YSCy New Board
YoungShip Cyprus held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 29th of February 2024 at the Columbia Plaza Venue Centre, Limassol, including the biennial elections for the board of the organisation.
YoungShip Cyprus Secretary General, Ms. Antria Dionysiou, guided the numerous attendants through the evening, starting off with a welcome address of the YoungShip Cyprus President, Mr. Andreas Christoforou, who thanked the esteemed guests, representatives of fellow organisations and YoungShip members for their support, guidance, and mentorship while stating that such support is ‘invaluable as we navigate the uncharted waters of our careers and strive to make our mark on the world’.
H.E, Ms. Marina Hadjimanolis, the Deputy Minister of Shipping of the Republic of Cyprus, expressed her gratitude for the support of YoungShip Cyprus in reaching the island’s youth to promote shipping as a viable career path and the Director General of Cyprus Shipping Chamber, Mr. Thomas A. Kazakos, praised the continuous excellent cooperation between the organisations.
Ms. Antria Dionysiou continued to present the organisations 2023 activities and the action plan for 2024, which was accepted unanimously by the present members, who also fully agreed to the financial statements and upcoming annual budget reported by YoungShip Cyprus Financial Secretary, Ms. Fotini Papachatzaki.
The evening culminated with an introduction of the new candidates for election to the board, which stimulated an excellent exchange between them and the audience. Following the election and the AGM the new board of YoungShip Cyprus for 2024 – 2026 is assembled as follows:
President: Andreas Christoforou
Vice President : Eliana Charalambous Savvidi
Secretary General: Antria Dionysiou
Assistant Secretary: Tobias Kreppel
Financial Secretary: Fotini Papachatzaki
Press and Media Secretary: Marvin Bielek
Program Development Secretary: Lefteris Charalampous
Public Relations Secretary: Georgia Evripidou
SEA Your Horizon
YoungShip Cyprus in collaboration with Youngship Belgium organized a Study Visit with the title “SEA Your Horizon”, an Erasmus+ project hosted in Limassol, Cyprus from 28 September to 2 October 2023. 30 participants from Youngship Cyprus and Belgium including the president of Youngship International, Mrs Keshia Janssens participated in the project.
The topics that were explored during the study visit was Entrepreneurship, Networking, Development of Soft Skills, Environmental Protection, New Technologies, Culture & Creativity, and Sports Activities. The study visit provides an opportunity for young professionals employed in the maritime sector from Cyprus and Belgium to connect with other young workers and industry leaders with the aim of getting to know the Cypriot maritime industry. Empowering young individuals and developing skills that align with the 21st century was the forefront of this study visit. The aim of this study visit was to provide participants with a platform for networking, gaining further knowledge and insight from industry leaders and meet fellow YoungShippers from all over the Europe. SEA Your Horizon aimed to provide a closer look at the maritime cluster beyond regional borders, providing international perspectives and trends that influence the global maritime industry.
The daily program included a meeting with the Shipping Deputy Ministry of Cyprus, visits at the Limassol port organized by shipping companies, presentation of innovative projects, visit of a Maritime Training center, attendance at Networking events and sport activities that were organized during the European Week of Sports. At the same time participants had the opportunity to explore the city of Limassol, the culture and the traditional Cypriot cuisine.
Gina Panayiotou
Dear YoungShippers, (if you are not yet a YoungShipper, by the end of this you’ll definitely want to be)
When Nicholas reached out to me to share my journey with YoungShip Cyprus, the answer was without doubt a big Yes! YoungShip – as has WISTA - have been such an important part of who I am today, professionally and personally and at every given opportunity I want to share the message.
By means of introduction, I am Gina Panayiotou a maritime lawyer and ESG strategist with an MBA focused on change management and ethical leadership, have held senior roles mainly within shipowning organisations and founded my consultancy firm Oceans Arena in the UK, aimed at supporting industry stakeholders with practical ESG strategies, covering the whole scope of formulation to brand positioning.
Currently, based in London I am the ESG Manager at West of England P&I Club, responsible for leading its’ Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy, representing the Club at the International Group (IG) Sustainability Committee and heading the its’ global ESG working group. I have also acted as a Communications Consultant of the IMO-UNEP-Norway Innovation Forum and I am the UK Chair of the G100 Network Sustainable Brand Creation & Marketing; the Secretary of WISTA UK and Co-Chair the WISTA International Environmental Committee; UK Ambassador of the Seatrade Maritime Club, support the World Ocean Council as an associate on Law & Ocean Sustainable Development and an Associate Tutor at the University of Plymouth’s MLA College.
So what does this have to do with YoungShip? When I joined the industry in 2014 it was a taunting experience; for one I was a female in a male-dominated industry and secondly I was “too young” to be a Manager and in all honesty, as much as shipping was “love at first sight,” I was not sure if there was a place for me in it. Up until I was introduced to an association called WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) and a few weeks later coming out a Cyprus Shipping Chamber meeting Sotiris and Philippos (at the time President and Vice-President of YoungShip Cyprus) who convinced me that joining YoungShip was a must.
Turns out they were right. YoungShip Cyprus has gifted me with so many beautiful moments. A supporter to my radio show “It’s ALL about Shipping” (now Oceans Arena Stage) showcasing young shining stars as well as key industry role models, a part-sponsored MBA at the Cyprus Institute of Marketing, a fantastic experience to act as Project Manager of “ShipCon 2018” and being the recipient of the first Young Leader Award by WISTA and YoungShip Cyprus. All of which have played such an important part in setting the foundations to where I stand today. Beyond that, YoungShip Cyprus and YoungShip UAE, the later of which I had the pleasure of being a Board member and Advisor to, have gifted me with invaluable friendships, inspiration from like-minder individuals and some very few special mentors who left me with no other option than to pursue whole-heartedly what sets my soul on fire and never settle for less. Additionally, YoungShip has allowed me to also be a mentor and empower the youth of maritime, a matter close to my heart.
Having been featured among other things as a “Top Maritime Influencers you should follow” by Marine Traffic, shortlisted for the Inspirational Influencer Awards in the Global Impact category for my work on youth and female empowerment and been featured in the Top 100 Women in Shipping list for 4 consecutive years, I am so grateful to YoungShip for “fuelling” me with the only guaranteed fuel of the future, youth empowerment.
Thank you YoungShip, you will always hold a special place in my heart.
National Youth Parliament
Call for participants for the National Youth Parliament!
Application deadline 20 August 2023
You can find the application form HERE.
OPAP Limassol Marathon | 18 March 2023
Dear Members,
It’s time for WISTA-YoungShip Cyprus - Running the Waves of Change Together!
We are happy to announce that YoungShip Cyprus in a joint team with WISTA Cyprus will be participating in the OPAP Limassol Marathon 5KM Corporate Race which will be held on Saturday, 18th of March 2023 at 9:00 am across Limassol seafront road.
The Starting Point of the Primetel 5KM Corporate Race will be Molos, Limassol.
Below you can find the link to register yourself directly with the team: https://raceroster.com/registration/a009b4a9-5cb0-44ad-a7bd-52e43d8bb9aa/entry?team=505484
The registration is Free of Charge
Appreciate if you can register by the 10th of March online. After this date, please drop us an email and we will be happy to register you.
We look forward to seeing you there and will get in touch for the hand over of Bib numbers in due course.
P.S. For those registering, the meeting point on the day will be in front of the BSM building at 8:45
Christos Tsangarides
Hello everyone,
It is my pleasure to introduce myself today. My name is Christos Tsangarides, and I hold a BSc in Maritime Studies, an Advanced Diploma in Port Agency, and am a Certified Procurement Professional.
I am currently serving as a Procurement Category Buyer at DEME Offshore, based in Antwerp, Belgium, where I am responsible for managing subcontract tenders, providing contract support, and developing procurement categories for various subsea projects. I am proud to have been a part of YoungShip Cyprus since 2012, after being invited by my good friend Philippos Ioulianou. Over the years, I have watched this organization grow and provide young shipping professionals with a platform to be heard and connect with others in their industry.
I am a strong advocate for the benefits of young professionals connecting and participating in events, and I believe that Young Ship Cyprus is a great tool for building networks and making meaningful connections with others in the maritime sector. Throughout my years of involvement, I have had the privilege of meeting and working with a group of individuals who are always striving to make Young Ship Cyprus better, by inviting high-ranking maritime executives and consulting with young professionals.
I believe that being socially active with your peers will only have a positive impact on your career and professional development. Shipping is a dynamic and challenging industry, full of opportunities, and I would highly recommend it to the young generation.
As a self-driven individual with a passion for exploration, I have always had the ambition to seek out new opportunities and experiences, both at home and abroad. I believe that pursuing your goals and pushing your own limits is the key to professional growth and success.
It is with great pride that I consider myself a member of Young Ship, and I look forward to continuing to be a part of this organization and community.
Thank you, and best regards.
Christos Tsangarides
