WSDC 2009: Athens, Greece
The Committee
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Effie Giannakouri - Convener |
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 Effie is a lawyer, working and living in Athens. She’s an alumna of the American College of Greece, a graduate of Athens Law School, a member of the Athens Bar Association and she’s currently an MBA candidate at the Athens Laboratory of Business Studies.
Her involvement with debating started at the age of 14, when she first saw an oratory competition in the theater of her school; it was the turning point in her life where she decided that it was the most spectacular thing she had ever seen. An oratory speaker at first, she then turned to debate which has been her passion ever since.
Effie debated for her high school team and for her university team in various competitions but found her true calling in coaching, being the debate coach for the American College of Greece and then for the PFA team that represented Greece to the World Schools Debating Competition from 2004- 2008. |
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James Probert- Chief Adjudicator |
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James Probert is Head of the Centre for Speech and Debate at the English-Speaking Union in  London. There he oversees all the ESU’s debating and public speaking activities, working with young people and adults all around the world.
From the countryside of the Welsh borders originally, James was selected to debate for England when he was 16, and competed in the 1998 World Schools Debating Championships in Jerusalem. He also took part in the 1999 tournament in London, where he spoke in the final. James carried on debating for a while at university where he represented the London School of Economics as national champion for England and Wales and as a semi-finalist in the World Universities Debating Championships in 2000. In 2001 he helped found a debate outreach programme for schools in east London and now runs that scheme’s successor in his role at the ESU, which he took up on graduation in 2002.
He says “it’s not an overstatement to say that going to WSDC changed my life – because of it I have many of my friends, my job and some of my best memories. I’ve been coming back as a judge to every tournament since Johannesburg in 2001 and I’m thrilled to have been asked to act as Chief Adjudicator for the Athens championship.”
“This tournament is one of the best things that young people can take part in, and I really want to be involved in helping to run it and getting more countries involved.”
James has taught or lectured on debate and public speaking in 30 countries on every continent. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the World Schools Debating Council and also serves as a governor of a Primary School in London. Besides debate he enjoys cookery, reading and writing fiction, and having the odd drink. |
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Eirianna Kouri- Chief Adjudicator |
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Helen Koliais- Tournament Director |
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 Helen has been teaching in Greece since 1989, and is currently CAS Coordinator at Anatolia College IB school. For the past 15 years she has been coaching Debate, and Anatolia teams compete in national tournaments 2 or 3 times a year. Helen has been an adjudicator at Worlds Schools Tournaments three times (South Africa 2001, Peru 2002 and Stuttgart 2004).
Helen became head of the school Forensics team in 1998, and was Tournament Director at Anatolia College in 1999, 2001 and 2005. She is currently President of the Pan-Hellenic Forensics Association
In 2003, 2007 and 2008 Helen was the Director of Model United Nations conferences at Anatolia College, which were attended by students from several European countries. She is now heading the team that is organizing ACMUN 2009. |
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Kallina Basli- Communication Manager- Coach |
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Lana De Beer Heard- Events Manager |
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 Lana was born in South Africa, where she enjoyed the unique experience of growing up in the formative years of the not yet fashionable Conservation Movement. Family life was deeply immersed in the bushveld of Africa. After she moved to Greece in 1988, she became involved in the Deree Forensics Debating Club which was in its infant days at the American College of Greece. It was an exciting time for Lana to help in the development of the club and in 1991, her and her team mate ranked 2nd in ESL at the World University Championships in Toronto. During the next seven years, Lana was not only Chief Adjudicator of Europeans, Athens 1993 and Tournament Director for 18th WUDC, hosted in Athens, she also got married to James and had 3 children. During the recent 20 year Reunion, Lana was awarded the “First Mommy of the Debate Club.” She has continued to be involved in debate through the years.
Lana looks forward to planning a great experience for all attending WSDC. |
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Albert Fornis - Financial Director |
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 Albert started debating ten years ago when he joined Pierce College's debate club. He competed in many domestic tournaments and was selected for the PFA team that represented Greece to the World Schools Debating Championship in Lima in 2003. This was a transforming experience which equipped him for the next step.
Along with his studies in Banking and Financial Management at the University of Piraeus he coached Pierce College's debate team for two years and Athens and Psychico College's debate team for another two. He was assistant coach of the PFA team that represented Greece in Cardiff in 2006 and was elected member of the WSDC's motion committee for the tournaments of 2007 and 2008, which were held in Seoul and Washington DC respectfully.
Albert is know working for a management consulting firm in Athens and is a member of the Organizing Committee of Athens 2009. |
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Zenon Zambakides- Volunteers' manager |
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 Zenon holds a BA in Economics and an MSc. in Marketing. He currently teaches I.B. Economics and Theory of Knowledge in the Hellenic American Educational Foundation (HAEF) high school. He has in the past also taught in the American School of Athens. Moreover, he has lectured and tutored in economics, business and e-commerce in the MBA as well as in the Management School of the University of Edinburgh. He had coached the American Community School debating and impromptu team for two years and is currently helping with the coaching of the HAEF debating team. His involvement with debate started much earlier though during his University years.
Zenon has also held various positions in industry. Some are that he has worked as an e-commerce manager in Unibrain , a high-technology company, as well as a marketing manager in an internet company. He has also worked as a research associate in the creation of an online MBA . |
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Alex Stratis- Transportation manager |
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 Alexandros Stratis graduated from Pierce College in 1999 and attended the Panteion University for Social and Political Sciences from 2000 to 2004. He majored in International Relations and European Studies and then continued into graduate school at the University of Chicago from where he received his Master’s of Arts degree in August 2006. His graduate thesis concentrated on US Counterinsurgency and Peacekeeping operations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia from 1963 to 2005. He has been active in the Greek school debating community since 1997 and is currently coaching the Pan-Hellenic Forensics Tournament Debate Team of the American College of Greece – Pierce College. He lives in Dionysos, Attica.
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Nikos Androulakis- PR & Communication |
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 Nicolas Androulakis was born in Athens on August 20, 1987. In 2005 he graduated from Pierce College (American College of Greece). He has been studying ever since, at the University of Piraeus, in the field of Finance and Banking Management.
He worked at Interamerican S.A, as a financial insurance agent (2007-2008), and as an independent agent, ever since. He has been debating as a Pierce College student in both Greek (2004 oratory finalist) and English (2005 PFA tournament semi-finalist). He has been both debating and judging at Deree College Invitational tournaments since 2006 and judging at the 2007/2008 PFA tournament. He has been coaching debate and impromptu at HAEF (Hellenic American Educational Foundation) since 2007. |
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Petros Papalianos- Hospitality Manager |
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 Petros is a graduate of the Athens University of Economics and Business and has a Master’s Degree in Banking and Insurance Management from the University of Paris13 in France. He is currently working as a Financial Officer in Vinci Constructions Hellas, facing unreasonably high levels of stress, everyday.
He started debating at university, somewhat by chance. He soon realized that debating was probably the only activity in Greece where he could speak for six whole minutes without being interrupted - and where others were actually OBLIGED to listen! Thrilled by his newfound discovery, he dedicated much of his time -and indeed he still does- convincing others he is right.
Petros was among the founding members of the Athens University of Economics and Business Debating Society, representing it in many national and international tournaments and presently coaching it - thus wasting much of his non-existing time. So committed is he, in the art of rebutting, that he aspires to be filthy rich, so he can prove that money CAN INDEED buy you love. |
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Eleni Kourneta- Hospitality Manager |
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 Eleni Kourneta finished her BA in Early Childhood Education in University of Athens and her MA in Applied Theatre (Drama in Education) in Central School of Speech and Drama- University of London. She is currently working as a reception class teacher, a drama workshop leader and occasionally as a party organizer in the island of Paros. She has been a debater during her high school years and an adjudicator in various Greek tournaments and in EUDC in Zagreb in 2002. In 1998 she assisted the hospitality committee of WUDC in the American College of Greece. Her interests involve voluntarism, writing, art, dance, puppetry and making other people feel comfortable and happy in Greece J. |
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Maria Salliari- Artistic Director |
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 Maria Salliari was born in Athens, Greece, in 1978. She studied acting in Athens (Athens Drama School – G.Theodosiades –alumna 1999) and in Surrey, UK (Guildford School of Acting –alumna 2001).
She has worked mainly as an actress in major theatre and tv projects and has been member of well-established dance-theatre companies. The most recent play she participated in was «ΤZIZ!» (2008), which she also wrote and co-directed.
Other fields she has worked in are: translation, voice-overs, drama coaching, events presentation and theatre production.
Currently, Maria is coaching the Drama Club of the American College of Greece (Pierce) and is giving theatre courses to drama school candidates and amateur actors. With her newly established company «SYNTELESTES», she aims to promote theatre as a means of social and educational development. |
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Pennie Douligeris |
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 Pennie Douligeris was born in Miami, Florida in 1990. She graduated Geitonas School, Athens and is now studying at the Economic and Business University in Athens (OPA).
As a debater, she has won several competitions and participated in the WSDC tournaments in both South Korea and Washington as a member of the Greek national team. As a university student, Pennie has continued debating and is helping to set up a debate team in her university.
Currently, Pennie is a co-coach for the Greek national schools team and her former high school, Geitonas.
Apart from debating, Pennie has also participated in many MUN and EYP conferences, travelling to countries like Holland and Ukraine. In these conferences, Pennie was a delegate, a journalist and a chair. |
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Manos Moschopoulos |
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 Manos is the President of the Deree College Debating Club, the oldest and largest debating society in Greece. He has represented Deree in a number of international tournaments, winning the Belgrade Open in 2008, placing in the top 10 of the ESL speaker tab at WUDC 2009 and reaching the final of the European Parliament IV and the ESL final of the Cambridge IV. Manos is also the President of the Student Government at Deree, where he is a senior student of Communication with minors in Computer Information Systems and International Relations.
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Panagiotis Georgillis |
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 Panagiotis was member of the Greek national debate team in 2006. He has qualified as finalist and semi-finalist in Panhellenic forensics competition with the HAEF debate team, and was 3rd best speaker in 2006. He is currently in the final year of his BA in Law at the University of Oxford, Lincoln College.
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Vicky A. Dallas |
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Vicky Dallas is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Schools Debate Website (schoolsdebate.gr). Vicky was born in Athens in 1980. She finished her BA (Hons) in Interactive Multimedia Communications at the University of Wolverhampton and obtained her MSc in E-Commerce with Distinction at the University of Westminster. She is currently a Professional MBA Student at the University of ALBA and is a New Technologies & Project Coordinator for her own company 9AM MediaLabs (www.9am.gr).
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