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International conference: ‘Culture in EU External Relations‘

Centre for Fine Arts of Brussels – BOZAR

7-8 April 2014 – List of Speakers

Markus APPENZELLER

Born in Tubingen, Germany, 1972, Markus holds a professional degree

in banking business. He studied law, architecture and urban planning

in Konstanz, Stuttgart and Chicago. He graduated in 2003 from

Stuttgart University. In his early career Markus worked for UnitA

Architects (Stuttgart), Fink&Jocher Architects (Munich) and in the

Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Rotterdam).

Overall, Markus has been in charge of large scale architecture and

urban planning projects in China and across Europe. Before founding MLA+ Markus was Director at KCAP

Architects&Planners in Rotterdam (2006 – 2011), where he was design leader for the Olympic Legacy

Masterplan for London and the masterplan for the Central Business District of Beijing. For the central area

of Shenzhen, Markus headed a team to develop a regeneration strategy that sets an example for a new

form of urban transformation in China. Also, he has been the project architect of OMA’s masterplan for

White City in London. In 2011 he set up MLA+ with Gerard Maccreanor and Richard Lavington.

Markus is a regular guest critic at the AA School of Architecture in London, has lectured at several schools

across Europe and has been teaching at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. He also writes on various topics

of contemporary urbanism and advises companies in how to operate in other countries and cultural

environments.

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Blanka BERKYOVÁ

Blanka Berkyová, currently working for K13-Košice cultural center and is

responsible for programming and leading one type the new cultural -

community artistic infrastucture in the suburbs areas in the Košice city. During

the candidacy of Košice for the title of European Capital of Culture, she was a

consultant for key community project SPOTs – cultural artistic centers and since

2009, she worked in this project as Executive Manager. Since 2012 she has been

involved to the specific project „Evaluation methods for measuring the impact

of cultural interventions and community artistic projects on the Košice´s

neighbourhoods together with partners from CAL XL (Netherland). She has been

working for NGO Centre for community development (2003- 2009) as a

manager for urban and community development. During that period she

worked as a consultant for international research projects aimed at the removal

of barriers in the education of the Roma in Slovakia, as a trainer and consultant for the development of

youth initiatives in socially disadvantaged areas and as a facilitator of development projects in Roma

communities under the international program Youth Empowerment Partnership Program (YEPP). She has

been a member of the Orange Foundation grant commission, a commission of the Slovak Gas Foundation

to support projects in the fields of culture, art and social development.

Nenad BOGDANOVIC

Born in Serbia and resident of Cyprus, Nenad Bogdanovic is an international

cultural operator and activist. Currently, he holds the position of Executive

Director of Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation and Euro-Arab Youth

Music Center. He is Board member of Jeunesses Musicales International and

European Music Council.

After graduating the Music School of his born-city, Kragujevac, Nenad

Bogdanovic studied music performance on accordion in National Music

Academy of Ukraine in Kiev. Moving to Cyprus in 2001 he worked as Executive

director in Dance House Lemesos and Cultural Movement of Limassol “Epilogi”

- Jeunesses Musicales Cyprus. Nenad managed decades of projects supported among others by EU

"Culture" and "Youth in Action" Programmes, Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, the European

Cultural Foundation and Anna Lindh Foundation, all having young people in focus and using music and arts

as a media for intercultural dialogue. On local level, mobilising various NGOs, Nenad worked on bringing

two Cyprus communities closer through “Cyprus Youth TO-GEt-THERe” project creating and publishing first

Cyprus bi-lingual cooking book and organising intercultural festivals and art camps for young Greek-Cypriots

and Turkish-Cypriots. On international level he initiated various mobility schemes and events including

“Ethno Cyprus” youth music camps, Euro-Mediterranean Choral Fair “Choral Crossroads” in 2011 and 2013

and “Euro-Med Youth Music Expo” that moved hundreds of young musicians across borders and

established mechanisms for further project development among over hundred European and

Mediterranean youth & music organisations. Those projects resulted in the establishment of Euro-Arab

Youth Music Center between Jeunesses Musicales International, Arab Academy of Music (of the League of

Arab States) and the Cultural Movement "Epilogi".

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Nenad participated actively in a wide range of local NGO initiatives including Cyprus Youth Council, New

Cyprus Association, Anna Lindh Foundation (National Network) and Limassol Cultural Council, Union of

European Federalists and Initiative for Federal Cyprus. Nenad is a member of the team of Belgrade 2020,

European Capital of Culture Candidate City in charge for international collaboration. He participated as a

speaker and facilitator in a number of international conferences including "Music on Troubled Soils"

(Jerusalem, 2007), Euro-Arab Youth Music Forum (Amman, 2011), Euro-Mediterranean Youth Choral Forum

(Limassol, 2011), European Music Forum (Glasgow, 2013) and Anna Lindh Foundation Forum (Marseille,

2013).

Younès BOUMEHDI

Younès Boumedhi is the Chief Executive Officer of HIT RADIO. He holds a

degree in Marketing and Communications (Etudes Supérieures en Com-

munication et Marketing) from Paris. In 1992, he founded MediSystème, a

laboratory products retail company. In 1993, he submitted his first proposal

to create a private radio station in Morocco.

In 1996, he created IAM, working to promote and support young talent in

design and fashion. In 2006, he created HIT RADIO in Morocco. His radio

model was replicated in Belgium in 2009, Central Africa in 2012, and Gabon

and the Congo in 2013, and is planned to be launched in a dozen or so

countries in francophone Africa.

He founded a Paris association to promote young talent in 2005 and, in 2007, co-founded the Association

des Radios et Télévisions Indépendantes (ARTI; Association of independent radio and television

broadcasters), for which he is also the General Secretary.

He is a co-founder and the Vice-President of the association Marocains Pluriels, created in 2009. In 2013 he

became President of the foundation HIBA for the promotion of arts and culture in Morocco.

Sir Martin DAVIDSON KCMG

Martin Davidson took up the role as Chief Executive of the British Council in April

2007. Prior to the British Council he worked for the Hong Kong Government as an

Administrative Officer. He joined the British Council as Assistant Representative in

Beijing in 1984. Martin was responsible for opening the South China office in

Guangzhou in 1989 and returned to Beijing in 1995 as Director China. He speaks

both Cantonese and Mandarin. He has also held various posts in the British Council’s

London HQ with responsibilities covering South East Europe, the Middle East, East

Asia and the Americas.

Martin is married with 3 children. He is International trustee for Leonard Cheshire

Disability, a Governor of Goodenough College and Board Member of the Great Britain China Council.

Martin was awarded a KCMG in 2014 for his services to British cultural, scientific and educational interests

worldwide.

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Pavol DEMES

Pavol Demeš is an internationally recognised NGO leader based in Bratislava,

Slovakia. Prior to the "Velvet Revolution" in November 1989, M. Demeš was a

bio-medical researcher at Comenius University in Bratislava. He is a graduate of

the Charles University in Prague (1980). After the democratic changes in 1989

he served as the Executive Director of the Slovak Academic Information Agency-

Service Center for the Third Sector, a leading NGO in the country. He also served

as Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic (1993-97), and

in 1991-1992 he was the Slovak Minister of International Relations. From 2000

until September 2010 he was the Director for Central and Eastern Europe of the

German Marshall Fund of the United States. Now he is non-resident senior

fellow with the GMF US.

Pavol Demeš played a key role in the EU’s civil society development program (PHARE) in Slovakia and

democratization efforts in the Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries. In the last two years he visited

several Arab countries where he spoke on civil society issues.

Gijs de VRIES

Gijs de Vries has been the Leader of the Liberal and Democratic Group in the

European Parliament, a Senior Advisor to Secretary-General/High Representative

Javier Solana, and a Member of the European Court of Auditors. He is a former

member of the Government and Parliament of the Netherlands, and served as

the Dutch Government’s Representative in the European Convention. He was a

member of the Advisory Board of the European Cultural Foundation and a

founding member of the European Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author

of A Europe Open to Culture: Proposals for a European Strategy of Cultural

Diplomacy. He is currently on a sabbatical in Oxford, UK.

Johannes EBERT

1982 – 1988 Student of Islamic studies (Arabic, Persian, Turkish) and

Political Science in Freiburg im Breisgau

1984 – 1985 Year’s scholarship from the DAAD in Damascus to study

the Arabic language

1990 – 1991 Editorial traineeship at the newspaper

HeilbronnerStimme

1991 – 1993 Trained as a Goethe-Institut instructor in Munich,

Prien, Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire)

1993 – 1994 Goethe-Institutinstructor (teacher of German as a

foreign language) at the Goethe-Institut Prien

1994 – 1995 Language course consultant at the Goethe-Institut Riga (Latvia)

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1995 – 1997 Deputy head of the Public Relations division at the Munich head office of the Goethe-

Institut

1997 – 2002 Director of the Goethe-Institut Kiev (Ukraine)

2002 – 2007 Director of the Goethe-Institut Cairo/Alexandria (Egypt) and Goethe-Institut Regional

Director Middle East/North Africa

2007 – 2012 Director of the Goethe-Institut Moscow (Russia) and Goethe-Institut Regional Director

Eastern Europe/Central Asia

Since 1 March 2012 Secretary-General of the Goethe-Institut

Ahmed EL ATTAR

Ahmed El Attar, is an Egyptian independent theatre director,

translator and playwright.

He is the founder and artistic director of Orient Productions and the

Temple Independent Theatre Company. El Attar is also the founder

and General Manager of Studio Emad Eddin Foundation, and the

artistic director of D-CAF (Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival)

and the Falaki theatre in Cairo.

El Attar has a BA in Theatre from the American University in Cairo (1992) and an MA in Arts and Cultural

Management from Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle (2001) and is a Chevening scholar and a Clore Leadership

Programme alumni (UK- 2009), a CEC Artslink resident (USA – 2013) and has received the pioneers of Egypt

award in November 2013 from Synergos foundation (USA).

El Attar’s theatre work has been performed in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Sweden, Portugal, Germany,

Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, the United Kingdom and the UAE. El

Attar is currently preparing ‘The Last Supper’ which deals with the apathy of the Egyptian & Arab

bourgeoisie and is scheduled to open in Cairo in April 2014.

El Attar has been chosen by the Arabic edition of Newsweek (26/4/05) as one of 42 personalities who

influence change in the Arab world. In January 2010, El Attar received the prize for best theatre text from

the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development for his play ‘Life is beautiful or waiting for my uncle from

America’.

Birgitta ENGLIN

1999 she started the “Electra” project, a youth and performing arts agency

negotiating intersectional antagonism and society.

2005-2013 as CEO of Riksteatern, one of the world’s largest touring theatre, she

achieved global outreach and glocal relevance through enhanced R&D and long

term interactions with NGO:s and the diaspora.

2004 Appointed by the government, Chairman of the National Arts Equality

Committee and in 2007 member of National Arts Policy committee.

2014 Senior Adviser Global Utmaning (Global Challenge) a think tank.

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Rod FISHER

Rod Fisher is the Director of International Intelligence on Culture, the consultancy

he founded, and an Associate Lecturer on European cultural policies at Goldsmiths,

University of London. He was the Director of the European Cultural Foundation UK

Committee (2002-2012), a Visiting Lecturer on European /international cultural

policies at City University, London (1984-2007) and worked for the Arts Council of

Great Britain for a number of years, as well as in cultural programming and

management in city governments. Fisher co-founded the cultural research network

CIRCLE (Chairman 1985-1994) and chaired the European Task Force that produced

In From the Margins, a report for the Council of Europe on the state of cultural

development in Europe (1995-96) and the expert group evaluating cultural policy in Finland (1994). He has

undertaken research, lectured and addressed conferences in more than 30 countries worldwide. Aside

from comparative cultural policies, his research interests include cultural diplomacy/relations, e.g. whether

there has been a paradigm shift in the cultural relations policies of EU Member States (2009 and since

updated), programmes supporting the international mobility of artists (ERICarts 2008) and the

skills/training needed for managing transnational cultural projects (Fondation Marcel Hicter 2007). His

report A Cultural Dimension to the EU’s External Policies for ECF was published by Boekmanstichting (2007).

A book on the EU and culture is underway. He has enjoyed a lifelong fascination with the culture, religions

and history of Asia.

Rod considers that working as an independent expert on the Preparatory Action on Culture in External

Relations has been stimulating, even if it has aged him considerably!

Naomi BLOCH FORTIS

Naomi Bloch Fortis who now serves as the Executive Director of the Jerusalem

Season of Culture (JSOC), has played a leading role in its success since its

inception in 2010. She joined JSOC after completing a twenty-year tenure with

the Bathsheba Dance Company, the last decade of which she served as

Executive Director and Co-Artistic Director. Prior to this, Naomi was a dancer

and dance teacher. She also served as an advisor to the Israel Festival-

Jerusalem, and is currently a board member of the Sam Spiegel Film School,

the National Sal Tarbut Advisory Board (which allocates cultural funding

nationally), as well as other organizations and artistic initiatives throughout

Israel. In addition, for the last four years she has served as the Professional

Director (together with Prof. Orly Yehezkel), of Tel Aviv University’s Lahav Art and Culture Management

Program.

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Manuela GOYA

Manuela Goya is Secretary-General of the Montreal, Cultural Metropolis Steering

Committee, a unique alliance of business and cultural communities and public

authorities, which places art and culture at the heart of Montreal’s development

and international standing. The goal of the Steering Committee’s work is to

promote and support continuous research, exchanges and projects and to enable

the culture and art of Montreal to achieve its full potential, to evolve and to play a

key role in furthering Montreal’s international reach and influence.

Convinced that the cultural community must increase its alliances with all the major

forces of society, she is building bridges between a variety of partners, such as

universities, consular staff and international organisations in Montreal, in order to make culture a vehicle

and a driver for multi-faceted development. Her concerns and commitment reflect the major

transformations going on worldwide at a time when more than half of the world’s population lives in urban

areas and when cities have a strategic role to play on the cultural front as well as on the social and

economic front.

Using her experience gained with the Ministry of Finance of Quebec and her work with disadvantaged

communities in Africa, she is influencing policies that aim to foster the community-building potential of arts

and culture, throughout the world, with the conviction that culture has a critical role to play in relations

between cities.

Damien HELLY

Damien Helly has been a specialist on the cultural dimensions of the

external action of the European Union since 2006, which saw his first

collaboration with Robert Palmer. He is currently policy officer for EU's

external action at the European Centre for Development Policy

Management (ECDPM) and visiting professor at the College of Europe,

Bruges on EU's diplomacy, security and defence. In 2012, while he was

Senior Research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security

Studies (EUISS), he published More Cutlural Europe in the World, a

groundbreaking monograph linking policy analysis and practical recommendations on EU's external cultural

relations, with the support of More Europe. He also called for the creation of a European worldwide

cultural radio service. Damien holds a PhD in political science from Sciences Po, Paris and has published

extensively on the EU's external action.

Péter INKEI

Péter Inkei is the Director of the Budapest Observatory: Regional Observatory

on Financing Culture in East-Central Europe. He has done consultancy in

various fields of cultural policy, among others for the Council of Europe and

the European Commission, is author of the Hungarian entry of the

Compendium of cultural policies, and has been a speaker at various

international conferences. Previously, he held various positions in the civil

service, including deputy state secretary for culture. Péter Inkei has also

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worked in publishing – with Central European University Press – and was Founding Director of the Budapest

International Book Festival in 1994.

Yudhishthir RAJ ISAR

Yudhishthir Raj Isar is an analyst, public speaker and consultant who straddles

different worlds of cultural theory, experience and practice. Professor of Cultural

Policy Studies at The American University of Paris (in 2003-2008 he was a Jean

Monnet Professor) and Eminent Research Visitor with the Institute for Culture

and Society at the University of Western Sydney, Australia (2011-2013). With

Helmut Anheier, he was the founding co-editor of the Cultures and Globalization

Series (SAGE). He is a past President of the European arts and culture advocacy

platform Culture Action Europe. He recently served as the coordinating editor of

the forthcoming UN Creative Economy Report 2013: Widening Local

Development Pathways. Earlier, at UNESCO he was Executive Secretary of the

World Commission on Culture and Development and Director of the

International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. In 1986-87, he was executive

director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology. Educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, the Sorbonne and the Ecole des Hautes

Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris.

Andre LE ROUX

Andre Le Roux is the Managing Director of the Southern African Music Rights

Organization (SAMRO) Foundation; Chairman of the Arterial Network of South Africa

and Deputy Chairman of Music in Africa. Currently he serves as a board member of

the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival and Business & Arts South Africa. In the past

he was among others chairman of the Moshito Music Conference & Exhibition 2009-

2011 and the South African Coalition for Cultural Diversity and served on the board

of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. Andre worked as

an arts administrator for more than 20 years at local, national and international

level. His experience ranges from grassroots level on the Cape Flats in the Western

Cape, to provincial level for the Eastern Cape Government, National and

International level for the National Department of Arts & Culture and the National Arts Council. He has a

passion for the arts, influencing cultural policy and growing strong cultural institutions.

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Morten LØKKEGAARD

Morten Løkkegaard, born December 20th 1964, is a MEP representing Denmark in

the Group of the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).

In 2009 Morten Lokkegaard was first time elected for the European Parliament,

representing the Danish Liberal party, (Venstre). In the European Parliament,

Morten Løkkegaard is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education

(CULT) as well as a substitute in the Committee on the Internal Market and

Consumer Protection (IMCO).

In 2005, Morten Løkkegaard founded a communication consultancy firm where

he, as the owner, provides communication advisory tasks and performs the task

as moderator at political debates and conferences.

In the Danish public Morten Løkkegaard is known as Mr. News from 12 years of experience working as a

Journalist and anchorman on national TV in Denmark.

Frédéric MARTEL

Frédéric Martel is a senior researcher and journalist. He has a PhD in Sociology and

four master degrees in law, political science, philosophy, and sociology. He has been

visiting scholar at Harvard and taught at Sciences Po Paris and at the HEC's MBA.

He is the author of seven books, including On Culture in America (Gallimard, 2006)

and the best-seller Mainstream : On the Global War on Culture and Medias

(Flammarion, 2010, translated in twenty countries).

As a journalist, Frédéric Martel is the anchor of the weekly radio program « Soft

Power » on French National Public Radio (France Culture/Radio France). He has a

weekly segment on “ideas & debates” on France Info (24 h. info channel of Radio France). And he is the

editor of the book review site nonfiction.fr. He is currently a senior researcher at IRIS, the Institute of

International Relations (Paris).

Mary McCARTHY

Mary McCarthy is Director of the National Sculpture Factory in Cork, Ireland.

Previously, Mary held the roles of Executive Arts Manager for Dublin Docklands

Development Authority, Deputy Director and Programme Director at Cork 2005:

European Capital of Culture as well as Programme Manager of the Artist Work

Programme at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. She has also worked in

commercial galleries in New York and Dublin.

Mary currently sits on the Boards of The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)

and the Cork International Film Festival as well as being an expert advisor for Culture Ireland, Ireland‟s

state agency to promote Irish arts abroad. She has also acted as an expert panel member for the selection

of European Capitals of Culture for the European Commission and has acted as an advisor to bidding Capital

of Culture cities, and she has acted as a conference moderator at various international events.

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Nina OBULJEN KORŽINEK

Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Ph.D. works as a researcher at the Institute for

Development and International Relations in Zagreb. Former State Secretary

(2008-2011) and former Assistant Minister (2006-2008) at the Croatian

Ministry of Culture, graduated from the Academy of Music and Faculty of

Arts of the University of Zagreb. She holds a master’s degree and a

doctorate in Political Science from the University of Zagreb. Before joining

the Institute for Development and International Relations she worked at

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and UNESCO, Paris. As

State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, she was responsible for the sectors of arts, culture and media.

She was a member of the negotiating team for the Croatian accession to the EU responsible for the fields of

culture and education as well as information society and media.

In 2004 she received the European Cultural Policy Research Award for her research on the impact of the EU

enlargement on cultural policies which was published in the book Why we need European Cultural Policies:

impact of EU enlargement on countries in transition, Amsterdam, 2006.

Since November 2012 Nina Obuljen Koržinek has been appointed the chairperson of the Programme

Council of the Croatian Radio and Television. She was head of the Croatian delegation for negotiations on

the UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions (2004-

2005) and Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention (2010). Former member of

the Steering Committee of the International Network for Cultural Diversity Nina Obuljen cooperates with a

number of Croatian and European networks and NGOs.

Sana OUCHTATI

Sana Ouchtati graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven,

Belgium with a Master Degree in European Union policies. She also

has a Master degree in International Relations and business

administration from the High Institute of Commercial Studies in

Brussels. Since 2001, she worked at the European Institutions in

Brussels mainly on trade multilateral and bilateral agreements with

third countries. She has also been responsible for the cultural

dimension of the EU external relations mainly with ACP countries,

Neighborhood countries and Emerging countries. She has a thorough knowledge of the culture field,

international relations as well as EU processes, policies and instruments dedicated to external relations,

culture and intercultural dialogue. She has a 3 years field experience and thorough knowledge of EU

Neighborhood countries, mainly Southern Mediterranean. As an independent consultant, she is steering

two important initiatives dedicated to external culture relations. She is the Director of More Europe-

external culture relations- since 2011. She is also the project manager of the Preparatory Action-Culture in

EU External Relations.

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Paweł POTOROCZYN

Diplomat and culture manager, film and music producer, publisher. Director of

the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw since 2008. Holds an MA in

philosophy from the University of Warsaw, where he also read history. He

began his career in public service in 1992 as President of the Polish Information

Agency. Started his diplomatic service in 1995 as Cultural Consul at the

Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles. Founding director

of the Polish Cultural Institute in New York in 2000, then director of the Polish

Cultural Institute in London from 2005. Published extensively in periodicals

including Rzeczpospolita, Poland’s second-largest daily newspaper, and the

magazines Tygodnik Powszechny and Brief. In 2013 he published a novel Ludzka

rzecz (To Err Is Human).

Miguel Ángel MARTÍN RAMOS

Miguel Ángel Martín Ramos is counsellor in European, cultural and social affairs

for the European Academy of Yuste Foundation and its Delegate in Brussels

before the EU. He is also responsible for cultural, education, youth, equal

opportunities and social policies in the Office of Extremadura in Brussels since

2000. Since 2006 he is a member of the Administration Board of the

International Jean Monnet Association. Since 2009 he chairs the Working Group

on Language Diversity and Social Inclusion at the European Platform of the Civil

Society to Promote Multilingualism. Since July 2011 he is the spokesperson of

the European Access to Culture Platform. Since May 2012 he is Honour Founder

Member of the European Institute Jean Monnet in México and since November 2012 a member of the

Strategic Group of the Initiative ‘A Soul for Europe’.

Ferdinand RICHARD

Ferdinand Richard is the current foundator and director of A.M.I, the National Centre

for the Development of Contemporary Musics. As a development platform, A.M.I

offers various training workshops, artist residences, and serves as an incubator for

cultural micro-business.

In 1992 he founded the Friche-Belle-de-Mai, a former industrial site that hosts today

about 70 different cultural structures, and is now a board member. In 2005 he joined

the Roberto Cimetta Fund supporting mobility for artists and cultural operators in the

Euro-Arab dimension, and became its chairman in 2009. From 1996 to 1999 he was

President of the “European Forum for the Arts and Heritage” (now Culture Action

Europe) and became one of its board member. He participated to the Anna Lindh Foundation French

network as a steering comitee member (2006-2008), was President of Gondwana, a regional federation for

an african arts biennale in Marseilles, and President of “Medinma”, the first Mediterranean music market

held in Marseilles, now called “Bab-el-Med” (1998-1999).

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Oussama RIFAHI

Oussama Rifahi joined the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture as Executive Director in

July 2010. Previously, he was Managing Director for Museum Development in New

York with Global Cultural Asset Management, and provided cultural consultancy

services to governments, cities, foundations and private collectors in Europe, the

Middle East and Central Asia. As Director of Special Projects for the Guggenheim

Foundation, Rifahi led feasibility studies of modern and contemporary museums in

Lithuania and France in 2007. From 2003 to 2006, he was project manager at

Mubadala in Abu Dhabi and an advisor to the chairman of TDIC. Rifahi directed the

market analysis, strategy definition and development of the business model for

tourism and culture in Abu Dhabi and supported the first architectural

developments on the cultural district of Saadiyat Island, as well as the initial negotiations between Abu

Dhabi and the Louvre and Guggenheim museums.

François RIVASSEAU

Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to

the United States

François Rivasseau was appointed Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the

United States in April 2011. Prior to joining the Delegation, he served from 2007

until 2011 as the Deputy Head of the French Embassy to the United States.

Mr. Rivasseau has spent much of his career working on disarmament, security,

and multilateral affairs. Following an early tour at the French Embassy in

Colombia (1986-1989), he served as the head of the NATO desk in the Strategic Affairs and Disarmament

department at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1993, Mr. Rivasseau became the head of political affairs at the Ministry's United Nations Directorate.

Two years later, he moved to Geneva to serve as the Deputy Permanent Representative at the French

Mission to the Conference on Disarmament. During his time in Switzerland, he took part in negotiations

over the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Ottawa Convention banning land mines.

In 1998, Mr. Rivasseau was appointed the Deputy Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary for Information

and Communication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; he was promoted to Spokesperson two years later.

In 2003, Mr. Rivasseau returned to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva as the Ambassador and

Permanent Representative of France, where he chaired the Geneva Forum. In 2006, he was elected for a

year president of the Third Review Conference on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which

restricts the use of inhumane armaments such as mines, lasers, and incendiary weapons. He also served for

five years (2009-2013) as a Member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament of the UN Secretary-General.

A native of Bordeaux (1954), Mr. Rivasseau holds degrees from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Bordeaux

and University of Bordeaux III, as well as a Ph.D. in law from the University of Bordeaux I. He studied at the

prestigious École Nationale d’Administration in Paris, France (1979-1981) and served as a as an

administrative court counsellor in Poitiers and Bordeaux (1981-1986).

Mr. Rivasseau has been honoured with the Chevalier of the French Order of the Legion of Honour, the

Officer of the French Order of Merit and the Chevalier of the German Order of Merit (2nd degree).

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Patricia FERNÁNDEZ ROBINSON

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico on May 31, 1980. After graduating with a bachelor's

degree in International Relations from ITESM in 2003, she enrolled in a graduate

program specializing in the integration of the European Union offered jointly by

ITAM in Mexico and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She has studied

more than fifteen Institutional certificate courses in specialized topics related to

different fields such as: arts and cultural management, cultural promotion,

cultural heritage, public policy, cultural economics and cultural industries. She

has thirteen years of experience in the field of International Relations and ten in

the cultural sector. More specifically, her areas of expertise are cultural

diplomacy, international cultural cooperation, arts and cultural management.

Since 2010, she is the Director of International Cultural Cooperation in the National Council for Culture and

the Arts.

Alain RUCHE

Bor A. Ruche studied economics, pedagogy and international relations. He

started his professional career in Latin America and Africa with the UN and the

World Bank, and then worked on research at various universities. In the late

80's he joined the EU as the Representative in Haiti and Dominican Republic,

followed by postings in several EU delegations : Morocco, Bangladesh,

Argentina and Nicaragua, being in charge alternatively of development, trade,

economic, information and political files. Coming back to EU headquarters in

2005, he focused on Asia. Since 2010 A. Ruche has been working directly for

the Secretary General of the EU External Service, tasked to think out of the box

for strategic and policy making purpose. He recently joined the Office of the SG

as a senior adviser on cultural matters. A. Ruche is a fellow and also the connector in Brussels of the UK

Royal Society of Arts. He is also a fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar and a Global Ambassador of the Kosmos

Journal. He is an active practitioner of participatory leadership techniques using collective intelligence.

Zaza RUSADZE

Zaza Rusadze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1977. Rusadze worked for the

Georgian State TV for several years. In 1996 he was accepted at the film school

HFF "Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam in directing class and moved to Germany. During

his study Zaza has worked as News Cutter for German TV Channels and as a

translator for the Film Festivals in Berlin, Leipzig and Cottbus. In 2003 Zaza

Rusadze received his degree in directing. Zaza worked as assistant director on film

sets of Ineke Smits, Dito Tsintsadze and Otar Ioseliani. In 2007 Rusadze founded

the Film Production and Distribution Company Zazarfilm in Tbilisi and splits his

time between Europe and Georgia since. Rusadze’s feature length directorial

debut A Fold in My Blanket world--‐premiered at Berlin International Film Festival

as Panorama Opening Film in 2013.

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Ihor SAVCHAK

Founder and Head of the Board of the Centre for Cultural Management (Lviv,

Ukraine), Coordinator of the Subgroup Culture of the Eastern Partnership Civil

Society Forum.

He explores and initiates projects that can catalyze positive cultural changes in

Ukraine on the individual, organizational and societal levels.

Marietje SCHAAKE

Marietje Schaake (Twitter: @MarietjeD66) is a Member of the European

Parliament with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political

group. She serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she focuses on

neighbourhood policy, Turkey in particular; human rights, with a specific focus on

freedom of expression, internet freedom, press freedom; and Iran. In the

Committee on Culture, Media, Education, Youth and Sports she works on Europe’s

Digital Agenda and the role of culture and new media in the EU’s external actions.

In the Committee on International Trade she focuses on intellectual property

rights, the free flow of information and the relation between trade and foreign

affairs.

Marietje is a member of the delegation for relations with the United States and a substitute member on the

delegations with Iran and the Western Balkan countries. She is also a founder of the European Parliament

Intergroup on New Media and Technology. Marietje is a Member of the European Council on Foreign

Relations and vice-president of the supervisory board of Free Press Unlimited.

Before joining the European Parliament, she worked as an independent advisor to governments, diplomats,

businesses and NGO’s, on issues of transatlantic relations, diversity and pluralism, civil and human rights.

H.E. Ambassador Cynthia P. SCHNEIDER, PhD

Cynthia P. Schneider, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of

Diplomacy at Georgetown University, teaches, publishes, and

organizes initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy, with a focus on

relations with the Muslim world.

She co-directs Los Angeles-based MOST Resource (Muslims on Screen

and Television), which provides valuable resources and accurate

information on Islam and Muslims for the U.S. entertainment

community, and brings together policy leaders with their counterparts in media and entertainment.

For the Brookings Institution, where she is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Dr. Schneider leads the Arts and

Culture Dialogue Initiative within the Saban Center for Middle East Policy.

Professor Schneider teaches courses in Diplomacy and Culture in the School of Foreign Service at

Georgetown University, where, from1984-2005, she was a member of the art history faculty, and published

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on Rembrandt and seventeenth century Dutch art. Together with Derek Goldman, Artistic Director of the

Davis Performing Arts Center and Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Georgetown, she co-

directs the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics.

Ambassador Schneider also teaches Diplomacy and Diplomacy and Culture at Dubrovnik International

University; and the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin.

Dr. Schneider publishes and speaks frequently on topics related to arts, culture, and media and

international affairs, particularly the Muslim world. Her writings range from blogs for the Huffington Post

and CNN.com to policy papers for the Brookings Institution. Her talks include a TED presentation on the

global impact of American Idol, as well as speeches on the role of arts and culture in the U.S.–Islamic world

relationship in venues from Lahore to Los Angeles.

From 1998-2001 she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, during which time she led initiatives in

cultural diplomacy, biotechnology, cyber security, and education.

Dr. Schneider has a PhD and BA from Harvard University. She serves on multiple Boards of Directors and

Advisory Boards, including Wesley Theological Seminary, PRE (American Board of the Peace Research

Institute of Oslo), and the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Berlin).

MirjamSCHNEIDER

Dr. Mirjam Schneider is a free-lance journalist, editor and writer with a focus on

German foreign cultural policies and international cultural relations. She was a

research and teaching assistant in comparative literature at the University of

Tübingen, Germany, and coordinator of the research program 'culture and foreign

policy' at ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Stuttgart, related to Germany’s

foreign cultural and educational policy. She cooperated at the ‚Preparatory Action:

Culture in EU’s external relations’ as a junior expert.

Isabelle SCHWARZ

Isabelle Schwarz is Head of Advocacy, Research and Development at the

European Cultural Foundation (ECF) in Amsterdam, Europe’s only

independent, pan-European cultural foundation. Previously, she worked

with the World Commission on Culture and Development (UN/UNESCO)

that published “Our Creative Diversity” (1995), Council of Europe, Ministry

of Culture of France, and several NGOs in Brussels, London, Paris, and

Copenhagen. Her special interests lie with international cultural relations

and cooperation, as well as EU cultural policy development.

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Andrew Senior

Andrew Senior established the Creative Industries Unit (CIU) at the British Council in

1999. Working with a small team, he began to build the Unit’s profile within the

British Council (as part of Arts Group) and within the context of the Department for

Culture, Media & Sports Creative Industries Export Promotion Advisory Group

(CIEPAG). Over the next decade, working closely with colleagues in the art form

departments and internationally, Andrew drove the strategic development of the

creative economy agenda within the British Council. In 2008 it became one of the

three principal platforms of the British Council activity.

Andrew left the British Council in 2010 to set up Andrew Senior Associates Ltd (ASA).

Yolanda SMITS

Yolanda Smits is the Director of International Affairs of KEA, a an international

strategic consultancy and research center providing advice, support and research in

relation to creative industries, culture, entertainment, media and sport sectors. She

has more than 25 years of experience in dealing with European affairs and

international trade. She is specialized in IP legislation and international trade.

Yolanda has an extensive expertise in running public affairs campaigns as well as

carrying out EU wide research projects and cooperation programmes funded by the

EU.

At KEA she has been involved in various international projects dealing with the cultural sector such as: 1)

mapping the EU and Chinese culture and creative industries to foster business cooperation and the use of

IP licensing agreements); 2) implementation of the cultural provisions of the EU-Cariforum EPA; and 3) EU-

South Africa trade in culture and creative industries. She is also one of the authors of the study that was

recently prepared for the EP on “Contractual Arrangements applicable to Creators”.

Currently Yolanda is a member and expert of the consortium lead By Goethe of the EC Preparatory Action

for Culture in External Relations as well as the European partner of an ACP project in Jamaica and Trinidad

& Tobago on improving business skills and the internationalization of creative entrepreneurs.

She worked over eleven years for the music industry (IFPI) in Brussels. She was the senior trade advisor

and represented the interests of the four major sound recording companies (Universal Music, EMI,

SonyBMG, Warner Music) in front of the EU institutions. She was responsible among others for lobbying

the European Commission to ensure it puts political pressure on third countries such as China and Russia

to improve their copyright legislation and introduce measures to fight piracy. Prior to that she worked for

the Spanish Employers' Confederation (CEOE) in Madrid and set up the Open Line project to identify

obstacles Spanish companies were facing in the Internal Market and ran a number of Al-Invest projects in

Brazil. Yolanda started her career as the Deputy Secretary General of the European retail trade association

in Brussels (now called Eurocommerce). She graduated in law from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, has

a Master in European Law from the College of Europe in Bruges as well as a Master in copyright from

King´s College in London.

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Pooja SOOD

Pooja Sood is the founding member and Director of Khoj International Artists’

Association, an autonomous, artists’ led registered society aimed at promoting

intercultural understanding through experimentation and exchange. As a founding

member of Khoj she coordinated the KHOJ International artist’s workshop in Delhi

from 1998-2001, facilitated the workshops in Bangalore 2002-2003, in Mumbai 2005,

Kolkata 2006 and Srinagar 2007, Patna 2009 and Dharmashala 2012. In New Delhi,

she has developed a radical space for alternative art practice at the KHOJ studios,

which runs workshops, international residency programmes and diverse projects. She

has raised funding for the development of a pilot national network for the arts based

on the KHOJ model.

Pooja Sood was the Regional Coordinator (2000-2011) of the international artists’ network facilitated by

the Triangle Arts Trust, UK. Starting in 2000, she has researched and facilitated the establishment of

organizsations in the region (Vasl Arts Trust in Pakistan, Britto Arts Trust in Bangladesh, Sutra in Nepal,

Teertha in Sri Lanka) thereby developing a south Asian network for the arts. She has raised funding from

the Ford Foundation to develop a communications network and a presence of south Asian art on the

internet. She organised the first ever seminar-workshop on contemporary art from South Asia in New Delhi

in 2001.

As an independent curator, her recent works included the opening exhibition Connecting Unfolding for the

new Korean National Museum of Modern and Contemporary art, Seoul (2013), along with 5 other curators.

Pooja Sood has spoken and participated in various forums on Indian contemporary art, art management

and South Asian art in India and abroad. Recently, she has made presentations at the World Art Summit for

art and culture in Melbourne (October 2011), The Summer World Art Forum in Tianjin (2010 ), the ASEM

workshop on enhancing ASEM visibility through cultural activities , Vietnam (April 2010) and at the Tate

Britain ( Feb09).

She is the editor of The KHOJ BOOK: 1997-2007 contemporary art practice in India, published by Harper

Collins in 2010. She is currently working on editing a book on the 48c. Public Art. Ecology project and one

on the South Asian Network for the Arts ( SANA) due to be released in Dhaka in Feb 2014.

Sood has an MA in Art History( 1990-92) From Punjab University, Chandigarh; an MBA in Marketing (1984-

86) from the Symbiosis Institute Of Business Management, Pune.

Corina ŞUTEU

Corina Şuteu is president of FilmETC ( New York-Bucharest) and Making

Waves Film Festival NY and former Director of the Romanian Cultural

Institute in New York.

Prior to this, she worked in France, as head of the Masters Degree in

European Cultural Management of the Dijon Business School. She initiated in

1995 the first regional (Eastern European) MA in cultural management – the

ECUMEST program.

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She acted for four years as President of the European Forum of Cultural Networks and was a board member

of IETM and ENCATC. She was president of the EUNIC cluster in New York and initiated , developed and

coordinated more than 100 events each year for six consecutive years in the US on behalf or RCINY. Corina

Suteu is also a founder of the ECUMEST Association and was co-initiator, together with the European

Cultural Foundation(Amsterdam), of the Policies for Culture program. In Romania, she served as Director of

UNITER – the Theatre Union of Romania and of Theatrum Mundi in Bucharest.

She has worked internationally extensively, as a diplomat, trainer, independent consultant and researcher

in the fields of cultural cooperation and cultural management and comparative cultural policies in Europe.

She has been involved in many international activities as cultural mediator and senior expert ( for the

Council of Europe, UNESCO, various EU programmes , The European Cultural Foundation, Boekman

Foundation, Soros Foundation network, Interarts Observatory, etc).

She lectured, among others, for the IEP Lyon (DRECI), Observatoire des Politiques Culturelles et IEP

Grenoble, Paris VIII, College of Europe in Bruges, Salzburg Seminar, MA of Cultural management and

cultural policy in the Balkans of the University of Arts in Belgrade and various European networks.

Shima TAL

Shima Tal is a consultant at Greater Amman Municipality, in charge of cultural and

artistic events among GAM and embassies and foreign cultural centers. She

strongly believes that culture and arts are the fundamental basis of development

of any nation, besides exposures to different cultures enrich the local ones.

Sana TAMZINI

Sana Tamzini lives and works in Tunis. She is an artist, and has taught at the Tunis

École Supérieure des Sciences et Technologies du Design (School of design science

and technology) since 2003. She has been Director of the Ministry of Culture’s

Centre National d’Art Vivant (National centre for the performing arts) in Tunis since

2011. She also works as an exhibition curator and designer and is an activist in the

Tunisian cultural scene. She is the elected President of FACT 2014-2015 (Forum des

Associations Culturelles en Tunisie; Forum of cultural associations in Tunisia) under

the aegis of UNESCO.

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Jan TRUSZCZYŃSKI

Director General for Education, Training, Culture and Youth.

Jan Truszczyński has been Director-General of the European Commission's

Directorate-General for Education and Culture since May 2010, when he

came from the position as Deputy Director-General in the same Directorate-

General.

He joined the European Commission in January 2007, when he was

appointed Deputy Director-General for Enlargement, with responsibility for enlargement strategy and

communication.

From 2001 to 2005 Mr Truszczyński worked in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first Undersecretary of

State, then Secretary of State. In this capacity, he was Poland's chief negotiator during its EU accession

negotiations.

Prior to that, Mr Truszczyński was Ambassador of Poland to the EU in Brussels from 1996 to 2001.

Androulla VASSILIOU

Androulla Vassiliou is currently European Commissioner for Education,

Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

Previously, she served as Commissioner for Health, from February 2008 to

end 2009.

Ms Vassiliou studied law and international affairs in London and practiced

law in Cyprus for 20 years (1968-1988). During this period she acted as legal

advisor to The Standard Chartered Bank and, later, to the Bank of Cyprus.

Before her appointment to the European Commission, Ms Vassiliou was actively involved in politics in her

home country, Cyprus. She was twice elected to the Cypriot House of Representatives: in 1996 and 2001 –

representing the Movement of United Democrats (affiliated to the European Liberal Democrats and Reform

Party ELDR).

As a Cypriot parliamentarian, she was an active member of the European Affairs Committee and

represented the Cyprus Parliament to the Convention for the future of Europe as an alternate member.

Androulla Vassiliou was active in the field of international affairs and human rights as a President of the UN

Association of Cyprus from 1978 until 1992 and as President of the World Federation of UN Associations

from 1991 until 1995. She was unanimously elected Honorary President of the World Federation at the end

of her term. Ms Vassiliou was also President of the Cyprus Federation of Business and Professional Women

from 1996 until 2000, Vice-President of the ELDR and chairperson of the European Liberal Women's

Network (2001-2006). From 2002 to 2008 she chaired the Board of Trustees of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology

centre in Cyprus.

Commissioner Vassiliou is married to Dr George Vassiliou, former Cypriot President and Chief Negotiator

for Cyprus' accession to the EU.

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Pierre VIMONT

Pierre Vimont is the Executive Secretary General of the European External Action

Service (EEAS), since December 2010, when the EEAS began operation.

Prior to that, Mr. Vimont was the Ambassador of France to the United States from

August 1, 2007. Between 2002 and 2007, Pierre Vimont was chief of staff to the

minister of Foreign Affairs. He was previously Ambassador and Permanent

Representative of France to the European Union from 1999 to 2002.

Mr. Vimont joined the French Foreign Service in 1977. He was first posted to

London where he was first secretary from 1978 to 1981. He then spent the next

four years with the Press and Information Office at the Quai d’Orsay. From 1985 to 1986 he was seconded

to the Institute for East-West Security in New York. Returning to Europe, he served as second counselor

with the Permanent Representation of France to the European Communities in Brussels (1986-1990), and

was subsequently chief of staff to the minister delegate for European affairs from 1990 to 1993. He went

on to serve as director for development and scientific, technical and educational cooperation and then for

cultural, scientific and technical relations. He was deputy director general of the entire Cultural, Scientific

and Technical Relations Department from 1996 to 1997 and then director of European Cooperation from

1997 to 1999.

Born in 1949, Pierre Vimont holds a degree in law and is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies

(Paris) and the National School of Administration (ENA).

Gottfried WAGNER

Gottfried Wagner works as an ad hoc expert to the Preparatory Action “Culture in EU

External Relations”, and in his main occupation as civil servant for the Austrian Federal

Ministry of Education and Woman’s Affairs as special envoy in the international

department.

Gottfried Wagner has worked for the private non-profit sector and the public sector, in

national and transnational organisations and institutions, in education and culture. He

was director of the European Cultural Foundation from 2002 until 2009. Formerly he

was director of KulturKontakt Austria, a non-profit association for educational and

cultural cooperation with Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe. He has been a member of selection

committees for the European Capital of Culture scheme and various European expert groups.

As director of the European Cultural Foundation he initiated a research and action programme on Culture

in European External Relations that led to a series of conferences, publications and policy gatherings in

cooperation with a long range of partners.

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Ting XU

Since 2010, Ting Xu is the Director for Communication and Cooperation at the

Shenzhen Creative Culture Center (Guangdong, China). He maintains the daily

communication with UNESCO and other members of Creative Cities Network;

manages cooperative cultural projects between Shenzhen and other cities; explores

for cultural cooperation and partnership; and promotes Shenzhen creative industries

internationally. Prior to this, Ting Xu was and editor for international and national

news at the Shenzhen Press Group. Since 2013, he is the Chair for the Statute and

Regulation Drafting Group of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (CCN) since 2013. He was the Chair of

the Working Group of CCN from 2012 to 2013 and a member of a sub-committee between 2011 and 2012.

Ting Xu holds an MBA and a Master of Management of Information System from Georgia College & State

University (USA).

Karsten XUEREB

Dr Karsten Xuereb (1978, Malta) is Executive Director for the Valletta 2018 Foundation

which is responsible for Valletta’s preparations as European Capital of Culture in 2018.

He was previously responsible for culture at the Permanent Representation of Malta to

the EU in Brussels. He holds a Doctorate in cultural relations in the Mediterranean from

the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona and a Master’s degree in European Cultural

Policy & Management from the University of Warwick where he studied as a Chevening

Scholar. He is a member of the Maltese cultural organisation Inizjamed, whom he

represents on the Board of the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the

Mediterranean, a fellow of the U40 Network “Cultural Diversity 2030” established by the German

Commission for UNESCO, and part of the Diplomatic Cultures Research Network.