Dr. Xenia I. Loizidou, Director

Xenia’s Media Presence

Xenia I. Loizidou holds a Degree in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (Hydraulics Section, Harbour and Coastal Works Laboratory), an MSc, DIC in River, Estuary and Coastal Engineering from  Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine of London, and a PhD in Participatory Decision-Support Systems from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Since 1990 she has been working with issues relevant to Integrated Coastal Zone Management, coastal erosion control, coastal adaptation to climate changes, decision support systems, peace-building and blue growth.

She has been a member of several European and international expert groups and networks as executive coastal engineer and Integrated Coastal Zone Management expert and she has cooperated with international organizations and entities from more than 40 countries. She was executive coastal engineer at the Coastal Unit of Public Works Department in Cyprus (1992 – 1999) and since 1998 is the co-founder and Director of ISOTECH ltd Research and Consultancy (www.isotech.com.cy). She is also one of the founders of the NGO ‘AKTI Project and Research Centre’ (www.akti.org.cy), where, as a Member of the Board of Directors, she helps steer the organisation and guide its work in the areas of environment, education, peace keeping, social inclusion and awareness raising.

Xenia was the first female Chair of the Environmental Committee of the Cyprus Chamber of Engineers, a position which she held for 8 years (1997- 2002). She has been the Ambassador of Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Greece for the European Network of Coastal Research (2007-2011), she is an appointed Member of the Board of Directors of the Oceanographic Institute and she is a Member of the European Jury of the QualityCoast Award. The President of the Republic of Cyprus appointed Xenia as the Greek Cypriot Chairwoman of the Technical Committee on Gender Equality within the peace-building negotiations in Cyprus and as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (2014-2018). In September 2019, Xenia was awarded the title of ‘Ambassador of the Mediterranean Coasts 2019‘ by the United Nations Environment Programme’s PAP/RAC. She is the first Cypriot to become a Member of the UN’s International Expert Compliance Committee for the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (2020-present). Since 2019, she has been a Member of the UN SDSN Cyprus Leadership Council (the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network).

In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious “Iconic Women in Business Contributing to a Better World” award by the All Ladies League during the Women Economic Forum 2016, New Delhi, India, and she also received the “Stelios Bi-Communal Award” by the Stelios Foundation for her work on using marine litter as a peacebuilding tool in Cyprus. In honor of the International Women’s Day 2014, she was named by the European Parliament’s Office in Cyprus as one of the ten Cypriot Women who are:  “active, dedicated and tireless. An inspiration to all of us”. She is the first Cypriot woman to become a member of the Women in Leadership Europe Network (WIL).

Xenia is the author/ co-author of more than 40 published papers in Scientific Journals and International Conferences, of books (e.g. IPCC publication) and of more than 100 published Technical Reports. She has a strong presence in Cypriot Mass Media and newspapers. She is married to Panagiotis Thanassas, and she is the mother of their two daughters: Leda and Maria.