Olga Kikou is Director of Advocacy at the European Institute for Animal Law and Policy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts and worked in international organisations in the non-profit sector and in research and planning. Having managed the Volunteer Programme for the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, she became involved in raising awareness on the importance of citizen participation. With decades of experience in civil society advocacy, she has a wide range of interests and expertise ranging from advancing animal-related causes to building support for social justice and green issues, strengthening citizen participation, and reinforcing social reform. Olga has a track record of successfully engaging with EU policy-makers, and managed to build a strong network within the EU institutions and civil society. She is currently involved in advocacy work at EU level concerning the interlinked areas of animal welfare, food and farming, raising the profile of these issues on the policy sphere, engaging with many stakeholders, exploring synergies and developing joint strategies to influence decision making processes in the above areas. Olga is substitute representative of the Citizens’ Committee for the End The Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative and was instrumental in its success.
