Antigoni Komodiki began her professional life as an educator, and it shows in how she structures her thinking: calmly, deliberately, and with an insistence on purpose. Her responses to an interview she gave this afternoon to Politis to the point are framed to explain. And that, in itself, is revealing.
We spoke in Limassol on the opening day of the Junior Achievement in Europe Board of Executives conference hosted in Cyprus and bringing together more than 40 executives, educators, and policymakers from across Europe. The gathering coincided with a milestone moment for the Cypriot chapter. Komodiki has been elected chair of the organisation’s Board of Executives, placing Cyprus in a leadership role within a European network that increasingly sees entrepreneurship as a vital socioeconomic tool.
Entrepreneurship in the age of mistrust
She begins with contrast. On the one hand, she notes, front pages are filled with corruption scandals and corporate misconduct. On the other, stands a daily effort to teach children how to design products and services that generate value for someone beyond themselves. Social impact, social entrepreneurship, social innovation. These are not abstract concepts, she insists, but priorities. “Creating a business that creates value for someone else, not just for ourselves, is central to what we do.”
It is this philosophy, she explains, that shaped Cyprus’s decision to seek the presidency of the Executive Council. The aim was a stronger voice within Europe and, just as importantly, a message to young people in Cyprus: that through Junior Achievement, they can claim space, pursue ideas, and turn purpose into action.
Cyprus’ goals during its presidency
When Komodiki speaks about the goals of Cyprus’s presidency, she returns repeatedly to three priorities. The first is quality. Educational change is happening fast, often faster than systems can meaningfully absorb. The temptation, she says, is to chase every new development and risk leaving substance behind. For her, quality is non-negotiable. Curricula and methodologies must be continuously revisited in order to remain relevant and credible.
The second priority is teachers. They are not intermediaries, but practitioners. They are the ones in daily contact with students, the ones who translate theory into experience. Junior Achievement sees the impact of its programmes most clearly in children, she says, but for that impact to be sustained, educators themselves need support, incentives, and professional development. They need to feel ownership.
The third priority is the network itself. Komodiki has been part of Junior Achievement for nearly a decade, and she speaks of the organisation with personal conviction. Strengthening the network, she explains, means creating real opportunities for exchange, developing shared funding mechanisms including European programmes, and co-designing initiatives that respond to the actual needs of young people rather than abstract policy goals.
The importance of presence
While digital tools matter, she argues, they cannot replace physical presence. Innovation emerges from friction, from time spent together, from sustained interaction. Hosting the European network in Limassol, even for a few days, was a deliberate choice. Ideas, she says, are not born in isolation or short meetings, but in the cumulative effect of shared space and attention.
Mandatory entrepreneurial education
The conversation then turns to what Komodiki describes as the organisation’s ultimate objective: making entrepreneurship education mandatory. “Because exposure to entrepreneurial thinking within the safety of school unlocks confidence, agency, and long-term capacity,” as she puts it. It is about experience beyond career paths.
Junior Achievement, she is quick to note, is not waiting passively for policy decisions. The organisation operates under an institutional partnership with the Ministry of Education, keeping policymakers informed and engaged with every initiative. That cooperation, she says, is essential if entrepreneurship is ever to be integrated holistically into the education system.
New walk-in centres for isolated youth
One of the most concrete developments is the opening, this month, of two provincial Junior Achievement offices, in Famagusta (Sotira) and Paphos, in collaboration with the Youth Board of Cyprus. These new walk-in centres will bring daily mentorship, guidance, and resources closer to young people in regions far from Nicosia. Schools, universities, and student teams will have direct access to advisors and spaces where ideas can be developed collaboratively and consistently.
In parallel, Junior Achievement already operates within schools where entrepreneurship has been embedded into the curriculum, including STEME schools -like Laniteio Lyceum in Limassol- and institutions with extended programmes. In these cases, the organisation’s role is to support educators, not replace them, strengthening what already exists.
A European role for Cyprus entrepreneurship
Cyprus currently participates in multiple European Junior Achievement programmes, alongside a growing number of local initiatives. Komodiki points to the importance of exposure to international thought leadership, referencing collaborations with figures linked to the Yunus Center and the broader social entrepreneurship movement. The aim is not inspiration for its own sake, but intellectual expansion: helping educators and students think differently about ownership, value, and impact.
Is Cyprus close to a tipping point? Komodiki believes recognition is already there, reflected in institutional partnerships and growing trust. The challenge, she says, is prioritisation. Teachers are exhausted, students increasingly passive, shaped by constant consumption rather than participation. Entrepreneurship education, in her view, is one of the few tools that actively pulls young people forward, demanding initiative beyond attention.
And perhaps that is Junior Achievement's biggest strength.
JA Cyprus Hosts Three Major International Events in Cyprus
Setting the Stage for JA Europe’s 2026–2027 Strategy
Limassol, Cyprus | 5–6 February
Junior Achievement Cyprus (JA Cyprus) will host three major international events in Limassol on 5–6 February, welcoming senior leaders, partners, and thought leaders from across Europe to shape the future of youth entrepreneurship, education, and social innovation.
At the core of the two-day programme is the Board of Executives (BoE) Meeting of JA Europe, that took place on 5 February in a hybrid format. The meeting brought together 42 national CEOs of JA Europe, with 20 CEOs attending in person in Limassol.
Among the high-level attendees: Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe, Gonçalo Duque, Vice Chair of the JA Europe Board of Executives (JA Portugal), Blerina Guga, Vice Chair of the JA Europe Board of Executives (JA Albania).
This BoE meeting is one of only three held annually with the participation of the full JA Europe leadership and will serve as the official kick-off of the new Board of Executives, chaired by Antigoni Komodiki, CEO of JA Cyprus.
A key highlight of the meeting is the presentation of the JA Europe 2026–2027 Strategy, developed through a bottom-up qualitative research process. Over the past months, in-depth interviews were conducted across JA Europe member nations, gathering insights and priorities directly from the network to shape a strategy grounded in shared needs, impact, and collective vision.
In parallel, the two-day programme will also host the kick-off partnership meeting of the EU-funded programme YSBE NET (Youth Social Business & Entrepreneurship Network), in which JA Cyprus actively participates. This meeting will officially launch the two-year partnership, aligning partners on objectives, roles, and the implementation roadmap for strengthening youth social entrepreneurship across Europe.
Completing the international agenda, the programme will include GCEE 2026, the annual conference co-organized by the University of Nicosia and JA Cyprus, which this year is dedicated to Social Entrepreneurship.
The conference will feature Frederico Fezas as Keynote Speaker, introducing the theme from his perspective as Director of the CATÓLICA-LISBON Yunus Social Innovation Center. The Center is a partnership between CATÓLICA-LISBON and the Yunus Centre and forms part of the global network of Yunus Social Business Centers founded by Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2006), dedicated to advancing business models with positive social impact.
Through these three interconnected international events, JA Cyprus reinforces its role as a regional hub for leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship, contributing actively to shaping Europe’s future in youth education and social impact.
About JA Cyprus
JA Cyprus is part of JA Worldwide, one of the largest youth-serving NGOs in the world. JA Cyprus empowers young people with the skills and mindsets needed to build thriving communities and careers, focusing on entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. For more information you can contact us at info@jacyprus.org.