Dr. Nikos Panayiotou is Associate Professor and Google Researcher at the School of Journalism and Media Communication, Aristotle University of Athens.

He has been a Chevening Fellow of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, a Socrates Fellow at Universidade Fernando Pessoa (Portugal), a Luxembourg State Scholar, an RCAP Fellow from APU University of Japan and a Fellow at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He is involved in research work, including the Digital News Initiative, funded by Google.

He is the initiator and organiser of the Thessaloniki International Summer Media Academy. Dr Panagiotou is a member of the advisory board of Networking Knowledge, a member of the board of directors of the Municipal Information and Communication Enterprise of Thessaloniki, a member of the European Union’s Radicalization Information Network and a member of the International Relations Committee of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

His research interests include global journalism, political communication, media literacy and conflict analysis and resolution.

Betty Tsakarestou, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the Department of Communication, Media and Culture, Panteion University, Head of the Advertising and Public Relations Laboratory (ADandPRLAB), and Director of the Mass Communication Media Division at the Department of Communication, Media and Culture.

She is Branding Officer & European Liaison for International Communication Division at The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).

She was a visiting professor at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) from 2013-2015 and has been a member of the Steering Committee of TEI of the Ionian Islands since 2010. She was selected as a “2015 Scholar for the Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) on Journalism and Media at Ohio University” for Greece. The SUSI academic program is funded by the U.S. Department of State. He taught at the International Summer University Program at CBS (2013, 2014). Since June 2012, she has been participating in the CCEBI- Co-Creating Experience Based Innovation research network at CBS with which she co-organized two Co-Creation Workshops in 2012 and 2014 focusing on Creative and Innovative Entrepreneurial Cities in the era of collaborative economy and consumption

Her research and teaching focus on Advertising   and   Public   Relations   with   emphasis   on social media/mobile communication, city branding and co-creation,   new   trends   in collaborative consumption, new startup business models including entrepreneurial (startup) journalism, corporate social responsibility and social innovation. From 2007 to 2011 she taught “Business Ethics and CSR” as a visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Cyprus.

She coordinates the research project. Since 2002 she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Communication (IEP) where she served as Secretary General and Vice President of the Board. In 2010 he was appointed member of the Steering Committee of TEI of Ionian Islands and took over the Directorate of Educational Radio and Television of the Ministry of Education, with the main task of the digital transition of the institution. Since 2010 he represents the Ministry of Education in the Committee of Experts on “Digital Literacy”. From 2007-2010 he was a member of the editorial board of the monthly publication “Vima Ideas”.

Leonidas is a Communications & Marketing professional with sepcialisation in crisis communications and behaviour change. Furthermore,  Leonidas is actively involved in various field events in Greece as keynote speaker, organizer, trainer and occasionally guest lecturer in Social Marketing, Marketing and entrepreneurship.

He has experience working as a consultant with public, non-profit and private sector organizations in the field of Marketing, Communications and Strategic Planning. He was a U.K. alumni awards finalist in Greece for 2019 and the founder of the Mindspark initiative, an initiative aiming to promote growth mindset in Greece expressed through events focused on marketing and creativity. Closing Leonidas is a Member of the Board of the International Social Marketing Association (iSMA) and National Rep of the European Social Marketing Association for Greece Leonidas is a National Rep of the European Social Marketing Association (ESMA)