Valia Loutrianaki (www.valialoutrianaki.com) is a teacher of classics, rhetoric and creative thinking in Arsakeia Schools (the oldest educational organization in Greece, founded in 1836) since 2001, holder of DEA (Paris IV, Sorbonne) and a Phd candidate in the research field “Rhetoric as a method and as a teaching subject”. She teaches experential learning at the MA of “Rhetoric, Humanities and Education”-University of Athens since 2015. Her innovative program “Teisias” for the cultivation of oral speech and communication is implemented, after teacher’s choice, in greek schools as part of “Life Skills Workshops” of the Ministry of Education. This innovative program combines classical rhetoric, techniques for generating ideas (such as de Bono’s work), principles of effective communication (Gordon model), drama in education (Dorothy Heathcote’s Mantle of the Expert), rhetorical games, team work and generally the concept of learning communities.
As president of the Hellenic Association for the Promotion of Rhetoric in Education (www.rhetoricedu.com) since 2009 and co-ordinator of the “Sympraxis Team for Democracy on Education”-European Democratic Education Community-Greece, she has organized on a voluntary basis more than 250 workshops of 2.300 hours’ duration all around Greece. In 2021 ActionAid Hellas assigned to her the organization of the panhellenic debate tournament as part of the European finals “Climate of Change Debates” in Brussels. She is founder and main organizer of Open Your Mind Summer Camps and International Democracy Camps for teenagers and university students since 2017. As an official TEDed Club leader, she promotes TED events in schools and universities. She believes in the power of connecting people through experiential learning and in educating kids and teens to become effective citizens through rhetorical and democratic education.
Dr. Markos Perrakis is a leadership development & process facilitator, psychologist, speaker, consultant and trainer of individuals and teams, founder and Managing Director of the EU Adult training & Counseling Provider Fractality. He designs and implements EU projects in the fields of leadership development and strategic planning, and uses eclectic appreciative approaches in the public and private sector in order to promote effective communication, individual and collective process development. He specializes in coaching, supervision, human capital development, training and assessments. He holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Styles and their efficiency in organisations with publications in the fields of organizational psychology and counseling and a M.A. in clinical Psychology. He is trained in Systemic Consultation, solution focused & cognitive behavioural approaches, methods of participatory design, Spiritual Intelligence, a certified provider of Vocational Guidance and Professional Orientation, utilizing psychometric assessments and coaching tools for teams and individuals in organizational, career and personality issues and ISO 9001 Lead Auditor. He is representative of the Association of International Institution Supervision in Europe (ANSE), Member of International Intervision Groups, Scientific Assistant of SOL (Society of Organisational Learning), Scientific partner of the European Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (EUMU) in Greece, in the fields of Strategic Planning and Human Capital Development programmes.
Dr. Perrakis is one of the first persons in Greece who applied the methodology of Appreciative Inquiry, which is used in the UN Summit by UN leaders. In contrast to the traditional management approaches that focus on problems, the appreciative approach makes use of the potential of the human capital of organizations
