Zoe Nowak
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Zoe Nowak is an Environmental Engineer with Masters degrees in 'Environmental Management & Quality Control' from the Technical University of Crete, and 'Regional & Economic Development' from Panteion University. She is also the first greek accredited member of the international 'Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme' for Sustainable Development.
Starting off as a business consultant she soon turned to the form of tourism that embodied her values of sustainability and ecology, taking over the management of a local network of rural tourism enterprises in Crete. This was her first encounter with the challenges – and opportunities – of small business networking for local competitive advantage, that has since then been her main focus, both academically and professionally.
Her specialization is in the creation and brokering of Clusters and Small-Medium Enterprise Networks for sustainable development, through the formation of Partnerships with the public sector, businesses and civil society.
In 2009 she took over the management of the “Cretan Quality Agreement”, the non for profit organization that had been created jointly by the four Prefectures of Crete for the promotion of the Cretan Diet and the certification of restaurants that offer traditional Cretan Cuisine and exclusively use local products and virgin olive oil.
The company's mission is to promote both the Cretan Diet and local products in a way that will increase demand, and at the same time certify restaurants with the “Quality Label of Cretan Cuisine” creating an offer for culinary tourism services that reflect the essence of the Cretan Diet and support the local quality food production.
The company's ultimate goal is to make Crete an international culinary tourism destination, achieving real sustainability by focusing on the local competitive advantages and creating a healthy and efficient connection between the agricultural and tourism sectors, that are the basis of the islands economy.