OUR EUROPE DAY

“OUR EUROPE DAY” at the Moraitis school, Sunday 16.05.2021

“Our Europe Day” is an informative and engaging online one-day event on the occasion of Europe Day and the 40th anniversary of Greek accession to the EU. The event is also under the umbrella of the "Conference for the Future of Europe", and will be held on Sunday, May 16 on the Zoom platform.

Initiated and organized by Stathis Poulantzas and with the contribution of Aliki Manousaki, Katerina Papachela (Research team), Elina Pournara and Danai Astrinaki (Social media team), the team aims to promote the European idea and to bring the European Union closer, first and foremost to fellow high school students, but also to anyone interested in making their voice heard.

This event shall be a source of inspiration for all young people, of the change for the better we want to see in Europe. Such examples could be the successful implementation of the Green Deal, and the increase of respect each European citizen holds towards the environment. The further advancement in digitalization, the strengthening of the Erasmus+ program as well as a larger involvement of the youth in EU activities are also very crucial. We understand the EU’s significant role in influencing the students’ educational and learning career, providing them the means to stand out and shape their future, and this is why a rich and multifaceted educational approach is of paramount importance. Furthermore, today’s youth is tomorrow’s leaders. It is therefore of great significance for the younger generations to be informed about the Union and its most crucial topics, this being the main reason for which we decided to embark on the project.

“Our Europe Day” will begin with an interview with the Commission Vice-President Mr. Margaritis Schinas and will continue with a series of 5 thematic panels with short speeches and discussions upon Covid Response & Recovery, Environment, Digitalization, Education and Geopolitical relations with a mix of 18 high-level and junior speakers. The short speeches will follow discussions between the panelists moderated by a student, while also questions from the audience will be answered.

Our panelists are (in order of appearance):

· Margaritis Schinas, Commission Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life

· Josep Figueras, MD, MPH, PhD (econ), Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems & Policies, Head of the WHO European Center on Health Policy, Brussels

· Christina Kattami Policy Officer at the European Commission, DG for Economic and Financial Affairs, Unit B.4 – Recovery and Resilience Facility: Green Transition team

· George Kolyvas , Research fellow at the University of Geneva, Global Studies Institute - Centre of Competences in European Studies Dusan Sidjanski / Head of Union of European Federalists (UEF) Greece / former advisor at the EU, DG Regional and Urban Policy- DG REGIO

· Spyros KOUVELIS, Director, EPLO Institute for Sustainable Development Senior Associate, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Former Minister of State for Foreign Economic, Cultural, and Environmental Affair, Former MP

· Demetres Karavellas, CEO of WWF Greece, Chair of the WWF Mediterranean Marine Initiative

· Nikos Zaimis Adviser, Trade and Sustainable Development, GSP and EPAs, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission

· Jesus Urios, Junior Policy Analyst, Low Carbon & Circular Economy, Institute for European Environmental Policy

· Antonis Tzortzakakis , Chief Executive Officer 5G Ventures S.A., Phaistos Investment Fund / Former Secretary General of Telecommunications & Posts, Ministry of Digital Governance

· Yannis Charalabidis, Professor, Digital Governance, Head, Digital Governance Research Center, University of the Aegean

· Hannah Zinner , Policy Officer at the European Commission (Junior Professional Programme), Directorate General for Trade & previously Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology (Artificial intelligence)

· Roy Tzivra, Corporate Communications: Disinformation Team member, DG Communication, European Commission

· Eva Gerland, Academic Assistant (Professor Assistant), the College of Europe

· Nikos Giannis, European Commission, Digital governance in developing countries / Dr. of Political Sciences (European Constitutional Law), University of Athens / Founder of “The Land Beyond” and “Evropaiki Ekfrasi”

· George Pagoulatos, D.Phil. Oxon, Professor of European Politics & Economy, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges, Director General, ELIAMEP

· Juan Schinas, Parliamentary Assistant at the European Parliament [Committee of Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Security (SEDE)]

· Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras, Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affair's Liaison to "Greece 2021" national Committee, former Ambassador to U.K. and MFA's Director General of European Affairs

· Kostas Botopoulos, Capital Markets Partner at Lambadarios Law Firm, advisor to the Bank of Greece, former MEP, former chair of the Greek Capital Markets Commission

For more details visit our website www.oureuropeday.com or follow us on Instagram or Facebook