BH Round Table – Blue Heritage Summit Thessaloniki

Agenda

Thessaloniki 2030 — The Blue Heritage Hub Blueprint

AI, Innovation & Regeneration in SE Europe & the Mediterranean — Can Northern Greece be the New Dubai?
7 September 2026 · NOESIS, Thessaloniki · Arrival 09:30 · Programme 10:00 – 14:30
Nine thematic panels · Strict five-minute interventions · Every panel closes with one concrete proposal for the Commitments Registry

WORKING FORMAT

Four and a half hours, action-oriented. Nine thematic panels. Each intervention runs to a strict five minutes — panel length is scaled to the number of speakers. These are not academic papers: every panel closes with one concrete proposal for the Commitments Registry.

09:30	Arrival & Registration
10:00 – 10:05	Welcome & Framing Dr. Eri Toka — President, NOESIS · Head of the Technology Transfer & Innovation Unit, AUTh Pavlina Proteou — Founder & CEO, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project
10:05 – 10:20	Opening Addresses Stavros Kalafatis — Deputy Minister of Development, responsible for Research & Innovation Prof. Nikolaos Papaioannou — Deputy Minister of Education Yannis Papageorgiou — Head of the Prime Minister’s Office for Northern Greece
10:20 – 10:50	PANEL 1 Economic Diplomacy & International Networks Putting Thessaloniki on the Global Map WORKING QUESTION: Which international networks already exist — and what is needed to convert them into investment and jobs? KEYNOTE: Alexandra Palli — President, CSR Hellas · Deputy Regional Governor of Attica Anna Kalliani — President, Hellenic-British Chamber of Commerce Mary Voziki — Vice President, Greek-French Chamber of Commerce Litsa Panagiotopoulou — Member of the Board & Treasurer, American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce Giorgos Zagkliverinos — Secretary General, SEVE — Greek International Business Association Emmanouil Vlachogiannis — Honorary President, Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EVETH) Katerina Tzitzinou — Director of International Relations, SBE — Federation of Industries of Greece MODERATOR: Sofia Papadopoulou — Journalist, Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA)
10:50 – 11:15	PANEL 2 Geopolitics & the Strategic Role of Thessaloniki The City as a Geopolitical Asset WORKING QUESTION: What is the real strategic weight of Thessaloniki in an Eastern Mediterranean under realignment — and who is competing for it? KEYNOTE: Kostas Gkioulekas — Deputy Minister of the Interior, responsible for Macedonia-Thrace FIRESIDE CHAT: Prof. Spyros Litsas — Vice-Rector, University of Macedonia · Jean Monnet Chair in International Relations, Geopolitics, Order & Security MODERATOR: Pavlina Proteou — Founder & CEO, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project
11:15 – 11:35	PANEL 3 Ports, Infrastructure & Supply Chains The Gateway of Southeast Europe WORKING QUESTION: What currently prevents Thessaloniki from operating as a genuine Balkan transit hub? Panagiotis Anastasopoulos — President, ELIME (Greek Ports Association) Stavros Karamperidis — Assoc. Professor of Maritime Economics, International Hellenic University Dimitris Tsitsamis — President, Logistics Association of Northern Greece · Senior Innovation Manager, ThPA MODERATOR: Marios Dafnomilis — Strategic Foresight Advisor on AI, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project
11:35 – 12:00	PANEL 4 Blue Economy & Ocean Governance From Protection to Value Creation WORKING QUESTION: How does marine protection stop being a compliance cost and become a productive sector? Spyros Vougias — President of the City Council, Municipality of Thessaloniki Elena Tsolka — Head of Grants & Institutional Relations, HELMEPA / INTERMEPA Prof. Christina Boutsouki — Professor of Marketing · Head of School of Economics, AUTh MODERATOR: Pavlina Proteou — Founder & CEO, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project
12:00 – 12:20	Break, Coffee & Guided Tour of NOESIS
12:20 – 12:45	PANEL 5 Climate, Circular Economy & Water Resources From Regulatory Burden to Growth Advantage WORKING QUESTION: How do water resource management and the circular economy become a competitive advantage for Northern Greece? KEYNOTE: Kostas Katsafados — Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection Prof. Konstantinos Aravossis — UNESCO Chair on Circular Economy & Green Innovation, NTUA · Vice President, RAAEY Prof. Stratos Stylianidis — Professor, AUTh · Member of the Supervisory Board, EIT Water Prof. Thomas Kotsopoulos — Professor, AUTh · Head of the School of Agriculture Lina Liakou — Global Director, Resilient Cities Network Giannis Papailiopoulos — Head of Strategic Development, ANAKEM MODERATOR: Maria Samolada — Journalist
12:45 – 13:15	PANEL 6 Research, Technology & Artificial Intelligence From Lab to Market WORKING QUESTION: Why does world-class Greek research not translate into Greek products — and what changes that? Prof. Emmanuel Tsesmelis — Head of International Relations, CERN Evangelos Bekiaris — President, CERTH Nikolaos Mavridis — Academic & Consultant in AI and Robotics, PhD MIT Christos Makiyama — President & CEO, Silicon Planet — Japan Marios Dafnomilis — Strategic Foresight Advisor on AI, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project MODERATOR: Pavlina Proteou — Founder & CEO, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project
13:15 – 13:35	PANEL 7 The City as an Innovation Platform Governance, Innovation Zones & Digital Transformation WORKING QUESTION: What prevents the innovation ecosystem from operating at full capacity — and which three decisions change that by 2030? Prof. Panagiotis Ketikidis — President, Alexandria Innovation Zone Prof. Stamatis Angelopoulos — Rector, International Hellenic University Nikos Tzollas — Deputy Regional Governor for Digital Governance, Region of Central Macedonia Spyros Tzelepis — Deputy Mayor for Innovation, Municipality of Thessaloniki MODERATOR: Dr. Eri Toka — President, NOESIS · Head of the Technology Transfer & Innovation Unit, AUTh
13:35 – 14:00	PANEL 8 Entrepreneurship, Talent & Education Why They Leave and What Brings Them Back WORKING QUESTION: What exactly does a founder weigh when choosing between Thessaloniki, London and Dubai — and what keeps talent here? Prof. Nikos Theodorakis — Professor, AUTh · Scientific Director, WALK Centre for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, AUTh Melissa Saoudy — UAE Government Advisor · Dubai Co-Lead, CamEntrepreneurs Vasilis Papakonstantinou — Vice Chairman of the Board, Start Smart South East Europe (former MIT Enterprise Forum Greece) Evita Souri — Trade Attaché, British Embassy Dimitris Kouvelas — Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Educational Affairs, Hellenic Parliament Danae Bezantakou — President, International Propeller Club Port of Piraeus · YES Forum Yiannis Vasileiades — CEO, KYANA MODERATOR: Pavlina Proteou — Founder & CEO, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project
14:00 – 14:20	PANEL 9 Finance & Investment Who Pays for the Roadmap WORKING QUESTION: Which capital is genuinely available today — and on what conditions? Konstantinos Moutsianas — Asst. Professor of Finance, University of Macedonia Marios Papadopoulos — President, BETH — Thessaloniki Chamber of Small & Medium Industries Dimitris Tselenis — Co-founder, Hellenic Impact Network MODERATOR: Maria Samolada — Journalist
14:20 – 14:30	Synthesis & Commitments Registry Presentation of the Shared Vision Map. Commitments recorded. Next steps towards the Blue Heritage Summit 2027.

Outputs

Shared Vision Map

A visual consensus map of the co-designed priorities.

Commitments Registry

Every participant commits to one specific action within 60 days.

Live Co-Design Report

Submitted to the Blue Heritage Summit 2027 as a contribution to the Mediterranean Regeneration Agenda.

Speakers

Panagiotis Anastasopoulos

President, ELIME — Greek Ports Association

Prof. Stamatis Angelopoulos

Rector, International Hellenic University

Prof. Konstantinos Aravossis

UNESCO Chair on Circular Economy & Green Innovation, NTUA

Evangelos Bekiaris

President, CERTH

Danae Bezantakou

President, International Propeller Club Port of Piraeus

Prof. Christina Boutsouki

Professor of Marketing, AUTh

Marios Dafnomilis

Strategic Foresight Advisor on AI, BeyondCSR

Kostas Gkioulekas

Deputy Minister of the Interior (Macedonia–Thrace)

Stavros Kalafatis

Deputy Minister of Development (Research & Innovation)

Anna Kalliani

President, Hellenic-British Chamber of Commerce

Stavros Karamperidis

Assoc. Professor of Maritime Economics, International Hellenic University

Kostas Katsafados

Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection

Prof. Panagiotis Ketikidis

President, Alexandria Innovation Zone

Prof. Thomas Kotsopoulos

Professor, AUTh · Head of the School of Agriculture

Dimitris Kouvelas

Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Educational Affairs, Hellenic Parliament

Lina Liakou

Global Director, Resilient Cities Network

Prof. Spyros Litsas

Vice-Rector, University of Macedonia

Christos Makiyama

President & CEO, Silicon Planet — Japan

Nikolaos Mavridis

Academic & Consultant in AI and Robotics, PhD MIT

Konstantinos Moutsianas

Asst. Professor of Finance, University of Macedonia

Alexandra Palli

President, CSR Hellas · Deputy Regional Governor of Attica

Litsa Panagiotopoulou

Board Member & Treasurer, American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce

Marios Papadopoulos

President, BETH — Thessaloniki Chamber of Small & Medium Industries

Sofia Papadopoulou

Journalist, Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA)

Yannis Papageorgiou

Head of the Prime Minister’s Office for Northern Greece

Giannis Papailiopoulos

Head of Strategic Development, ANAKEM

Prof. Nikolaos Papaioannou

Deputy Minister of Education

Vasilis Papakonstantinou

Vice Chairman, StartSmart South East Europe

Pavlina Proteou

Founder & CEO, BeyondCSR · The Blue Heritage Project

Maria Samolada

Journalist

Melissa Saoudy

UAE Government Advisor · Dubai Co-Lead, CamEntrepreneurs

Evita Souri

Trade Attaché, British Embassy

Prof. Stratos Stylianidis

Professor, AUTh · Supervisory Board, EIT Water

Prof. Nikos Theodorakis

Professor, AUTh · Scientific Director, WALK Centre

Dr. Eri Toka

President, NOESIS · Head, Technology Transfer & Innovation Unit, AUTh

Dimitris Tselenis

Hellenic Impact Network

Prof. Emmanuel Tsesmelis

Head of International Relations, CERN

Dimitris Tsitsamis

President, Logistics Association of Northern Greece · ThPA

Elena Tsolka

Head of Grants & Institutional Relations, HELMEPA

Spyros Tzelepis

Deputy Mayor for Innovation, Municipality of Thessaloniki

Katerina Tzitzinou

Director of International Relations, SBE

Nikos Tzollas

Deputy Regional Governor for Digital Governance, Central Macedonia

Yiannis Vasileiades

CEO, KYANA

Emmanouil Vlachogiannis

Honorary President, EVETH

Spyros Vougias

President of the City Council, Municipality of Thessaloniki

Mary Voziki

Vice President, Greek-French Chamber of Commerce

Giorgos Zagkliverinos

Secretary General, SEVE

Press

Official press release — Thessaloniki 2030 · The Blue Heritage Roundtable Thessaloniki

Agenda

Thessaloniki 2030 — The Blue Heritage Hub Blueprint

Outputs

Shared Vision Map

Commitments Registry

Live Co-Design Report

Speakers

Press

Blue Heritage Summit Thessaloniki is organised by BeyondCSR, transforming sustainability into action.

QUICK LINKS

CONTACT

CONNECT