Programme

Conference: Island of resilience — Cyprus' perspective on climate, sustainability and food security

10:00–10:30 - Registration

10:30–11:15 - Inaugural session

• Cillian Lohan, President of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
• Andreas Vyras, Mayor of Larnaca
• Annita Demetriou, President of the House of Representatives, Cyprus
• Maria Panayiotou, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Cyprus (tbc)

11:15–12:15 - Panel I: Water resilience strategy and European climate adaptation plan

Moderator: Panagiotis Champas, EESC Member

• Anastasis Yiapanis, EESC Member, Rapporteur of opinion NAT/973 Water Resilience Strategy and European Climate Adaptation Plan
• Eliana Tofa Christidou, Director of Cyprus' Water Development Department
• Makis Antoniadis, Director of Cyprus' Agriculture Department
• Q&A

12:15–13:00 - Panel II: The island dimension in EU policies

Moderator: Elena Calistru, President of the EESC's Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO) Section

• Ioannis Vardakastanis, EESC Member, Rapporteur of opinion ECO/689 The Island Dimension in European Cohesion, Competitiveness and Sustainable Development Policies
• Penelope Papavassiliou, Permanent Secretary at the Directorate General for Growth, Cyprus' Ministry of Finance
• Q&A

13:00–14:00 - Lunch break

14:00–15:00 - Panel III: Food security and the role of biodiversity in Cyprus and the EU

Moderator: Anastasis Yiapanis, EESC Member

• Konstadinos Mattas, Professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Coordinator of BioValue (Horizon 2020 project)
• Elena Stylianopoulou, Deputy Director of Cyprus' Environment Department
• Q&A

15:00–15:15 - Concluding remarks

Cillian Lohan, President of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the EESC