Off the Beaten Path from Albania to Greece: Journeys That Protect the Places You Love

Looking to add lesser-known destinations to your summer travel plans? Explore how heritage tourism can support local economies while protecting sites for the future.

ALB_DrinoValley_MingulMonasteryOfTheTransfiguration_Exterior_2024
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Mingul. Photo courtesy of Wandrille Potez.

date & time

Location

Virtual

Accor is the Sustainable Tourism Partner for the 2025 World Monuments Watch.

Cultural Heritage Without Borders Albania and World Monuments Fund's work at the Monasteries of the Drino Valley has been made possible, in part, by support from Friends of Heritage Preservation; International Music and Art Foundation; The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; and the Tianaderrah Foundation / Nellie and Robert Gipson.

World Monuments Fund's work at the Serifos Historic Mining Landscape has been made possible, in part, by support from Accor and The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust. 

Featuring stories from the 2025 World Monuments Watch, this virtual program will highlight how less well-known sites are welcoming travelers in ways that respect their history and environment. Hear from heritage experts and travel specialists on how thoughtful tourism planning at the Monasteries of the Drino Valley, Albania, and the Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, Greece, can create richer experiences for visitors and real benefits for surrounding communities.  

This event invites you to rethink summer travel—choosing journeys that are not only memorable but meaningful. 

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. 

Off the Beaten Path from Albania to Greece: Journeys That Protect the Places You Love

Looking to add lesser-known destinations to your summer travel plans? Explore how heritage tourism can support local economies while protecting sites for the future.

date & time

Location

Virtual

Accor is the Sustainable Tourism Partner for the 2025 World Monuments Watch.

Cultural Heritage Without Borders Albania and World Monuments Fund's work at the Monasteries of the Drino Valley has been made possible, in part, by support from Friends of Heritage Preservation; International Music and Art Foundation; The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; and the Tianaderrah Foundation / Nellie and Robert Gipson.

World Monuments Fund's work at the Serifos Historic Mining Landscape has been made possible, in part, by support from Accor and The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust. 

ALB_DrinoValley_MingulMonasteryOfTheTransfiguration_Exterior_2024
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Mingul. Photo courtesy of Wandrille Potez.

Featuring stories from the 2025 World Monuments Watch, this virtual program will highlight how less well-known sites are welcoming travelers in ways that respect their history and environment. Hear from heritage experts and travel specialists on how thoughtful tourism planning at the Monasteries of the Drino Valley, Albania, and the Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, Greece, can create richer experiences for visitors and real benefits for surrounding communities.  

This event invites you to rethink summer travel—choosing journeys that are not only memorable but meaningful. 

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. 

About the Speakers

  • Mathilde Augé

    Mathilde Augé joined World Monuments Fund in 2023 to become its representative in France. Prior to joining WMF, she directed the cultural programming at the French Institute Alliance Française in New York, curating events in performing and visual arts as well as conversations on heritage and preservation. Augé has worked in publishing for different French publishing houses such as Gallimard and Presses Universitaires de France in Paris. A former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Ulm), she has a master’s in art history from the University Panthéon Sorbonne and a master’s in media, art, and creation from HEC Paris. 

  • Yiannis Avramides

    Yiannis Avramides is the Deputy Director and Head of Partnerships at the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation at World Monuments Fund (WMF) in New York. The Institute serves as WMF's center for training, research, professional networks, and academic partnerships in the heritage field. As Deputy Director, Avramides helps set the Institute’s strategic direction and cultivates partnerships with academic and professional organizations to expand the reach and impact of WMF’s work. Drawing on a broad range of experience, he currently oversees a portfolio of conservation field projects in Albania, Greece, and Türkiye. He earned a BSE in civil engineering and architecture from Princeton University and an MS in historic preservation from Columbia University.

  • Elena Mamani

    Elena Mamani is the Executive Director of Cultural Heritage without Borders, WMF’s partner at the Monasteries of the Drino Valley. An architect specializing in the preservation, revitalization, and interpretation of cultural heritage, she holds an MSc in architecture engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and has led transformative projects that safeguard and promote cultural heritage in Albania and beyond. Her work spans restoration projects of various scales, from vernacular houses to fortifications, religious monuments, and historic centers, as well as initiatives focused on revitalizing heritage sites for contemporary use. She has also played a key role in developing conservation methodologies, disaster risk management strategies, and capacity-building programs for professionals and craftspeople.  

  • Ioannis Spilanis

    Ioannis Spilanis is a Greek economist and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Aegean, specializing in sustainable development, island economies, and tourism planning. A University of Athens graduate with a PhD from Grenoble, he has authored and edited key works on insularity and regional policy. His work emphasizes balancing tourism development with environmental sustainability, particularly in the Mediterranean context. He has also served in public roles, including Secretary General for Aegean and Island Policy and Regional Councillor.

  • Fivos Tsaravopoulos  

    Fivos Tsaravopoulos has led the social cooperative enterprise Paths of Greece since 2010, spotlighting old and forgotten footpaths across the country. He has developed and promoted trail networks on the islands of the Cyclades (Serifos, Sifnos, Tinos, etc.) and the Ionian Sea (Corfu, Kefalonia, Ithaca, etc.), as well as on Crete and mainland Greece. Tsaravopoulos has also advised and worked on trail projects internationally, including a major trail project in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Several Paths of Greece projects have introduced innovative ideas and generated articles in the domestic and international press. Tsaravopoulos is on the international board of the World Trails Network.