2022 President's AcademyATHENS, GREECE MAY 17 – 25, 2022
Mark Allen, Ambassador of Canada to Greece, was Executive Director of Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs at Global Affairs Canada (the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development) from 2015 to 2018. Prior to that, he was Canada’s Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal and Director of International Relations at the Department of Transport.
Samantha de Bendern is an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House specialised in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. She has worked for NATO HQ as the Political Officer for NATO – Ukraine relations and in NATO’s Public Diplomacy Department as Information Officer for partner countries in the Former Soviet Union. In the early 1990’s Samantha was the Political Advisor to the first EU Ambassador to the Russian Federation and in 2014 she was part of a British Government funded project to help the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council combat disinformation.
After ten years as an international civil servant Samantha moved to the private sector and worked as a banker for Coutts Bank Switzerland and Merrill Lynch Bank of America. She has also been a consultant and private investigator for Control Risks Group.
She is a regular commentator on various British and international television and radio stations (BBC, GB News, Al-Jazeera, France-24, Belsat and others.)
Samantha is well versed in EU affairs, disinformation and combating financial crime. Apart from her position at Chatham House she is also a Senior Advisor at the Conflict Studies Research Center (former Defence Academy) and part of the Associate Network of LOW Europe, a Brussels based strategic communications consultancy.
Samantha is graduate of UCL London, holds an MSC in Politics from the London School of Econimics, has a Masters Degree in Financial Management from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and is currently following the part time 2021-23 Crime Fiction Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia.
A master photographer with a penchant for getting the world’s most powerful people to showcase their humanity, Platon proves that an image is just the beginning of the story.
As a photographer, storyteller and communicator, Platon has published four books of his work, shot portraits for a range of international publications, including Rolling Stone, TIME Magazine, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ and The Sunday Times magazine, produced several large-scale photo essays, been the keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum, and founded a non-profit foundation named The People’s Portfolio.
Most recently, Platon’s life’s work is the subject of Netflix documentary, Abstract: The Art of Design.
The Power of Unity: Rekindling The Spirit of Optimism
Platon emphasizes the importance of building teams and creating a sense of belonging, in order to propel people and organizations forward. Using an anecdotal and interactive approach, he offers this workshop as a learning tool for those who are interested in strengthening their ability to create trusting, respectful, and productive business and personal relationships – as explained through the intimate meetings and experiences with various cultural icons.