Anna - Annyla Pani was born in Himara, Northern Epirus (present-day Albania), in November 1970 to Greek parents.

She studied midwifery and nursing at the “Jani Minga” Medical School. From the age of 15 to 21, she also attended directing seminars at the Theatre of Vlora and the National Theatre of Tirana.

She is a political refugee, although she has never officially been granted this status. She was forced to leave her native country and her studies due to the dangerous conditions there and settled in Greece in 1992.

She experienced difficult circumstances as a child. Her father was imprisoned by the communist regime when she was five years old. At the age of 15, she was accused of being a “filogrek” (Greek sympathizer) for reading Greek poetry to her classmates. She was subjected to a week-long interrogation by agents of the Albanian secret service “Sigurimi.” Despite being an excellent student, she received low grades as punishment for her love of poets such as Ritsos and Cavafy.

At 17, she risked exile for casting a blank ballot in the national elections. This triggered the mobilization of the entire state apparatus, and she again endured a week of interrogation and psychological pressure from both teachers and secret service agents.
She escaped punishment thanks to the sensitivity of the school principal.

Since moving to Greece, she has been actively involved in the community. In 2008, she became a member and later vice-president of the Parents’ Association of the 5th Primary School of Cholargos. In 2013, she founded the cultural association Little Wanderers of Culture, organizing cultural, educational, and charitable activities for both children and adults.

In 2017, she founded Leirion, an alternative library offering workshops in Philosophy, Rhetoric, Museum Education, Robotics, Ancient Greek, Socratic Midwifery, Parent Education, MUN Club, and a Study Workshop for primary school students. She continues to design and coordinate all programs.

Since 2021, she has planned, organized, and sponsored the Leirion International Model United Nations conferences, working exclusively with students under the age of 20.
That same year, she designed the international workshop Coexist Freely, implemented in collaboration with students in Greece, France, and Germany. The project involved 270 children aged 5 to 15, and their poems were published in a trilingual poetry collection by Edypois Publications. Proceeds from the French edition were donated to support the “Interagir” association in Reims.

The project was carried out in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Migration at three shelters for unaccompanied refugee minors in Athens, involving educators working at these centers.
The first cycle of Coexist Freely concluded in Zakynthos in partnership with the Municipality of Zakynthos, focusing on children of women who had suffered domestic violence.

In 2022, she founded the Leirion MUN Academy, which develops educational programs for students based on the Model United Nations.
In 2024, she designed and implemented the first-ever United Nations Model Conference for Greek primary school students.
She also co-designed the international program Mediterranean Coexistence, a cultural and educational initiative for young people from Mediterranean countries, in collaboration with her partner, Dr. Athanasios Staveris-Polykalas.

In 2025, she expanded the Leirion Alternative Library by launching Leirion Publications, beginning with the book Space Cyber Security by Dr. Athanasios Staveris-Polykalas.

Most of her projects are implemented in close cooperation with young people, providing them with space to express themselves and create freely.

In her free time, she reads philosophy, writes poetry, and practices alternative therapies such as abdominal massage and Reiki.
She believes in justice and the free coexistence of people.
She firmly believes that without values, no society can develop or be sustainable.

 

She is a native speaker of Greek and Albanian, she also speaks English and Italian .

She is married and has two daughters.

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