Ioanna Panayiotou was born in Limassol in 1962.
She has obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). She has also acquired an MBA from the Mediterranean Institute of Management and a Theology Master’s degree from the University of Nicosia (Cyprus).
Ioanna Panayiotou, is the former Commissioner for the Environment of the Republic of Cyprus, (appointed by the President of Cyprus) (2013-2019). In her role as Commissioner, she made suggestions to government ministries in relation to environmental issues. Moreover, she provided advice to the Council of Ministers and/or to any Minister on issues of their responsibility, as well as to the competent House Committee or the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives, when called upon to do so at the absolute discretion of the Committee or the House. In addition, she was responsible for submitting an annual report to the Council of Ministers containing the Commissioner’s remarks and recommendations on the environmental policy of the state. The basic pillar for the policy and action of the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment during her tenure was the adoption of the 17 objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development (SDO) across all the policies of the state and activities of society.
Since February 2020 she is the Executive Director of the – CIIM (Cyprus International Institute of Management).
CIIM is an international business school established in 1990. CIIM has both academic degrees as well as an Executive Education (EE) department dealing with all the topics related to vocational training and continuous professional development. CIIM is a co-founder of start-up development incubator centres (iDEA and ENTICE), of the "CIIM BioEconomia Centre", which manages corporate and municipal projects within the spectrum of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, and of the CIIM Centre for ESG, which focuses on the delivery of bespoke offerings on ESG;, Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Cyprus.
She is a founder of I.P. GAIA OINOTECHNIKI LTD , the first private Local Winery to be established in Cyprus. The first organically cultivated vineyard of Cyprus belonged to Ioanna Panayiotou, producing the first certified organic Cypriot wine.
Ioanna Panayiotou is a founding member (1996) of the Cyprus Green Party. She held the position of Press Spokesperson between 2002-9, and General Secretary between 2009-13 (participating in the National Council as well as in all the fora attended by party leaders). She is a member of the Central Committee of the party from 1996 until today.
She is also a member of in many Organizations and NGOs ( e.g she is an Honorary member of the Biological Society of Cyprus, Member of the Association of Environmental Scientists and Engineers of Cyprus – Pasmep, Member of the Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CCERE), Member of Together Cyprus volunteer network and other NGOs).
She participates as invited speaker in conferences, seminars and events organized by the public and private sectors, and in many television and radio broadcasts on current affairs, environmental and social issues. She has also publications in daily and weekly newspapers and magazines, both on current affairs and scientific topics.
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