VIEWS AND ACTIVITIES OF BUSINESSES AND STAKEHOLDERS, WHICH ARE INVOLVED AND RELATED TO MARITIME

Constructive discussion on the Blue Economy

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Inspired by Greek mythology and the rich maritime history and tradition of Greece, we chose the symbolism of sea nymph Cymothoe and gave her name to our effort. Just as the sea nymph Cymothoe stirs and strengthens the sea waves, so we also hope that this initiative will stir the waters and foster a wave of renewal. The Cymothoe Initiative organizes series of events, forums and actions in sectors related to maritime, with the aim of:
– the recording of today’s reality in the fields of interest.
– the networking of involved bodies (institutional, market, research, etc.).
– the creation of communication and information channels for the subjects covered.
– the dialogue among international, European and national bodies for the design of long-term strategic objectives related to the subjects.
– the creation of important events and actions on a regular basis.

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Areas of Interest

Shipping/Ports

Shipping/Ports

Marine Transport

Marine Transport

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Fishery

Fishery

Marine & Coastal Tourism

Marine & Coastal Tourism

Shipping/Ports

Shipping/Ports

Fishery

Fishery

Marine Transport

Marine Transport

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Marine & Coastal Tourism

Marine & Coastal Tourism

Marine Construction

Marine Construction

Offshore Renewable Energy

Offshore Renewable Energy

Offshore Oil/Gas

Offshore Oil/Gas

Seabed Mining

Seabed Mining

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

High-tech Marine Services

High-tech Marine Services

Aqualife

Aqualife

Marine R & D

Marine R & D

Safety & Surveillance

Safety & Surveillance

Business Services

Business Services

Marine Construction

Marine Construction

Offshore Oil/Gas

Offshore Oil/Gas

Offshore Renewable Energy

Offshore Renewable Energy

Seabed Mining

Seabed Mining

Aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aqualife

Aqualife

High-tech Marine Services

High-tech Marine Services

Marine R & D

Marine R & D

Safety & Surveillance

Safety & Surveillance

Business Services

Business Services

Activities

The Big Tent to expand your thinking and create space for solutions for every issue related to the Blue Economy

Advisory Board

BlueTech Competition

The global maritime innovation hub

1st prize: €10.000,00

Welcome to BlueTech Competition 2024, a new acceleration program that aims to support innovative technological solutions which are applied in sectors of Blue Economy. Solutions to be submitted for judging are expected to be applied in areas of Maritime, indicative but not limited to:
• Shipping / Ports
• Marine transport
• Shipbuilding
• Fishery
• Aquaculture
• Marine construction
• Offshore oil / gas
• Marine / Coastal tourism
• Seabed mining
• Offshore renewables
• Aqualife
• Business services
• Hightech marine services
• Marine R&D
• Safety & Surveillance

Programme structure is hybrid, with many of its components to be offered online, and demo days and finals to take place in Thessaloniki. BlueTech Competition has four tracks
• General track
• Port Operations track
• Safety Robotics track
• Seabed Exploration track

and its main objective is to revitalize the Blue ecosystem in Europe and Mediterranean. The programme combines knowledge, industry best practices, marketable guidance, and targeted networking. During their journey, the teams will validate their solutions, validate their businesses, validate the markets, and get prepared to ask for and receive investments.

The teams which participate in BlueTech Competition are never required to offer any of their equity to the programme.

We catalyze innovation, cultivate technology entrepreneurship, and play a role in the economic advancement of our region. We foster unconventional thinking and inspire the generation of revolutionary ideas. We are committed to mentorship, support, and continuous progress. We invite you to become a part of our community as we strive for collective growth and success.

We are honored to have the support of the Walk AUTh, the Alexander Innovation Zone and the Thessaloniki Port Authority.

Applications will remain open until Mar 31. Apply now!

The Olympic trip of Pytheas: Accompanying the Olympic Flame to France

The Olympic Flame will light in Ancient Olympia, Greece on April 16, 2024. The torch with the Olympic Flame will be travelling for eleven days, passing through the main Greek cities, before being delivered on April 26 to the French delegation in Athens, to travel to Marseille via Piraeus port. The torch will board the French 128-years-old three masted barque Belem, and will arrive on May 8 in the port the ancient Greek colony of Massalia (Marseille), where two days of cultural events are planned to welcome it in the presence of top officials of the French government.

A smaller sailing vessel, the keeler Pytheas from Greece (named after the ancient Greek explorer), will follow the same sea route as Belem, departing from the port of Piraeus to the port of Marseille. There, Pytheas will wait for Belem to accompany her when will be arriving in the port of Marseille. Pytheas will carry the flags of Greece, Olympic Games, and the Municipalities of Ancient Olympia and Piraeus on her mast.

Upon completion of the Marseille events, and the departure of the Olympic Flame for Paris on May 9, Pytheas will depart for her return to Greece. During the return journey, she will stop at the ports of some of the most important ancient Greek colonies in the Western Mediterranean, Nice, Cargese, Napoli, and Reggio Calabria, before entering the waters of Greece where it will stop briefly in Ithaca and then head to its destination Katakolo, the port of Ancient Olympia.

Cymothoe Initiative has proudly undertaken the planning and organization of this project, in close cooperation with Mr. George Kesses, captain of Pytheas.

Pytheas of Massalia, an ancient Greek explorer (born in Marseille in c. 300 BC)

Navigator, geographer, astronomer, and the first known scientist who visited and described the Atlantic coast of Europe, the British Isles, the Celtic and German tribes, the polar ice, and the midnight sun. Although “In the Ocean”, his major work, has been lost, big part of his ventures remained known through the writings of Greek historian Polybius (c. 200 – c. 118 BC). Sailing from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, Pytheas stopped at the Phoenician city of Gades (now called Cadiz, Spain), probably following the European coastline to the edge of Bretagne. He eventually reached Belerium (“The End of the Land”) in Cornwall, where he visited the famous in the ancient world tin mines. He claimed to have explored much of Britain on foot, having accurately estimated its circumference at 4000 miles. He also estimated the distance from Scotland to Marseilles at 1050 miles while the actual distance is 1120 miles. He visited some northern European countries and may have reached the mouth of the Vistula river in the Baltic Sea. He also spoke of Thule , the northernmost inhabited island, which is six days from Scotland and extends at least to the Arctic Circle. The area he visited may have been Iceland or Norway.

CONFERENCE

BLUE ECONOMY IN MID 2020s:

from Resilience to Growth

April 7, 2023

Hellas Liberty Floating Museum, Piraeus

Almost fourteen years after the emergence of the economic crisis in Europe, three years after the appearance of Covid-19 and the first lockdown in Greece, and one year after the start of the war in Ukraine, Resilience, which appeared as Word of the Year 2020, continues as a very popular management style in the private and public sectors. At the same time, it seems that the spring, which remained completely compressed during the years of recession, still has a lot to decompress and – despite the difficult global circumstances – it makes market players quite optimistic.

The conference Blue Economy in mid 2020s: from Resilience to Growth aims to capture the current state of the ecosystem called Blue Economy, illuminating the most important movements, actions and best practices, which are recorded in all industries that are related to maritime, both in Greece and abroad. The conference is under the auspices of the Ministries of Development & Investments and Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy, Municipality of Piraeus, Hellenic Ports Association, and its program includes speeches and round table discussions.

Although, especially in Greece, Resilience is often associated with reticence, downsizing and cost-cutting policies, one of the definitions of Resilience is “the ability of an object or material to immediately spring back to its original shape”. Business history has shown that Resilience can become the most important element of Growth, especially in times of great volatility and uncertainty. It seems that entities, which prefer action to perfection and dare to take calculated risks, show better results, improve their competitive position, acquire a culture of survival in the long term and contribute to the prosperity of society and the Country.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

09:30 – 10:00

REGISTRATION

10:00 – 10:25

OPENING
Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Deputy Prime Minister
Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development & Investment
Yannis Plakiotakis, Minister of Maritime & Insular Policy
Giorgos Patoulis, Regional Governor of Attica

10:25 – 10:45

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dimitris Iatridis, Executive Director of Hellenic Ports Association

10:45 – 11:30

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
The contribution of ports and marinas to the development of coastal communities
Christos Triantopoulos, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister
Lefteris Raviolos, Mayor of Karystos
Fay Makantasi, diaΝΕΟsis
Stavros Katsikadis, Greek Marinas Association
Dimitris Tasias, ΕΥ
Moderator: Notis Ananiadis, Journalist

11:30 – 11:45

PRESENTATION
Smart Island – Naxos
Nikiforos Botis, Amazon Web Services

11:45 – 12:30

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
At the beginning of a new era for the Greek shipbuilding industry
Vassilis Korkidis, Piraeus Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Spyros Gerontitis, Evia Island Port Authority
Dimitrios V. Lyridis, National Technical University of Athens
Moderator: Andreas Zampoukas, Journalist, Athens Voice

12:30 – 12:45

PRESENTATION
The Research Teams in the Era of Reshaping the European Energy Policy
Oceanos NTUA Team

12:45 – 13:15

COFFEE BREAK

13:15 – 13:30

PRESENTATION
Growth Mindset
Dr. Rosemary Skordoulis, Organikon

13:30 – 14:15

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
The Role of the Ports in the Country’s Infrastructure System – Development, Technology, Management
Minas Papadakis, Heraklion Port Authority
Eleni Mpitsiou, Hellenic Logistics Association
Dr. Sotirios Theofanis, University of York Europe Campus
Thanos Pallis, University of Piraeus
Dimitris Bakoulis, Antipollution
Moderator: Mary Efthymiatou, Journalist, Supply Chain & Logistics Magazine

14:15 – 14:30

PRESENTATION
Conversion of Conventional Vessels to Hybrid
Navals Maritime Team

14:30 – 15:15

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
Actions for More Sustainable Development in Maritime
Dimitris Banousis, Green Fund
Constantinos Triantafillou, HELMEPA
Christina Deligianni, EPLO/ISD
Dionysios Karvelis, Polygreen
Moderator: Chrysanthi Stetou, Journalist, CNN Greece

15:15– 15:45

CLOSING REMARKS

Conference Moderator / Closing remarks: Andreas Zampoukas, Journalist, Athens Voice

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF

SPONSORS​

MEDIA SPONSORS

SUPPORTED BY

ORGANISED BY

Advisory Board Members

Dr. George K. Vaggelas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Ports management and Shipping of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is also a founding member of PortEconomics – a web-based initiative advancing knowledge exchange on port economics, management and policies. He has hands-on experience as he was an advisor for Thessaloniki Port Authority S.A., member of the Regulatory Authority for Ports in Greece and managing director of consultancy firm in the port and shipping industry. He has (co-) authored several studies published in international scientific journals and presented at international conferences, examining port economics and management, port policy as well as shipping transport and seaport economics, management and policy. George has completed shipping and seaport related projects in several European countries, examining transport systems and port reorganization, transport systems investments, port M&A’s, shipping clusters, shipping policy etc.

Christy Emilio Ioannidou was born in Athens. She studied psychology, history and etymology. She is a Naval History researcher specializing in topics related to Naval Warfare in antiquity. She developed remarkable literary activity, publishing books and writing more than 100 articles, monographs and studies in academic journals and magazines issued by specialized agencies such as the Hellenic Navy General Staff. Christy has got plenty of awards and honored plaquets for her research in Naval History, among them the Award of First Section of Sciences, Academy of Athens, 2021. She is founding member and member of the Board of Directors of Hellenic Ιnstitute of Maritime History (H.Ι.M.Η), member of Hellenic Submariners Association and of Koryvantes Association of History Studies.

Christos Karapiperis is the CTO and Co-founder of DNA Sequence. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration and a BSc in Computer Science. His academic profile is enhanced by a Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Institute of Management, UK. Professionally, Christos excels in overseeing large IT projects in both the private and public sectors and has been involved in EU and national-funded bioinformatics research. He specializes in cloud technologies and platforms, focusing on big data pipelines and machine learning operations (MLOps). His expertise extends to multi-cloud environments, making him a versatile and valuable asset in information technology.

During her longstanding career, Dr. Venetia Koussia has acquired senior management positions in companies and organizations of various industry sectors, leading them successfully through highly volatile market conditions by designing and implementing socially responsible growth strategies. Through innovative collaborations with the EU and undertaking an active role in national and international institutions, such as AmCham Greece and Compete Greece, she has been contributing to developing and implementing initiatives aiming always to improve aspects of competitiveness of the Greek economy. Venetia holds a postgraduate Diploma in Corporate Governance, a Ph.D. in Corporate Strategic Planning for Banking Services and an M. Phil. in Agricultural Marketing and Market Research. Her B.Sc. is in Business Administration from the American College of Greece. She does not know what her next field of studies will be but she definitely knows she would like to explore further the impact of humanities on humans.

Prof. Nikolaos E. Labrou received his BSc degree in Chemistry from the University of Patras, and his PhD in Enzyme Biotechnology from the Agricultural University of Athens. He has conducted post-graduate studies in Regulatory Affairs (University of California San Diego, USA) and postdoctoral research, as Marie Curie fellow, in protein biochemistry and molecular biology (Leeds University, UK) and then at Agricultural University of Athens. Dr. Labrou started his academic career as Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, and he is currently full Professor with tenure and Director and Ηead of the Enzyme Technology Lab. He teaches at the postgraduate and undergraduate levels. His research takes place where molecular enzymology, chemistry and blue biotechnology meet and covers aspects of the entire range from pure to applied science. Dr Labrou serves as Editor-in-Chief for three journals, and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in leading international journals. Prestigious funding agencies that have supported his research include the EU, NATO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bayer AG etc. Dr Labrou is a Member of the Board of Directors and Group Leader (Biocatalysis) at the Institute of BioEconomy, University Research Center of the Agricultural University of Athens. He is co-founder and Research Director of the biotech company EnzyCeuticals (a spin-off from the Agricultural University of Athens. Dr Labrou featured in the World’s Top 2% Scientists in four consecutive years (2019-2022) in his field according to the Stanford Rankings.

Fay Makantasi is the Research Director of diaNEOsis. She has taught Microeconomic Theory and Game Theory at Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and Principles of Economics at Hellenic Open University (HOU). She completed her PhD thesis on a game theoretic approach of international trade at AUEB. As a Postdoctoral Fellow she focused on public sector reform in Greece, the country’s export performance and the measurement of its human capital. During her studies she awarded grants for excellence and research from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), the Bank of Cyprus, the Georgios and Victoria Karelia Foundation, the AUEB, the European Research Funding Program -“Heracleitus II”. She has recently received a research grant from the Hellenic Observatory of LSE on intelligent modeling of e-Government initiatives in Greece. Her research has been published in international journals and she has presented her work in national and international conferences. Fay has also co-authored and edited socio-economic research about Greece’s exit from the crisis and its modernization.

George Maronidis has been founding partner of “Maronidis & Associates Law Firm” since 1996, is currently the managing partner, and admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Greece. He studied law at the Law School of the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (LL.B.) and holds an LL.M. Degree in maritime law from the University of Southampton, UK. George holds an Erasmus Scholarship Diploma in English Law from the University of Essex, UK. After his LL.M. studies, he worked for the London solicitors’ firm Thomas Cooper & Stibbard. His focus is mainly on shipping, transportation & logistics, commercial, company and insurance law and arbitration. He has established a reputation in litigation and legal counseling in his work. George represents industrial and commercial companies in litigation and negotiations, as well as major shipping lines, railway undertakings, multimodal transport operators, logistics hubs, Chambers and Associations/Organisations and has also participated in legislative committees of shipping and transport bodies with the respective Ministries for major issues. He has participated and spoken in numerous domestic and international conferences on freight transport and logistics, in several European programmes, and also writes in journals and columns of this sector. He is an elected BoD member of the Hellenic Logistics Association.
Dr. Eri Toka is a Mechanical Engineer with PhD in Industrial Management from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is professionally active in technology transfer, in the exploitation of research results of national and European funded research programs, as well as in the connection of research and innovation with business and society. She is the Head of the Technology Transfer Office of the Research Committee of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where she has also served as an external associate for national and European-funded research programmes. Eri has served as General Manager of the Hellenic Logistics Company of Northern Greece, while she remains an active member of the Board of Directors of GASCM. She is a member of the Standing Committee for Competitiveness – Entrepreneurship – Innovation of the Technical Chamber of Greece (Department of Central Macedonia) for the period 2020-2024, member of the Industry and Young Entrepreneurship Groups of ICC Women Hellas, and member of the Association of Graduate Greek Women Engineers.

Plamen Tonchev has been Head of Asia Unit at the Institute of International Economic Relations (IIER), Greece, since 1998. As an IIER representative, he is a founding member of the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC). In addition, he sits on the EU Chapter of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (EU CSCAP) committee, and has acted as a member of the Scientific Committee of the Asia-Europe Sustainable Connectivity (AESCON) initiative. Plamen has published books on Japan, India and Pakistan, as well as various reports and articles in academic journals on China’s socio-economic development and foreign policies. He has given lectures in a number of European and Asian universities and think tanks on political/economic relations between Europe and Asia. Plamen is a regular commentator in Greek and international media outlets on related issues. 

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