The Direction of Social Welfare and Diversity organized an online conference on Thursday, February 3 and Tuesday February 15, 2022 entitled: “Natural Hazards-Summer 2021 Wildfires and operation plans”. The conference was attended by our School’s Elementary, Junior High and High School students and was a simulation of an actual meeting held among high level officers and executives from official bodies in charge of responding to natural disasters. Speakers explained to the students the process that is followed by each one of them individually as well as jointly to respond to wildfires, specifically referring to last summer’s catastrophic events. In addition, speakers shared videos of actual operations and answered questions.

On behalf of Athens College, President Professor Costas Synolakis ’75 welcomed all participants and then the Director of Social Welfare and Diversity Mr. Chrysostomos Symeonides introduced the speakers.

In his capacity as Professor of Natural Hazards Mr. Synolakis gave a speech on the importance of precaution to respond to all natural disasters, while Athens College Crisis Manager Mr. Vasilis Skanavis spoke of all the measures taken by our School in this field.

Athens College and Psychico College students presented their projects on the environment and alternative energy sources.

The speakers of the conference were:

• Giorgos Karagiannis, Deputy Secretary General of Civic Protection
• Elias Veloudos, Lieutenant colonel, 355 Squadron Commander and Giorgos Apostolou, Air Force Captain-Canadair
• Ioannis Kolovos, Lieutenant Colonel, Head of Operations and Training, Special Disasters Unit, Greek Fire Department
• Emmanuel Zacharioudakis, Head of Technical South Regional COSMOTE-OTE
• Giorgos Karagiannis, Director General EIDAP (Water Supply)
• Ioannis Konstantopoulos, Assistant Director, Attica Prefecture DEDDIE (Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator)
• Andreas Mpampaloukas, Brigadier, Director of Joint Coordinating Center of Operations and Crisis Management, ELAS (Greek Police)
• Gary Harman, Country Manager Greece, Erickson Inc., Ioannis Kourepis Erickson Inc. and Konstantinos Sevastatos, Liaison Erickson Inc. Greek Operations
• Apostolos Damkalis, EKAB (National Center for Emergency Assistance)

The conference was coordinated by Director of Social Welfare and Diversity Mr. Chrysostomos Symeonides and his associate Ms. Eleni Pasalidou.