past are the disturbances in landscapes (urban, cultivated and natural) caused by garbage it seemed natural for the couple to join and create a project combining both artists approaches on the subject. Hide CV

Ioanna Symeonidou is a designer, researcher and educator. Initially trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Distinction) and the Architectural Association in London, she specializes in new technologies and design. Her design praxis moves across boundaries, ranging from architecture, to product design, mechanical applications and art installations. She has more than 10 years of professional experience in major design offices in Greece, Spain, Germany and Austria. Ioanna Symeonidou is a staff member of the International Hellenic University where she currently teaches advanced design and digital design seminars at the MSc Program in Strategic Product Design, and has previously taught at Graz University of Technology in Austria. She has collaborated with several award winning design practices, including Anamorphosis (Athens) Schwarzenbacher (Graz), HENN (Berlin) and FCC. SA (Palma). She has lectured and published internationally and has led Digital Design Workshops and Summer Schools in Greece, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, UK and the Netherlands. For her design and research work she has won numerous international awards and grants. Hide CV

Antonios Tsakiris was born in Thessaloniki. He received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering graduated from the Aristotle University. He specializes in Mechatronics and Automation Systems. Since 2015 he is a certified EOS System Operator for both Metal and Plastic EOS 3D Print systems and works at the Laboratory of Machine Elements and Machine Design specializing in 3D technologies and rapid manufacturing.

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Dr. Rebeka Vital is an architect and a faculty member of Shenkar-Engineering- Design-Arts in Israel. She is teaching the final project, as well as several other courses on environmental architecture, lighting and historical preservation. She is involved in research in the field of digital documentation of historical sites. She has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, specialized in lighting and acoustics during her studies for her master’s degree in Building Science in the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA she was involved in research on digital reconstruction of historical buildings at the Experiential Technology Center. In her professional practice she deals with architectural lighting. Hide CV

Grigoris Zarotiadis was born on the 23rd of February 1972 in Thessaloniki. He studied economics in Johannes Kepler University of Linz – Austria. During his PhD he spent a year in UMIST (University of Manchester – Institute for Science). Currently, he is Associate Professor in the School of Economics and Political Sciences in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Additionally he is Vice President of the Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, as well as of the Institute for Social Research Dimitris Mpatsis. His research covers the fields of international economics, economic development and economic growth, having a plentiful record of international academic publications and references. At the same time he is keeping in touch with actual economy, being an Independent, Non - Executive Member of the Board of DROMEAS S.A., a Greek manufacturer of office furniture, partition walls and filling systems. Hide CV