Agenda
Get ready for an inspiring program!
The Circular Gaia Symposium 2026 agenda will be announced soon — featuring three days of keynote speeches, panels, workshops, and discussions on circular economy, sustainability, AI innovations, climate resilience, heritage protection, and more.
Agenda
DAY 1
9 OCTOBER 2026
09:00 – 09:30
Registration
09:30 – 09:45
Welcome Addresses
Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria, Director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Director of the EPLO and President of its Board of Directors
09:45 – 10:30
Opening Speeches
Prime Minister of Bulgaria
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hellenic Republic
European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans
Head of the MED POL Unit, UNEP/MAP
Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
10:30 – 11:30
Panel 1 - From Law to Impact: The EU Circular Economy Act and Policy Instruments
Moderator
Lawyer at the Supreme Court, Head of Scientific Committee ECOCITY, Member of EEB Law WG
Speakers
Managing Director, COMBATT S.A.
President & CEO of the Collective System for Alternative Waste Management of Excavation, Construction, and Demolition Waste, ANAKEM S.A.
Head of Sustainability Advocacy EMEA at Indorama Ventures PCL
General Manager of FILTRA S.A
11:30 – 12:30
Panel 2 - Closing the Loop Globally: Policy and Legal EU and International Circular Economy Frameworks
Moderator
Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria, Director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Speakers
Minister of Environment and Water of the Republic of Bulgaria
Director of Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Executive Director of the European Environment Agency
NTUA, Vice President and Waste Management BoD Chairman at Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water – RAAEY
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Water Management and Water Law of EPLO
12:30 – 13:30
Panel 3 - Can Skies and Seas Go Circular? The Future of Fuel & Materials in a Carbon-Constrained World
Moderator
Management Consultant
Speakers
Sustainability Manager at Aegean Airlines
National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering
Key Account Manager for Tanker Segment in RINA
Head of Alternative and Renewable Fuels within the Strategic Planning and Development department of the Motor Oil Group
13:30 – 14:00
Lunch Break
14:00 – 14:15
Keynote speech
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hellenic Republic
14:15 – 15:30
Panel 4 - Green Financing and ESG
Moderator
Director at Sustainability Advisory Services
Speakers
Vice President at the European Investment Bank (EIB)
Managing Director Environment and Sustainability at EBRD
Director of Climate Change and Sustainability Centre (CCSC), Bank of Greece
Chief Operating Officer at Henley & Partners
Global Executive Lead for Development & Sustainability at MHA
CEO and Founder SIHub
15:30 – 16:30
Panel 5 - Green Infrastructure and Climate Resilience
Moderator
Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria (2005-2009), President of PES (2011-2022), Member of the European Parliament (2014-2024)
Speakers
Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Hellenic Republic
Minister of Transport & Telecommunications of the Republic of Bulgaria
Governor of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority
Public Relations, Corporate Culture & Investors Relations Manager at Piraeus Port Authority S.A.
16:30 – 17:30
Panel 6 - Circular Economy, RES, Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality
Moderator
Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria, Director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Speakers
Minister of Environment & Energy, Hellenic Republic
Minister of Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria
Chief Executive Officer, Renewables & Energy Storage at COPELOUZOS GROUP & Managing Director of ELICA INTERCONNECTOR SA
Managing Director of EnEarth
17:30 – 18:30
Panel 7 - Green AI, Information Integrity & Climate
Moderator
Journalist, Political Analyst
Speakers
Special Secretary for Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance at the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence
Assistant Director – General Communication and Information UNESCO
Chairman of the BoD and Director General of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH)
Dean, Non-Commissioned Officers’ (NCO) Academy; Professor of Engineering and Defense Materials , Hellenic Army Academy
18:30 – 19:15
Awards Ceremony
Secretary General of Private Investments, Ministry of Development, Hellenic Republic
19:15 – 20:15
Reception
DAY 2
10 OCTOBER 2026
09:00 – 09:30
Registration
9:30 – 10:30
Panel 8 - Brain Economy
Moderator
Co-Director of the Circular Economy, Environment, Energy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Speakers
Founder and President, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association - EMEA; Co-Founder, Brain Capital Alliance
Harris Eyre – Executive Director, Global Brain Economy Initiative; Senior Fellow, Rice University and UTMB; EMEA Advisor
Dean, Non-Commissioned Officers’ (NCO) Academy; Professor of Engineering and Defense Materials , Hellenic Army Academy
Senior Adviser to the European Policy Centre and a Senior Fellow at the Global Federation of Competitive Councils; Former Greek desk at European Commission
10:30 – 11:30
Panel 9 - Waste Streams and Waste Water as Resources
Moderator
Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria, Director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Speakers
President of the Hellenic Regulatory Authority for Energy, Water and Waste (RAAEY)
School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens
General Manager of FILTRA S.A
11:30 – 12:30
Panel 10 - Mainstreaming Circular Diplomacy in Climate, Energy and Environmental Diplomacy
Moderator
Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria, Director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Speakers
Chair of the Commission for Environment, Climate Change and Energy of the European Committee of the Regions, f. Mayor of Athens
Deputy Secretary General of BSEC PERMIS
Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of the Directorate for Environmental Protection, Climate Change, and Global Policies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
12:30 – 13:30
Panel 11 - Circular Islands & Circular Tourism
Moderator
Public & Social Affairs Director of theaddcase
Speakers
Minister of Tourism, Hellenic Republic
Secretary General Natural Environment & Water, Ministry of Environment & Energy
Governor of South Aegean and President of the Association of Greek Regions
Chair Greening the Islands Foundation – Board member & Vice – Chair Global Solar Council (GSC)
Founder of the Green Transition Forum, Chair of the Board of dir.bg
Chief Executive Officer at VVT Engineering LTD
13:30 – 14:15
Lunch break
14:15 – 15:15
Panel 12 - Circular Trade and Critical Raw Materials
Co-organized by the Chair of Environmental and Mineral Economics of the University of Orléans
Moderator
Chaired Professor of Economics at the University of Orléans and a research fellow at Laboratoire d’Economie d’Orléans
Speakers
Ph.D. researcher at the Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orléans (LEO) and Chair of Environmental and Mineral Economics (CEME) at the University of Orléans
PhD researcher at BRGM and the Laboratoire d’Économie d’Orléans (LEO), affiliated with the Chair of Environmental and Mineral Economics (CEME)
PhD researcher at the Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orléans (LÉO) and a Junior Researcher at the Chair of Environmental and Mineral Economics (CEME), University of Orléans
15:15 – 16:15
Panel 13 - From Farm to Fork Circular Agroeconomy
Moderator
Chair at Geo Routes Institute, AgriBusiness Forum, Balkans & Black Sea Forum, Gnomon Performance
Speakers
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Executive Director, FoodDiplomacy Network & Member, Council of Administration, Agricultural University of Athens
Agricultural Engineer and Environmental Scientist
Founder and CEO – agroCO2
Executive and Innovation Leader, Managing Director Bulgaria Agricultural Market Information System
16:15 – 17:15
Panel 14 - Circular Cities
Moderator
BoD Member, Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste & Water (RAEEY)
Speakers
Former Governor of Giza Egypt and Former Dean of Cairo University
Senior Energy Efficiency and Energy Policies Expert Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy (IEECP), Netherlands
MSc planner/architect, ECOCITY Board
17:15 – 17:35
Fireside Chat Dialogue "Promoting environmental policy through communication"
Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria, Director of the Circular Economy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Director for Strategy and General Affairs at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV)
17:35
Athens Conclusions
DAY 3
11 OCTOBER 2026
Co-organized by the Ministry of Local Development & Environment of the Arabic Republic of Egypt and supported by the UNEP/MAP
11:00 – 11:30
Registration
11:30 – 11:45
Opening Speech — H.E. Dr. Manal Awad
Minister of Local Development and Environment
11:45 – 13:00
Panel 1 - Enhancing the Role of Women in Achieving Sustainable Development
Moderator
Co-Director of the Circular Economy, Environment, Energy and Climate Institute of the EPLO
Speakers
Head of QHSE Compliance & ESG at Antipollution
Topic: "Beyond Compliance: Turning Sustainability Commitments into Measurable Impact"
Lawyer and mediator, Formal State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Slovenia
13:00 – 13:30
Coffee Break
13:30 – 15:00
Panel 2 - Supporting the Transition to a Blue Economy in the Mediterranean
Moderator
Undersecretary for Integrated coastal zone management & Egyption MAP Focal Point
Speakers
Professor of Rural Economics & Development, National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT); Senior Strategic Advisor, Blue Economy
Topic: "Circular Blue Value Chains"
Professor of Oceanography, Suez University; Environmental Consultant, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS)
Topic: "Marine Spatial Planning as A Strategic Framework for Sustainable Blue Economy and Marine Governance"
Undersecretary, Ministry of Environment; Head of EEAA Alexandria Region; Egyptian MEDPOL & Marine Litter Focal Point
Topic: "Protecting Egypt’s Mediterranean Coast: Environmental Priorities and Challenges"
Join us in transforming ideas into action!
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.