Curating Knowledge, Connecting People

Kostas Gouliamos, an award-winning academician and poet/author, is generally acknowledged as one of the foremost contemporary thinkers internationally in the socio-cultural and literary domains. He is a winner of the 2024 «Chinese Government Friendship Award», the highest honour bestowed by the People's Republic of China on foreign experts. He is elected Ordinary Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, elected Fellow of the notable Royal Society of Arts in London/UK, and elected Member of The Europeana Network Association (ENA), a strong community of experts in the field of digital cultural heritage. He holds the position of President of the Scientific Council of the “PROMETHEUS” RESEARCH INSTITUTE in Cyprus, while he has served as Deputy President of the Board of Directors (2011-2025). He also co-chairs (2024-2028) -along with Professor Shigeyuki Hamori (Yamato University/Japan)- the International Research Institute for Economics and Management (IRIEM). He was a member (2005-2010) of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the European Social Survey-ESS, a transnational social survey that received the “Descartes” Prize (2005) for its “excellence in scientific research”. He was unanimously elected (2025) member of the Board of Directors of the Greek School of Fine Arts, an academic institution that coincides with the history of the Modern Greek State. He has taught and/or conducted research associated with prestigious universities in Canada and Europe. Since 2000 he has been living and working in Cyprus, where he elected and served as Rector of the European University Cyprus. He has also been granted the status of Honorary Professor by the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Shenzhen University in China. Kostas Gouliamos has written a considerable number of books, chapters and poetry collections published by notable publishing houses worldwide (Springer, Routledge etc) and nationally (Gutenberg, Σύγχρονη Εποχή etc). His work has been translated in several languages {French, Spanish, Slovak, Dutch, Chinese, English, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese}. His books have been selected and contained within Libraries of many high-ranking universities globally (University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University etc.) as well as in plentiful National Libraries, including the Library of Congress/USA, Zentralbibliothek Zürich/Switzerland, Royal Danish Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, The British Library-St. Pancras/UK. Some of his books were honoured by the participation of leading thinkers of our time from Nobel Prize winner Noam Chomsky to Cornelius Castoriadis, Gao Xiang and Henry Giroux. As an Editor-in-Chief (2010-15) of the “Journal of Critical Studies on Business and Society” invited in the Editorial Board and cooperated with internationally known scholars, namely Ulrich Beck, Ernesto Laclau, Fredric Jameson, and Cees Hamelink. His poetry collection "Neurasthenic Landscapes" was chosen for publication and audio-visual presentation by the Academy Award winner (music) Manos Hadjidakis at the International Festival of Arts “Music August” (1981). Hadjidakis received the consent of world-famous composer Nicola Piovani to use his music in the presentation. Iakovos Kampanellis, as the Director of the Second Program of the Public Greek Radio, assigned him (1982-3) a series of cultural programs entitled "Magnifications". He and Mikis Theodorakis co-authored the book "In the Dialectic of Harmony" (2018, Gutenberg). Kostas Gouliamos represented Cyprus as poet/author throughout the annual EUNIC's European Literature events (2018) in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Leeuwarden).

Dr Sotiroula Yiasemi is an experienced project, financial, and research manager with over twenty years of professional engagement in European-funded programmes, research coordination, and cultural initiatives. Her core duties include the drafting, submission, coordination, and implementation of EU and nationally funded projects (Erasmus+, Youth in Action, EEA Grants, RIF), as well as overall financial management, budgeting, and reporting using accounting software. As Project and Financial Manager at the Research Institute PROMITHEAS, she oversees research project development, edits and translates academic publications, manages institutional communications, and coordinates high-level events such as conferences, seminars, and workshops. Dr Yiasemi has extensive experience in event planning and programme coordination, notably as Head Financial Manager and Event Planner of the Nicosia Book Fest, where she contributed to both operational management and creative programme development. Her role as a Board Member of the Cyprus Theatre Organisation strengthened her expertise in cultural governance and artistic programming. Her skill set includes project and financial management, team leadership, multilingual communication, academic translation, content editing, website administration, graphic and multimedia design, and social media management.

Chrysostomos Pashiardis holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and Archaeology from the University of Cyprus. From his undergraduate years, he has been actively involved in archaeological missions and projects related to library management and archival organisation, developing an early and sustained engagement with historical research and documentation. Since 2012, he has been employed at the Research Institute Promitheas, where he currently serves as Head of Archives and Publications. His work focuses on the creation, preservation, documentation, and analysis of archival material related to contemporary Cypriot history. He is closely involved in the Institute’s research activities and contributes to the development and implementation of its archival and publishing strategy. As part of his professional responsibilities, he has organised and participated in numerous academic conferences, symposia, and public events focusing on contemporary history, society, and politics. He is involved in editorial coordination, content development, and the preparation of scholarly publications. Since 2019, he has undertaken additional administrative duties, representing the Research Institute Promitheas in Cyprus and abroad. Since 2016, he has been Head of the Organising Committee of the Nicosia Book Fest, the largest book festival in Cyprus. In this role, he coordinates the overall planning and implementation of the festival, which attracts thousands of visitors annually, hosts hundreds of authors from Cyprus and abroad, and brings together professionals from the fields of literature, education, and cultural production.

Eleni Shiamptani is a graduate of the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Cyprus, where she specialised in History, and holds a Master’s degree in Gender History (MSc) from the University of Glasgow. Her research interests focus primarily on the history of women in Cyprus during the colonial period and the early years of independence, with particular emphasis on the multifaceted forms of gendered experience and agency. She examines the ways in which gender relations were shaped and reproduced within the colonial regime, as well as how women claimed space and voice within the political and social life of the period. Her work also addresses issues related to women’s reproductive labour. A central dimension of her research concerns processes of identity formation through gendered experience, everyday life, labour, and participation in the public sphere, highlighting the complexity and historicity of the roles assigned to women. At the core of her methodological approach are sources that express authentic female voices and experiences, including women’s artistic production, literature, poetry, theatrical texts, personal testimonies, and works of folk tradition—sources that often remain marginalised within official historiography.