Ioannis Vardakastanis was born on Zakynthos (Greece). He has been an active human rights campaigner in Greece, Europe and across the world throughout his life. He is the President of the National Confederation of Disabled People (N.C.D.P.) of Greece, which is the umbrella organization of the Greek disability movement. Also, he is the President of the European Disability Forum (EDF) -the voice of more than 100 million citizens with disabilities in Europe- which promotes and protects the rights of persons with disabilities and their families across EU.  Since 2010, Ioannis Vardakastanis has been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), representing the N.C.D.P. in Group III. Additionally, he has held the position of President of the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO), which is one of the six specialized sections of the EESC since 2023.  Furthermore, he is a member of the Economic and Social Council of Greece (OKE), the National Commission for Human Rights of Greece (NCHR) and the National Accessibility Authority of Greece.