Greek environmental leader nominated to prestigious international prize

On this World Environment Day, Greek NGO ECOWEEK is celebrating the nomination of its founding chairman, Dr. Elias Messinas, architect, environmental leader, and social entrepreneur, to the prestigious Tallberg/Eliasson Global Leadership Prize of 2020.

Elias founded NGO ECOWEEK in 2005 on Aegina island, as a one-week environmental awareness program. ECOWEEK was established with the passion to change people’s habits and with the mission to raise environmental awareness and to promote social and environmental sustainability. ECOWEEK programs have expanded their outreach to 17 countries, creating a network of environmentally-minded young professionals in 56 countries around the world.

To successfully promote its mission, ECOWEEK has created a diversity of programs, including international conferences, lecture series, design competitions, and workshops. ECOWEEK workshops include hands-on programs for urban interventions and placemaking in public space, community centers, gardens, parks, hospitals, and schools. They employ natural materials and generate innovative ideas in nanotechnology. They involve students, professionals, local authorities, and the local community.

Elias through ECOWEEK has promoted green leadership, including inviting former US VP Al Gore to lecture at the Athens Concert Hall in June 2007, and running an environmental awareness program in more than 80 schools in Athens and Thessaloniki. Among others, in 2005 Elias successfully initiated an environmental-awareness campaign, and established the first waste recycling program on the island of Aegina.

Today, with the environmental challenges of Climate Change and the overwhelming problem of waste, ECOWEEK took up the challenge of the COVID-19 lockdown and launched its first series of 48-hour online challenges in May 2020. The theme was Circular Economy in Architecture and Design. It attracted more than 350 young and established professionals from 20 countries.

Elias is a graduate of Athens College class of 1983, a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, and a doctorate recipient of the National Technical University of Athens. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on sustainability and architecture. Elias teaches sustainable design and architecture as an Assistant Professor at Patras University and Holon Institute of Technology.

The Tällberg Foundation was launched in 1981 to to explore the issues that are challenging our societies. The prize is made possible through the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Contact details: ecoweek@ecoweek.org