Lily Mordechai, always smiling and always with a plan, celebrates her 10th year in MedINA, continuing a path of action which involved multiple roles all these years. Today, as Head of Development, she looks back on her first days in the organisation, recalls precious moments and describes her feelings, wishing MedINA to continue its great work!
“I began working in MedINA in early 2013 as a communications officer for the first European project implemented by the organisation, the Aoos/Vjosa River Ecomuseum. It was the project that brought MedINA’s team (and my newbie self) to the magnificent mountains of Northern Pindos and local communities at the heart of our actions. These ten years have been decisive both for my own evolution and for that of MedINA… I transitioned from Communications Officer to Project Manager and then to Head of Programmes and member of the Management Team before my current role as Head of Development. MedINA transitioned from a research based, small organisation with very specific, niche priority areas to a dynamic, environmental organisation rooted in society with strategic goals and plans and the capacity for introspection, flexibility and change.
Some things, however, have remained the same, exactly how they were instilled in the organisation by its founder Thymio Papayannis with whom I had the opportunity to work with and learn many valuable things. These are the value of cooperation and collective action, humility and respect for people from all walks of life, faith that humankind is not just a problem but a solution in the protection of our natural world and that culture not only tells the best story of people’s interaction with their environment but also holds wisdom that is relevant for us now and in the future.
I feel lucky to be a part of MedINA and its story. In the last decade I met the most wonderful, wise people that inspired me personally and professionally, I worked closely with excellent professionals that in time became friends, I travelled around Greece and the Mediterranean and met new places and cultures and I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge and interests along with the organisation.
I wish that MedINA, as an adult now, continues to trailblaze ahead breaking the barriers that divide us and so often limit our understanding and impact. I also hope it continues to lead by example in that when we work together, building ownership at all levels, our impact can be game changing. Because now, more than ever, our societies need MedINA’s approach to help heal and restore the planet, fostering positive change for both people and nature”.
