31. Sophia Papamichalopoulos (Cyprus) - How can sailing promote peacebuilding in Cyprus?

Erika speaks to Sophia about her experiences as an Olympian and IOC Young Leader, and how she founded Winds of Change - an initiative that aims to create the first bi-communal Cypriot sailing team that will sail around the divided island together.

Sophia Papamichalopoulos is an Olympic alpine skier who competed at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, together with her brother. After graduating from the Paracelsus Medical University of Salzburg, she is now a resident doctor at the Department of Visceral Surgery and Transplantation of the University Hospital in Zurich. Next to her medical career, Sophia tries to remain engaged in sports and the Olympic Movement. In 2018, she was appointed to the World Sailing Medical Commission. She also contributed to the Athlete365 Space at the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang in 2018. In 2021, Sophia was selected as an IOC Young Leader and founded “Winds of Change”, a project aiming to create the first bi-communal Cypriot sailing team that will sail around the divided island together.

Sophia's ⁠LinkedIn, Instagram, IOCYL Profile

Erika’s LinkTree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/erikamchen⁠

Resources:

1. Winds of Change GoFundMe
2. Winds of Change Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Newsletter
3. IOC Young Leaders Program
4. PeacePlayers International

Episode Info:

• Episode recording date: March 11, 2023.
• See Erika’s LinkTree for episode transcript.
• “The Podcast Intro” by “Music_Unlimited” was retrieved from Pixabay. ⁠Licensor's Username⁠ and Licensee Username - erika_mueller.

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed by the Guests of the Inspira Podcast do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of any Agency of the United States Government, or any organization public or private.