Fay Selimi, Co-Founder & Program Manager of Circular Gaia, participated
Circular Gaia Symposium is a transformative annual international gathering dedicated to advancing the circular economy as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Aligned with the EU Green Deal, UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, our mission is to reshape the global economic model to boost energy transition and climate resilience towards climate neutrality. We promote holistic circular solutions across sectors, including circular cities, innovation, tourism, energy transition, and the blue economy, while integrating cultural heritage and civil society into sustainability strategies. Our focus spans the Mediterranean, Black, and Red Sea regions, uniting efforts to address production, consumption, renewable energy, ecomobility, and circular AI. By fostering circular diplomacy and championing green projects, we aim to mainstream circular principles into policies and businesses, creating a resilient, sustainable future for all.
Join us at the forefront of the circular economy revolution. Together, we can build climate-resilient societies, create thriving circular economies, and inspire the world to achieve effectively climate neutrality.
Co Founder, President
George Kremlis is the Chairman of the Greek Initiative at UN level on protecting cultural and natural heritage from climate change impacts. He is a member of the Board of the European Public Law Organisation and the Director of its climate and circular economy Institute. He is as well the Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria. He was until recently a member of the environmental and social advisory council of the EBRD and is also currently the Chair of the Bureau of the Espoo Convention & SEA Protocol, Chair of the MOPs in 2019, elected Chair for the MOPs in December 2020 and re-elected Chair for the period 2021-2023 and the period up to 2027. He is the Chairman of the AmCham circular economy committee. George Kremlis is Honorary Director of the European Commission (EC) and has acted in this capacity as Active Senior responsible for circular economy in the islands. He was until recently special Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister on energy, climate, environment and circular economy issues. He is doctor honoris causa of the Varna Free University.
Member
HRH Princess Dana Firas is a global advocate for heritage protection and preservation. She was designated a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in June 2017 in recognition of her commitment to heritage protection and preservation as pillars for sustainable development, and her contribution to responsible tourism and community participation.In September 2023 she was elected as Vice President of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). She serves as President of ICOMOS-Jordan, which she established in 2019. She is the President of the Petra National Trust, Jordan’s oldest national nongovernmental organization for heritage protection and preservation.Internationally, Princess Dana serves as an Ambassador for the UK-based International National Trusts Organization since 2021, and in 2023, she joined the Board of Trustees of Turquoise Mountain. She served as Co-Chair of the Climate Heritage Network’s COP27 and COP28 Working Groups.Princess Dana received several awards in recognition of her contributions to cultural heritage in Jordan and internationally. She is the author of Unique and Outstanding: Jordan’s World Heritage Sites.She holds a BA degree in Economics and International Relations, an MSc in Development Studies and an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she was a Fulbright Scholar.
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George Behrakis is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the AXIOS Project, a new initiative aimed at mobilizing the Greek diaspora in the U.S. and globally to tackle the climate crisis. A graduate of Tufts University and New England Conservatory, George has an array of varied professional experiences in climate advocacy, politics, civic engagement, and the arts. Currently, he serves as Chief Strategy Officer of the Climate Solutions Fund, where he works with conservative leaders across the U.S. to build and accelerate leadership on climate and energy issues. This work has been covered in media outlets across the country, including The Washington Post, NPR, Newsweek, Associated Press, The Hill, CNN, and Politico. George is also an Aspen Institute Future Climate Leader, and is the youngest ever board member at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life, the nation’s premier educational institution focused on the on civic education and engagement of young people. Born and raised in Massachusetts, George and his family are proud Greek-Americans, and are very active in a number of Greek organizations, including The Hellenic Initiative, Leadership 100 and the National Hellenic Society.
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Carlo Buontempo is the Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) at ECMWF. He completed a PhD in physics at the University of L'Aquila in 2004 before moving to Canada for his post-doc and then joining the UK Met Office. Carlo worked at the Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services for almost a decade where he led the climate adaptation team and the climate service development team. In this role, he led numerous projects involving climate change adaptation and regional modeling in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Before becoming Director of C3S, Buontempo developed the sectoral information system of C3S, helping businesses and policymakers in sectors like finance, insurance, energy, etc. with customized and up-to-date environmental data services.
Member
Kostis Geropoulos is the co-founder and the Director for Energy & Climate Policy and Security at NE Global in the UK. A member of the Foreign Press Association of Greece, he is an experienced journalist, moderator and columnist covering energy and climate issues, geopolitics and security. He has covered and reported from many areas around the world, including Central Asia, Russia, Northern Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, and Central and Eastern Europe. His weekly column Global Energy Insider analyzes energy and geopolitics, including interviews with European leaders, politicians and experts. He has also been a guest or contributor for BBC TV and BBC Radio, Austrian radio ORF, LBC Radio, and Sky News, UK.
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Dr. Sasho Kjosev is the President of the Balkan Economic Forum and a Full Professor in the Faculty of Economics at the University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. He holds a PhD in Development Economics and a graduate diploma programme in development planning techniques from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His professional interests include macroeconomic (development) planning, development planning techniques, national accounting, sustainable development, regional and local economic development, economics of innovation, labour economics and agricultural policy.
Member
George Konstantinopoulos is a Lawyer at the Supreme Court of Athens with an MSc in environmental management. He has worked as a research associate at the European Public Law Centre and the National Technical University of Athens. He has also worked as a legal expert for the Ministry of Labor of Cyprus, responsible for the transposition of the whole EU legislation on air pollution and air quality. He was also a legal consultant of the European Public Law Center, working for the Attorney General of Cyprus on the transposition of the EU legislation on waste management.He possesses more than 20 years of experience as a senior legal expert for the European Commission, having worked until today on a vast number of conformity studies regarding the assessment of the transposition in the MS of EU Directives in the fields of environmental, energy and H&S legislation. From 1996 till today he has participated in a large number of national, international, World Bank and EU funded environmental and energy projects in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Latvia, Georgia, Ukraine, Maldives and Azerbaijan. He has also been engaged as EU senior non-key legal expert for the Policy and Legal Advice Center (PLAC I and PLAC II) of the European Commission in Serbia on Chapter 27: Environment and Climate Change.He is considered an expert on environmental liability issues, having worked for a number of insurance companies on the drafting of insurance policies on environmental damage, as also for the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies.George is considered an expert on Circular Economy and EPR, having contributed as legal expert to the drafting of the Greek National Waste Management Plan (2020-2030) and the National Waste Prevention Plan for the Ministry of Environment and Energy. He has worked on the drafting of EPR policy and legislation in Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Maldives and is currently engaged as a legal counsel for a number of PROs in Greece.He has also worked for various NGOs (ECOCITY, ARCHIPELAGOS, WWF GREECE) and is currently the Coordinator of the Scientific Committee and Head of Legal Affairs of the NGO ECOCITY, member of EUCOBAT Policy Working Group and member of the Working Groups for Law and Air Pollution of the European Environmental Bureau.
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Maria Loizidou completed her studies in UK (BSc, MSc, PhD) obtaining her PhD in environmental engineering focusing on the field of environmental protection at the University of London. She followed an academic career being Professor at the National Technical University of Athens in the School of Chemical Engineering and Head of the Unit of Environmental Science & Technology (www.uest.gr).Her efforts are continuous in the field of the environmental protection and human health, enhancing education, research technology and innovation. She has been scientific responsible for more than 200 international, European and national environmental – renewable energy projects supporting governments, competent authorities, municipalities, private sector and others (http://www.uest.gr/index.php/projects) with emphasis on solid waste management including circular economy, biorefineries and bioeconomy, as well management of wastewater, water resources & brine. She is also the Head of WTERT-Greece (Waste to Energy Research Council, “SYNERGIA”) and elected member in the scientific committee of chemical engineers in the Technical Chamber of Greece.She has been a Founding Member of the European Topic Center on Waste and Material Flows of the European Environment Agency (EEA) based in Copenhagen and Member of its Management Committee for many years. She has more than 600 publications in international scientific journals (http://www.uest.gr/index.php/publications) and conferences and about 13,000 citations (h-index 63, i10-index: 163). She has been member of the Management Board of the Cyprus University of Technology (2003-2012), Dean of the School of Engineering & Technology and Chairman of the Environmental Engineering Department.
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Roido Mitoula is Dean of the School of Environment, Geography and Applied Economics and Professor at Harokopio University of Athens. She holds a BA in “Political Sciences and Public Administration” from National Kapodistriako University of Athens, an MA in “Architecture of Space” and a Ph.D in “Urban Planning and Spatial Design” from N.T.U.A. She has scientific publications and has participated in numerous Greek and international Conferences. She is researcher in the Laboratory of Applied Economics and Sustainable Development of Harokopio University and she co-operated with the Laboratory of Urban Design of N.T.U.A. She specialises in issues of “Sustainable Development”. He was Head of the Department of Home Economics and Ecology from November 2015 to November 2017. She is Editor of Sustainable Development, Culture, Traditions Journal (SDCT-Journal www.sdct-journal.com) (ISSN 2241-4010) and Editor of Greek Journal "Βιώσιμη Ανάπτυξη, Περιβάλλον, Πολιτισμός, Οικονομία, Κοινωνία (www.sdct-journal.gr) (ISSN 2241-4002). She is Director of the Graduate Program "Sustainable Development" of Harokopio University and is responsible for the "Local Development". She is a member of Scientific Committees and reviewer in scientific journals and Conferences. She has organized Scientific Seminars, Scientific Conferences and Scientific Meetings on Urban Environment and Regional Development. She is the national representative of Greece in European Union programs related to Sustainable Development.
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Dr. Prasek is an independent consultant specializing in sustainable financing, circular economy and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas, with experience in over 4,000 investment projects across various sectors. He provides strategic advisory services on topics such as IFIs ESG Policies and Performance Standards, Circular Economy, Green Public Procurement, Sustainable Financing, and Corporate Social Responsibility. He previously served as the Director of Operations at the Environment and Sustainability Department of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where he was one of the key contributors to the development and implementation of the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition Strategy. Dr. Prasek also worked as an Advisor for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) and held academic positions as Assistant Professor at the Warsaw University of Technology. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering and has published numerous articles on solid waste management, circular economy, and environmental management. Additionally, Dr. Prasek is a member of several professional organizations, including the Inter-American Development Bank Invest Advisory Panel, Georgian Society of Nature Explorers “Orchis” and the Association of Sustainable Development Experts (ASDE) in Ukraine.
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Karmenu Vella graduated in Architecture and Civil Engineering from the University of Malta and later obtained a Master of Science in Tourism Management from the University of Sheffield. During his political career, he has been appointed Minister for Public Works, Minister for Industry, and Minister for Tourism twice. In 2014, he was appointed European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs, and Fisheries. During his term in office, Mr. Vella addressed some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time and thus helped improve the well-being of our citizens and our planet. Under his leadership, the European Union adopted and implemented in full the Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted new rules to reduce single-use plastic products, updated the EU’s waste legislation, and stepped up action to improve air quality across Europe and to make concrete progress in halting the decline of the EU’s biodiversity. During his mandate, Karmenu Vella also developed a leading international role for the European Union in the field of ocean governance, promoted the blue economy through increased investment, and worked to improve the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of fisheries in Europe and around the world.
Member
Dr Antonis Zorpas is a Chemical Engineer, actively engaged with several Universities, Research Institutes in Europe. He is Associate Professor at Open University of Cyprus, Director of the Lab of Chemical Engineering & Engineering Sustainability, Director in Sustainable Environmental Engineering Postgraduate Master (MSc). He has more than 650 publications (books, contribution on books, papers in journals, international conferences). His Google h-index now 56, with more than 10000 citations. He has recognized since 2019 among the worlds to 1% in the list of the most influential researchers in the world in the section of Environmental Science and on <1% in the section of Chemical Engineering based on bibliometric data from the Stanford University (USA) and Elsevier Report. Hence, the data base from Google, Scholar-GPS places him 14th on the Planet in the era of Waste Management and among the 0.05% of the most Influential Scientist in the Planet in the Era of Chemical Engineering. In addition, his acting as Editor on behalf of several Scientific Journals (belongs to SAGE, Elsevier, Springer, etc), among them is the Chemical Engineering Journal (Elsevier, I.F15.1/Q1), Waste Management and Research (Sage I.F 4.2/Q1). His research background is in the area of Strategic Panning Development in the Framework of Circular Economy and Bioeconomy, Waste Management, Life Cycle Assessment, End-of Waste Criteria etc. He has participated in more than 30 EU research project the last 15 years. For more than 20 years, he was acting as Consulting Engineer on behalf of several industrial activities and governmental authorities. On 2019 he received honorary distinction for his long-standing contribution to the environmental issues of Cyprus from the President of the Republic of Cyprus. He collaborates with European Commission since 2008 (e.g Strategic Advisor for EURASHE 2016-2029, as Technical Expert on behalf of European Defense Agency since 2020, as technical expert/ethic advisor, moderator etc).
The Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) cordially invites you to a workshop titled:
“The outcomes of COP29” on Thursday, December 19 2024 from 17.00 to 20.00 EET at the EPLO premises in Plaka (Entrance from Square of the Roman Agora, Dioskouron Street and Poikilis)
We will be honored by your presence
Prof.Spyridon Flogaitis
George Kremlis
Fay Selimi
Short coffee Break
Prof. Tonia Moropoulou
George Kremlis
Fay Selimi, Co-Founder & Program Manager of Circular Gaia, participated
Key highlights included: An announcement of the inaugural Circular Gaia
Mr. George Kremlis, member of the Board of the European
