A summary

For the last 16 years I have worked with many communities to implement participatory bottom-up initiatives and empower active citizenship, I have been part of several teams that use collective design for systemic solutions and I have facilitated teams to transformational journeys.

In 2018, I founded the social innovation agency among, and I have been its director since. Our focus is developing holistic methodologies that address social challenges in our communities in a more participatory and systematic way.

A few actual facts that reflect my journey are:

Work directly with partners from 500+ public and private organisations.
Engage 600.000+ citizens in projects.
From private companies like Deloitte to Municipalities and organisations like Onassis Stegi, and INCO (Google.com), I have trained 2300+ people from 46 countries.
Facilitate trainings in 9 countries.
Mentor in initiatives that support social innovation and social entrepreneurship like Global Shapers Thessaloniki Hub, WISE (Qatar Foundation) and more.

Examples of projects & trainings

learning_journey_european_programme_for_integration_migration

Learning partner & facilitator at the European Programme for Integration and Migration

Co-leading a 6-month learning journey for EPIM and their partners to move away from traditional monitoring and evaluation approaches, acknowledge the complexity of the environment EPIM's partners operate in, offer a common space for reflection, personal and collective growth, and connection among and with EPIM's partners.

We designed an online co-creation session, a kick-off webinar, one in-person summit, and a series of online trainings.

An online program to train 50 companies from around Europe on how to design a sustainable business plan and a go-to-market business model canvas with a more human-centred approach.

Learning designer of an online programme to support 50 entrepreneurs from 17 countries with COSME EU programme

The purpose of this online programme was to train 50 companies from around Europe on how to design a sustainable business plan and a go-to-market business model canvas. From the Value proposition to revenue streams, we designed an interactive learning programme that supported entrepreneurs with a more human-centred approach.

WORTH Partnership Project was funded by COSME Programme of the European Union for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

We designed a process guide of how to set up a design support service for SMEs: user research, delivery system, awareness raising, post-evaluation, improvement.

Conference Manager of the ''Future city conference''

A conference about the future urban environment, the trends and the best case practises.

700 participants, 10 international speakers, 6 workshops and 40 volunteers.

The conference was organised by parallaximag and Thessaloniki Allios project and it was supported by the Cultural Society of Entrepreneurs of Northern Greece, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, USA Embassy, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Netherlands embassy.

Social Innovation expert, learning designer & facilitator for the Social Innovation Cluster of the Bosch Alumni Network platform

Together with ChangemakerXchange and Pocket Stories, we co-designed the strategy of the Social Innovation Cluster with 700 social innovators from around the world.

For 2 years we were implementing a programme by applying user-centered research, delivering trainings, providing opportunities for collaboration, designing learning material on social innovation and more.

Service Designer at the EU project Design4Innovation

Strategy Design for the re-design of the national service “Help at Home” with 3.000 employees in 300 Municipalities.

This human-centered project took place in collaboration with the London School of Economics, 4 Municipalities and the support of the TIMA Charitable Foundation.

Our goal was to understand what are the challenges that the users and the providers of this service face and re-design the touch-points and the process.

We introduced the human-centered methodology to the Public Sector employees of this service with trainings and focus groups.

A collective memory cultural project with 35 public and private partners and 150 volunteers.

Learning designer & facilitator of Design Sprints

Learning designer and facilitator for the Make Change Design Sprint of the ''All Systems Connect'' conference in Hague

What are some viable models for mobilising and securing a head-of-state level commitment to and mandate for, accelerated national progress on sanitation, water, and hygiene?

The goal was the Head of State/Government to identify and support water, sanitation and hygiene as a priority for the country, plan 1-3 significant and sustainable actions, and provide political steer for its inclusion in national planning and financing priorities.

Facilitator ''Understanding systemic change in an uncertain environment''

The importance of recognizing the dynamics of the system we operate in, before proceeding with a project.

A workshop on the importance of systemic change in Greece, at the invitation of the Actors of Urban Change program, which empowers urban change stakeholders in Europe, with the aim of collaborating innovatively for more sustainable, inclusive and equitable cities.

The purpose of our workshop was to reflect on our role in the system we operate, to learn practical tools for understanding a system and to wonder how our project becomes more ''systemic''.

Learning designer & facilitator of a 5-day empowerment bootcamp for 5 start-ups (European Institute of Innovation & Technology)

This interactive bootcamp for start-ups from Israel, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece, focused on strengthen business capacity, sustainability plan and resilient skills.

In collaboration with Industry Disruptors and the EIT Jumpstarter program of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, that strengthens Europe's ability to innovate through entrepreneurial support.

Project manager of West Side Story tactical urban project

West Side Story was a project to document the needs of a neighbourhood in the western entrance of Thessaloniki.

This project aimed to get closer to the problems of an area neglected by the city and to initiate a public debate about its future. With the participation of creatives, artists, volunteers and more, we mapped the needs of the era and delivered a tactical urbanism project to highlight the history of the era through different means of creativity: Music, Theater, Image, Dance, Design, Architecture, Graffiti.

The project was part of the program Thessaloniki Youth Capital 2014.

Facilitator at COVID-19 Collective Action Summit

100+ changemakers of the largest Institutions from 50+ countries gathered digitally for 2 days (20-21 April 2020), in order to share good practices for dealing with COVID-19.

As part of the facilitators' team of ChangemakerXchange, we designed & delivered the summit for fellows from Ashoka, Obama Foundation, Yunus & Youth, Global Changemakers, Global Shapers, Bridge for Billions, Bosch Alumni Network, ChangemakerXchange, ChangeNOW and the Ginkgo Foundation.

Project manager of a 10-days long festival about the creative industry in Thessaloniki

Lead facilitator of Athens Climate Lab with 100 participants

Enhance the dialogue on climate change in Athens with 100 activists and policy makers from 20 organisations who spend 8 hours to design the system of climate crisis in Athens.

The topics were the impact of climate change in Athens, realistic and systemic study of climate change in Athens, vision of the ideal Athens and bridging the gap between the vision and the reality of climate change today.