Child Abuse: Everything we need to know to report it

Elena Papadimitriou was born and raised in Thessaloniki. She studied Journalism and Mass Communication at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, including a semester of studies in The Hague under the European Erasmus program. She completed her postgraduate studies in Political Science and Sociology at the University of Athens. She has been working in the press and electronic media since her student years. From 2003 to 2006 she worked as an editor of free and cultural reporting in the newspaper CITYPRESS. During the period 2006 - 2014 she was a member of the journalism team of the morning news program of MEGA, writing at the same time as contributor for five years in protagon.gr. In July 2014, she started working in SKAI television and radio, covering international reporting in the main newscast and presenting news bulletins and shows. She has covered important events of European and international affairs in recent years, sometimes with long television broadcasts, in journalistic missions to places like Moscow, Turkey, Italy and Belgium. Maintaining to this day the longing for major festivals and concerts, she has traveled to dozens of European cities for cultural events, writing articles in a number of media. She speaks English, French and Italian. 

Founder and President of ELIZA, the famous painter, sculptor and set designer Marina Karella was born and raised in Greece.  
She studied scenography and painting with Yannis Tsarouchis and continued her studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.
She lived and worked with her husband, Michael, in New York, Paris and Athens and they had two daughters, Alexandra and Olga.
During her successful artistic career, her works have been exhibited in many cities around the world, such as New York, Paris, Athens, Los Angeles, Madrid, Brussels, Rome and London, in major museums and institutions.
Her deep interest in children who have been abused, led her to the decision to create, along with her husband, a body for their protection in Greece, the ELIZA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. 
 

Vanna Marketaki is a copywriter and journalist. She studied pedagogy at the Marasleio School and acting at G. Theodosiades Drama School. From the combination of the two she was led to journalism with a focus on medical reporting and issues of social interest. She has worked in magazines and newspapers in many positions of responsibility. From 2011 to March 2020 she worked as a content manager, copywriter and communication consultant for individuals and companies, covering a wide range of professional services. The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought ELIZA to life. There, she got to know the people, the programs, the vision and the driving force of the only Non-Profit Organisation that deals exclusively with child abuse. She joined the shared effort of ELIZA for a future without injured children, inspired by the passion and love of the people who made it up. 

Dimitris Mothonaios was born in Athens and is an actor. He is a graduate of the drama school of the Art Theater Karolos Koun as well as a student of the Law School of Athens.

His television debut took place in 2006, through his participation in the Alpha TV series “Teleftaia Parastasi” (Last Performance) in the role of Elli Lambeti's brother. In the 2009-2010 season, he starred in the successful Ant1 series "Karma" while in 2015, he took part in the Alpha TV comedy series "Mi Me Skas” where he collaborated for the first time with Giannis Bezos. In 2019, he starred in the role of Antonis Kostoulas in the Greek drama series “I Zoi En Tafo” (Life in the Tomb), which was broadcasted by ERT and is based on the novel of the same name by Stratis Myrivilis.  

Regarding theatre, his first performance was Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" on the Experimental Stage of the National Theater. Since then, he has starred in theatre uninterruptedly in performances of high quality, prestige and commercial appeal. In 2012, he was nominated for the Horn Award for his role in "Cock" directed by Katerina Evangelatou, while in 2014 he was again nominated for his role in "The Bacchae" by Euripides, directed by Hector Lygizos. In 2015, he starred in a phenomenal play of the Greek theater that was watched by more than 100,000 spectators, "The Great Chimera", based on the novel by M. Karagatsis and in 2017 starred in the Main Stage Ziller of the National Theater in the role of "Peer Good" by Ibsen. In 2019, he starred in the first Greek-Chinese English-language film production, the shooting of which took place in Shanghai, Vienna and Lefkada.

He has starred in movies, among others: "Nikos Dragoumis. A Painter in the Shadow of History "(2015)," Fantasy "(2019), and" A Day in the Life Of A Teddy Bear "(2019).  

* We warmly thank Fondazione, Spyros Loverdos Foundation and Mr. Georgos Carabellas for his generous hospitality.

 The Spyros Loverdos Foundation and Library is a unique historical, architectural and cultural landmark. It was built in the '30s, designed by the great philhellene Ernst Ziller, and houses a rich collection of rare books, as well as the crème de la crème collection of Byzantine icons of Spyros Loverdos' brother, Dionysios. After a long period of inaction, the building is now revived and regenerated, and has reopened as an aesthete and eclectic venue.