WHAT IS IT?

'Λω / Lo', in the local dialect of Laconia, is used to address and describe a person we admire, appreciate and respect. The most capable! The bravest! Lo! It has its roots in the ancient Greek word ‘Λάας / Láas’, which means stone.
The symbolism of the stone has inspired the visualisation of our Laconia initiative. In our logotype, the stone represents Laconia and every corner represents a city or village within it.

Co-shape thriving livelihoods in our Bioregion Laconia as responsible citizens grounded in place and its people.

Philosophy

The concept of the initiative is inspired by the ‘Bioregional Weaving Lab’, and is part of the global Bioregional Learning community. It is in short a geographically grounded and carefully curated multi-stakeholder partnership process that weaves together people, place and projects, equipping and supporting them to organise for transformative change.

Who is stewarding it?

The initiative is stewarded by a group of people from various organisations of the region, from the region, mostly living in the region, that embarked on a process of using their own capacities in order to co-create, learn from each other and establish an equitable, sustainable, regenerative reality in Laconia- for its nature and its people.

THE TEAM

The lead of the Laconia Initiative

Sheila Darmos

Lead Weaver, Admin, Social Entrepreneur
As co-founder of The Southern Lights, her key focuses lie within her lived social and physical envirnment, the rural and farming communities. With a deep curiousity in social dynamics, systems change and empowering structures she believes in the power of bringing active citizens together.


Sophie Lamprou

Collective Capacity Enabler, Social Entrepreneur
As co-founder of Impact Hub Athens, she plays a pivotal role—both visibly and behind the scenes—in driving social, environmental, and economic innovation. She brings unlikely allies together to implement and scale impactful solutions, while nurturing spaces, content, and communities that support the wellbeing of people and nature.

Anastasia-Areti Gavrili

Global Advocate, Journalist, Aid worker
She is the perfect storyteller and communicator, with a background both in journalism but also in the humanitarian sector. As a co-founder of the local cultural initiative “Ostria Festival”, she weaves arts and culture together with advocacy efforts for social change in our region.


Giannis Lampros

Local weaver
Giannis has a big love for this region and is a natural community steward, always connecting people to actions and place, as the youngest resident and director of the cultural association of his small mountain village.



Panos Darmos

Local weaver
Panos is co-founder of the Southern Lights organisation, local farmer and reemigrant to Greece. He is a natural connector and community weaver, deeply grounded in place and the vision of Lo.



Yorgos Tantoulos

Local weaver
As co-founder of Ostria Festival he is convinced of the power and importance of arts and culture to revive and give meaning to a region and invite citizens to be active co-creators of their realities instead of consumers. He is a natural weaver of people, initiatives and ideas on a local level and as such a big asset to this initiative.
THANK YOU LOS!