ELIAMEP strengthens its team with the appointment of Ino Afentouli as Senior Policy Advisor and Head of the Observatory on Geopolitics and Diplomacy, and Eleni Ekmektsioglou as Research Associate

Ino Afentouli  has many years’ experience in international relations, defence and security as well as in Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communications.

She served as Executive Director at the Institute of International Relations (2022-2025) and Program Manager in NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division (2002-2022). In the latter post, she was responsible for the design and implementation of the Organization’s communication strategy vis-a-vis the member states of the Southern flank, as well as its partner countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Dr Eleni Ekmektsioglou is a Project Manager and Senior Fellow at the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), where she leads a research team examining the implications of emerging technologies for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and undersea nuclear deterrence. She has participated in research programs at George Washington University and has also worked for the European Union Institute for Security Studies.

The experience and expertise of these two new associates are expected to significantly strengthen ELIAMEP’s research and analytical work in the fields of geopolitics, defence, technology, public diplomacy and strategic analysis, contributing to a well-informed public debate and policy discussions.