Ηaris Kokkosis is Εmeritus Professor at the University of Thessaly. He has served as a professor in Urban Planning and Spatial Planning at the Department of Planning and Regional Development at the School of Engineering of the University of Thessaly. His scientific work and research is ample and has been recognised on an international level as it focuses on the fields of tourism development, sustainable development and environmental planning. He has been head of and participated in more than 50 national and international research programmes that were about a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to development, tourism, spatial development, environmental management and planning. He has taught in numerous Universities across Europe and in other countries and he serves as a counsellor in many international organisations, such as the European Commission, the OECD, the World Bank, the FAO, the UNEP and many more, on topics that are related to planning in tourism, spatial planning, management of coastal areas and island development. He has participated in missions in many Mediterranean and African countries, such as Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Kenya, Tanzania, the Comoro Islands and many more. He has got a rich writing experience as he has published more than 50 scientific articles in internationally recognised books and journals, on the topics of tourism, sustainable development, spatial planning and the environment, island development etc while he has also participated with a large number of presentations and publications in international and Greek scientific conferences.

Dr. Elena Kountouri studied History and Archeology at the University of Athens (1985-90). She received a master’s degree (1995) and a PhD (2003) from the same University specializing in Prehistoric Archeology.
She was admitted to the Archaeological Service (1993) and worked at the Epigraphic Museum (1994), in Sparta (1994-1996), in Thebes (1996-2006), as Head of the Secretariat Department of the Central Archaeological Council (2006-2011), as Head of Directorate of the National Archive of Monuments (2011-2014), while today she is the Director of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities Directorate at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports.

She has designed, organized and implemented European funded projects while she has organized numerous educational programs, scientific meetings and archeological conferences. She has participated in international and local conferences, has written archaeological guides for the region of Kopaida and studies related to the Middle Helladic and Mycenaean period of Messinia and Boeotia, as well as Boeotian issues of history and especially geometric, Hellenistic and Roman years.

She carried out excavations in Sparta, Thebes, Orchomenos, Chaeronia, Distomo and Antikyra. During the five years 2011-2014 she implemented, in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Viotia, the National Technical University of Athens and the University of Mainz, an interdisciplinary program for the documentation of Mycenaean drainage works in the area of ​​northern Kopaida, while between 2016-2018 at the citadels of Agios Ioannis and Agia Marina in the northeastern Kopaida. Since 2018, she has been leading an interdisciplinary program of excavation research and promotion of the Mycenaean acropolis of Gla under the auspices of the Archaeological Society of Athens, with the financial support of the Region of Central Greece and the Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulos Foundation.

Em. Prof. E. Simantoni-Bournia specializes in Greek Archaeology of the Early Historical period (1000-600 BC), particularly in painted and relief Pottery of the Geometric and the Early Archaic Period; she is also vividly interested in the Theory and Practice of the restoration and preservation of archaeological sites and is actually President of the scientific committee for
the restoration and presentation of the archaeological sites of Karthaia and of the tower of Ag. Marina on the island of Keos (Greek Ministry of Culture).

She has participated with papers in several International Archaeological Conferences and has been invited to teach or lecture in many European Universities and Archaeological Institutes. She has served as Vice-President of the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Athens and Director of the Archaeological Library of the same Department.

She is a lifetime member of the Athens Archaeological Society, Correspondent member of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, member of the Conseil scientifique de l’École Française d’Athènes (until 2011), president of the scientific committee for the publications of the Greek Ministry of Culture (TAΠ, until 2012), member of the Société Française d’Archéologie Classique (SFAC), and of the Philekpedeftiki Etería.