Renée Watson
Entrepreneur, Scientist & Sportswoman
Born in rural Australia, science proved to be Renée Watson’s catalyst for exploration and discovery, sparking her imagination early and leading to a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. Her early experience working with the science community inspired a new goal; to shatter the preconceived ideas about the world of STEM and make it accessible to everyone, regardless of background, financial status or gender.
Renée has been on the road to giving a jaw-dropping science experience to 1 million children ever since she landed in the UK in 2000 with a mere €16 to her name. On the way, she has raised more than €4.5 million for emerging scientific research charities, won awards for STEM leadership and role modeling and in 2016 launched The Curiosity Box, a STEM activity subscription box, that is now sold across the EU, Australia and South Korea.
Currently, Renée is taking on the UK primary education system, championing a move away from test-led classrooms and back to celebrating a child’s innate inquisitive nature through curiosity-led learning. She also plans to set the rugby pitch alight in 2019 when she’ll co-captain the Europe over 35s team at the Touch Rugby World Cup.
MORE
SPEAKERS
AΙ & Games enthusiast
Kostas Karpouzis is a Research Director at ICCS-NTUA and Head of Games Programming at SAE Athens. In his research, he's looking for ways to make computer systems more aware of and responsive to the way people interact with each other, using natural, affective interaction and intelligent, user-adaptive algorithms.
Kostas is also investigating how gamification and digital games can be used in classroom and informal settings to assist conventional teaching and help teach social issues and STEAM subjects to children and adults. Two of the games he has worked on have won the Best Serious Game award from the Games and Learning Alliance: Siren (2013) and Navigo (2018).
Besides this, he is involved in a number of science communication activities, most notably Famelab Greece, openscience.gr (Best Website award in 2018 by the Athens Science Festival), and House of Makers, a grassroots initiative which aims to promote STEM and make-ing activities. He is also an advocate for technology and CS use in schools, participating in the “Girls Go Coding” initiative to attract girls and female adults to coding.
Musician/Educator
Petros Kourtis is a musician and educator. His is also co-founder of the art centre “Playground for the Arts”, founder and art director of the artistic and educational camp “Artventure Camp” as well as founding member of "IASIS" band and percussion ensemble "KROTALA".
Petros has been member of the Faculty in F. Nakas Athens Conservatory, a official partner of Berklee College of Music as faculty- special trainer at Studies Abroad program (Modern and Mediterranean music course) as well as a Clinician - Visiting Artist at Berklee Valencia Campus (Mediterranean music institute).
While his music course runs decades, a major station in his career was his collaboration with Dimitris Papaioannou for the Opening Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Opera's Children's Chorus
The Children's Chorus of the Greek National Opera was founded in September 2012 and has an exclusively educative role.
To this day, the Chorus has given numerous concerts, performing a wide repertoire and has participated with great success in such productions of the Greek National Opera as La bohème, Tosca, Die Zauberflöte, Carmen, The Nutcracker, Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, in such venues as the Olympia Theater, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera (Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center) etc.
The first chorus mistress was soprano Mata Katsouli and since autumn 2017, the Chorus is conducted by soprano Konstantina Pitsiakou. The Children's Chorus of the National Opera counts about one hundred children, aged 6 to 15 years old.
Presenter
Lila Baklesi is an actress and a cum laude graduate of the National Theatre's Drama School.
Through acting, she observes and tries to reach a deeper understanding of human behavior in all its various daily expressions, as well as under extreme conditions of joy and pain.
Currently, she resides in London, attending acting seminars and exploring the perplexity of this new-age Babel. In her spare time, she studies History of Art.
This summer she's returning to Greece, as she partakes in the tour of the play "Those under the stars" written by Telemachos Tsardakas, in which she co-stars along Konstantinos Mpimpis and co-directs along Artemis Grimpla.
Improvised Comedy Theater
ImproVIBE is Greece’s first Improv Comedy Theater training center. It was founded in 2012 by Menelaos Prokos and has been fully active to this day, offering improv shows and training as an art form as well as a way of life.
During all its years of operation, it has offered improvised theatrical plays that are presented at well-known theatres around Athens, while has also toured all over Greece offering training and shows. It’s contribution on a global level is also worth mentioning and has been recognized as Greece’s improv hub. Since 2015, ImproVIBE has been producing annually in Athens -and with huge success- Greece’s very own international improv festival, Mt Olymprov.
One of ImproVIBE’s most important achievements is having introduced to the Greek public a brand new theatrical art form, and it is boasting now a 500-strong community comprised of people who are actively practising the art of improv through teaching and performing. Thousands of people have been affected by ImproVIBE’s activities and improv is gradually spreading all over the country.
DΙΥ Blogger
Alexandra Diona is an art director, conceptual photographer as well as the creative force behind the blog “A Shiny Day” (ashinyday.com). Born and raised in Athens, Alexandra began her studies in Architecture, however after 3 years, she decided to follow different creative paths, working as a freelance graphic designer, event organiser and jewellery maker - all these while being completely self-taught. She also worked as a creative director and content editor for a greek fashion brand for 3 years.
Alexandra is interested in the fields of photography, ecology, decoration, design and visual content - to name but a few- and is constantly inspired by her love for the environment and most of all, life itself. Through her blog, she shares ideas on a more creative and less toxic everyday life, challenging her readers to discover and reclaim their talents, making the most of them.
