Keynote Speakers

Keynote Lecture

"Firm Roots, Strategic Agility: The Lasting impact of EU Cohesion Policy"

Themis Christophidou
Director-General of the European Commission’s Regional and Urban Policy, Belgium
Tuesday, 26 August at 18.00

Themis Christophidou is the Director-General of the European Commission’s Regional and Urban Policy department since September 2023. Between 2018 and 2023, Themis Christophidou served as Director General of the European Commission’s Education, Youth, Sport and Culture department. She is a civil engineer with a 38-year professional experience in the public and private sector.

Themis Chrisrophidou has been serving the EU for over 23 years. She has held various posts, from transport program manager in the Directorate-General for Regional Policy to Member of Cabinet of the first European Commissioner from Poland, Danuta Huebner. She has also served as deputy head of Cabinet of Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Maria Damanaki and as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides. more

Keynote Lecture
"Regional Science or Spatial Economics?"

By Jacques-François Thisse
Professor of Economics and Regional Science at UCLouvain, Belgium
Thursday, 28 August at 14.30

Jacques-François Thisse is is a Belgian economist, author, and academic. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of UCLouvain in Belgium. He has published over 150 articles in different international journals (Econometrica, American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Theory, Operations Research, etc) and in different disciplines such as industrial economics, spatial economics, international economics and management science. He is particularly interested in product differentiation, heterogeneous consumers and firms in various types of market structure and spatial settings, as well as in the spatial organization of economic activities. He has been a Visiting Invited Professor in many departments, most recently at Columbia economics department and has received many prestigious awards, amongst which the Solvay price of the Belgian Science foundation in 2006. more

Keynote Lecture by the ERSA Prize Winner 2025

"Europe's geography problem: Reconciling growth with equity"

Michael Storper
London School of Economics, UK
Friday, 29 August│During Closing Ceremony

Michael Storper is Professor of Regional and International Development at UCLA and Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. He is the author of over 100 academic papers and 13 books. He is member of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences. In 2014 he was named by Thomson Reuters as one of the "World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds" of the 21st century for his writings being among the top 1% most cited in the field of social sciences. He is a fellow of the British Academy and in 2016 received the Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society. more

Special event - Online invited talk

"Global Turbulence, Local Consequences - A New Force Field for Regional Development"

Speakers: Paul Krugman (online), Roberta Capello (ERSA President), Asimina Christoforou, Arthur Grimes, Philip McCann, Peter Nijkamp
Wednesday, 27 August at 18.30

An engaging panel bringing together leading regional scientists, young researchers, and students for a vibrant exchange of ideas and perspectives, with Paul Krugman Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

ERSA