Mentor In Culture

Team

Panos Giokas Founder & CEO

Panos Giokas was born in 1984 and grew up in Eleusis. He graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2007, continued his postgraduate studies in Marketing (University of Leicester) and Cultural Facilities Management (Hellenic Open University), while in 2017 he received a scholarship from the Hellenic Initiative to participate in the StartMIT program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2014, he started MENTOR, which is active in the fields of cultural organisation management, strategic planning of tourism development in areas with a strong cultural character, as well as inbound cultural (archaeological/ educational) tourism. The company has been distinguished as one of the most innovative Greek companies through Eurobank's youth entrepreneurship program/ competition "egg", while its portfolio includes some of the largest cultural organisations, institutions and festivals in Greece. MENTOR is also active in the organisation and management of NGOs aiming to promote Greece's cultural heritage abroad. As part of his involvement with culture as a whole, Panos writes scripts and lyrics, drafts proposals, finds solutions, and somehow manages to expand time.

Virginia Vassilakou Project Manager

Virginia is an experienced project manager and creative intrapreneur, actively involved in artistic production, cultural programming, and cultural management. She leads and implements multiple collaborative projects in the field of contemporary art, digital culture, community engagement, and research & education, fostering partnerships with multidisciplinary organizations globally. She is currently the Project Manager of MENTOR effectively implementing numerous national and EU projects since 2019, such as HeritACT (Horizon Europe), Transition to 8 (ERDF), Adama (EIT Climate KIC), and more. Her expertise encompasses coordinating creative teams, overseeing trans-disciplinary projects, initiating international cultural relations, engaging communities and audiences, fostering cultural innovation, managing art residencies, and leading initiatives in cultural entrepreneurship. Her educational background includes Physics at the University of Athens, Interior design at AKTO College of Art and Design, and a master’s degree in Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Lund University (Sweden). With diverse experience in fields like cultural and creative sectors, tourism, fashion industry, and investment banking, she has built an interdisciplinary profile, excelling in project management, business development, ideation & concept development, and cultural strategy & innovation.

Martha Stroumpou Cultural heritage manager

Martha was born in 1988, grew up in Athens and lived in Corfu for a while. She graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), and continued her postgraduate studies in Museology (Ionian University), and Religious Tourism (NKUA). She has been working as a museologist and cultural heritage manager since 2015, designing and curating permanent and temporary exhibitions, implementing educational programmes and participating in the writing of research proposals. At MENTOR, where she found herself by (a stroke of) good fortune in 2022, she works as a project manager, in charge of cultural heritage projects, museums, and finding literature on any topic.

Myrto Staratzi Project assistant

Myrto is a Museum Studies graduate from University College London (UCL) with expertise in the intersection of technology and museums, as well as digital strategy for cultural organisations. Her MA’s dissertation explored the application and related ethical dilemmas of ChatGPT within the museum’s digital practice while investigating the opportunities this technology could bring for the purposes of facilitating the production of museum content. She has a proven experience in collections curation, digital curation and event coordination, complemented by a solid foundation in science and technology studies as she also holds a BSc in History and Philosophy of Science from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA).

Back

An abandoned and dilapidated soap factory is a coffer of human experience and an opportunity to restore a way of life; the summit of a windswept, rocky hill is the abode of ancient gods and nymphs, a sacred place where fables demand to be told; a suburban backstreet is a map for a journey to the cataclysmic struggles of uprooted communities; a neoclassical train station is the ideal venue for tracing the evolution of cities and entire countries; a pile of shattered stones and marble is a symbol of something magical, which endures in the spirit and the words of people eager to share their history, culture, and heritage.

Our ambition is to become the conduit through which these awesome stories will find their audience and the means by which local communities will discover the formidable wealth that lies in their midst.

Mentor was created by a team of young professionals active in the field of culture, entrepreneurship, new technologies and digital communication, with the aim to contribute to the sustainable development of local communities, through the promotion and capitalization of tangible and intangible cultural assets, and contemporary artistic creation. The key tools we employ to realize this vision is the use of innovative strategies and applications in the context of cultural management.

Mentor has been recognized as one of the most innovative Greek companies in the “egg” entrepreneurship competition powered by Eurobank. Our portfolio includes projects for some of the largest cultural organizations, institutions and festivals in Greece.

Mentor aims to support and strengthen communities with untapped cultural assets, with the ultimate goal of assisting them to become self-sufficient through the proper identification, management and utilization of their comparative advantages.

Our team members have backgrounds in cultural and heritage management, academic program development, marketing and communication, social media management, interpretation and translation, web design and development, entrepreneurship and business development. They are supported by a wide network of collaborating academics, cultural managers, artists, etc.

Mentor has established important partnerships that include Eleusis 2021: European Capital of Culture, the Hellenic American University & College, the Athena Research Center, the Attica School of Ancient Drama, the Heritage Management Organization (HERITAGE), the Animasyros: International Animation Festival, the Municipality of Elefsina and the Athens Tourism Development and Promotion Company (EATA) through “This is Athens”.