Keynote Speakers
Prof. Eli Trimis
Eli Trimis, Ph.D., is a visual artist. Professor of Visual Arts and Aesthetic Education at the School of Arts and Education Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus (2008-2012). She has taught for many years (1987-2007) at the Faculty of Education, School of Early Childhood Education Sciences, and Chair of the Aesthetic Education Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and at the School of Fine Arts of the same University (1999-2008). She also taught, as a visiting professor in the Department of Education, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus (2002, 2003, 2005).
She developed curriculum materials and has conducted workshops in a national and international level (Greece, Cyrpus, USA: High Scope Educational Research Foundation, working with the Foundation as an expert-consultant 1994-2002). She was involved in a number of national projects as a researcher, trainer for visual arts for in-service and pre-service teachers, and counselor of Melina Mercouri Arts Project, funded by the Ministry of Education-Ministry of Culture in Greece. During the years 2003-2008 she was responsible as a scientific arts consultant-coordinator for the Cultural and Aesthetic Literacy for the 48 Second Chance schools, to the Institute of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Greece. She has been published in national and international journals and she is the author of a series of videos and booklets and the book of Supporting Young Artists with Ann S. Epstein, High Scope Press and she is the editor of the same book in Greek, Typothitw-Dardanos, publ. The same book is being translated in Chinese.
She is a member of the National Chamber of Visual Artists in Greece, and Cyprus, and member of the Association of Fine and Applied Arts of Northern Greece. She has had several solo and group exhibits in Greece, Cyprus and the United States and part of her artwork belongs to private collections in Greece, USA, Scotland, and Holland. The artwork of her students (primary, secondary, university) has been shown in several exhibits in Greece and Cyprus. She was the Chairman of the Regional Committee of OMEP in Thessaloniki as well as the Vice-President of the Executive Committee of OMEP in Greece.
Mr. Hambis Tsaggaris
Born at Kondea, Cyprus, 1947. His first lessons in woodcut by printmaker A. Tassos in Athens, 1971. Studied graphic arts at the Moscow State Art Institute “Sourikov”, 1976-1982. Taught graphic arts in the State Education of Cyprus, 1987-2008.
Conceived and published several books with folk tales and traditions of Cyprus.
Three State Awards for Illustration and one State Award for Essay in Cyprus. Honourable award at the Bratislava Biennale of Illustrations (BIB), Certificate of Honour from the International Board on Books (IBBY).Founded in 2008 Hambis Printmaking Museum, which projects prints from many countries (16th - 21st century).
Dr. Dorothy Faulkner
Dr. Dorothy Faulkner completed her PhD at the University of Oxford in 1983. She has held lecturing and research posts at the Universities of Oxford and Warwick and The Open University where she is currently Senior Lecturer in Child Development. Dorothy is a psychologist with expertise in cognitive development and the psychology of education. Current research interests include: creativity and narrative expression in early childhood; what children’s drawings reveal about their understanding of friendship; peer relationships in early childhood and collaborative learning in the classroom.
Over the past 10 years, Dorothy has conducted various evaluations of the impact on children and teachers of working with creative professionals. She has a special interest in developing practitioners’ understanding of the use of play and narrative for enhancing young children’s creative thinking skills. Together with Elizabeth Coates (Warwick Institute of Education) and Iram Siraj-Blatchford (London University Institute of Education) she co-founded the International Journal of Early Years Education in 1992 and remains a member of its editorial board. Recently, Dorothy and Elizabeth Coates published an edited collection, Exploring Children’s Creative Narratives, (Routledge, 2011), that examines the development of children’s thinking and creativity in the domains of music, art, and dance.
