Biography
Dr Melina Neophytou is an Academic Coordinator at IAFOR, working closely with academics, keynote speakers, and IAFOR partners to shape academic discussions within the Forum. Her work involves bringing conference programmes together, refining scholarship programmes, and building an interdisciplinary and international community throughout IAFOR’s network. She currently leads various projects within IAFOR, such as the Forum discussion sessions and the authorship of Conference Reports. Her latest role at IAFOR is facilitating the IAFOR Undergraduate Research Symposium (IURS).
Born in Germany and raised in Cyprus, Dr Neophytou holds a PhD in International Development from Nagoya University, Japan. She received an MA in International Development from Nagoya University, majoring in Governance & Law with a minor in Rural Development, and a BA from the University of Cyprus in European Studies. She specialised in political sociology, the welfare state, and contentious politics throughout her academic career, expanding from local contexts in Thailand and Cyprus to theory and practices of regionalisation. Her research has now shifted to the Japanese welfare state, family values within Japanese society, and their relationship to family policies. She is interested in state-society relations by uncovering how informal social ideas and contention influence formal social policy.
