Dimitris Papageorgiou
As a young kid growing up in the mountainous region of Epirus, Greece, Dimitris came to have a passion for natural landscapes, wildlife, wild foods, local culture and traditions. After leaving his hometown, Ioannina, to study Agricultural Economics and Rural Development in Athens and broaden his horizons in the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Austria, he continued to hold a strong connection and appreciation for these core elements of Mediterranean nature and culture. Additionally, through multiple internships in the fields of sustainable agriculture, organic food and regional development, Dimitris steered his career towards strengthening sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing. In the meanwhile, he managed to invest most of his free time in volunteering in culture, humanitarian and agriculture related initiatives, travel-learning and being as close to nature and rural lifestyles as possible. The earned academic knowledge and personal interests started complementing one another.
The main disciplines of Dimitris’ MSc are organic agriculture, agroecology and food systems. However, other well-covered topics, through his participation or involvement in schools, initiatives and workshops vary from agrobiodiversity conservation to food sovereignty and ethics, food-waste management, resilience of agricultural systems, sustainable management of wild plant populations and local activism.
With his MSc thesis on local knowledge about ecologically-sustainable wild medicinal plant harvesting, he aimed to contribute to biodiversity conservation in Lemnos Island (Greece) and raise ecological awareness while supporting traditional cultural practices of the island. Dimitris recently published his first paper in ‘The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine’. He recently moved back to his hometown with the intention to put his fresh ideas and earned knowledge into practice to support local communities and protect the still pristine nature of Epirus. Dimistris currently works for a humanitarian NGO while running a small-scale gardening project and supporting local movements in the direction of nature protection and climate activism. He is always looking for new collaborations and is looking forward to get involved in projects relating to sustainable wild plant management, agrobiodiversity and nature conservation, local food networks, community building and resilience.
