Speakers
Get to know the faces behind URBACT City Festival's thematic sessions! Discover below the bios and stories of our moderators and speakers to pick your favourite sessions!
Sabrina ABDI
Director of the Programme livability, housing, mobility and security, at France’s National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT)
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Since January 2020, Sabrina Abdi is Director of the Programme livability, housing, mobility and security, at France’s National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) – the Managing Authority of the URBACT Programme. Alongside with the Director-General, she oversees URBACT III and the French National URBACT Point’s activities.
After a degree in Public Law and European Affairs, and a first experience in Brussels in the European Parliament, she joined the Regional Council of Île-de-France (in Paris area) and worked on the set up of European Structural Funds and the operational programme for the period 2014-2020.
In 2017 she joined the CGET (former ANCT) to oversee and coordinate European urban policies. With the organisation representing French regions, she set up ‘Réseau Europe Urbain’, a network facilitating the implementation of European structural funds at local level. She also played a key role in the coordination of the European Agenda Partnership on Urban Poverty that was led by France and Belgium.
Eddy ADAMS
URBACT Programme Expert
Speaker and Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Eddy is an experienced urban policy expert with specific expertise in labour markets and innovation. He has worked with URBACT for over ten years, including his current position as Programme Level Expert for Tools and Methodology. This includes activities related to network development and support, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building. In URBACT III he has worked closely with the Transfer Networks, including the UIA transfer pilot.
His wider experience includes an Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) expert role for the cities of Milan and Rotterdam. He also recently led the UIA Just Transitions activity on Green Jobs and Just Transitions. Beyond this, he undertakes expert work for the European Commission, OECD and Eurocities.
Eddy is also an Advisor to the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
Alisa ALITI VLASIC
URBACT Expert, TechPlace Team Member
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Alisa Aliti Vlasic is an economist from Dubrovnik, Croatia with over 10 years of transnational experience working for and with local authorities on integrated urban development with a focus on sustainable economic development. She is a validated URBACT lead expert and a Council of Europe’s trainer for Leadership Academy Programme. She has been involved as one of the external evaluators for URBACT III Good Practice Call, within 5 networks and is currently a lead in TechPlace capitalisation project.
She is very passionate about participative processes, good governance and the power of citizens and is currently exploring ways of how to enhance these within our era of digital transformation. She is mostly interested in digital tools and solutions that create meaningful impact for cities and their citizens.
She is currently in her Master of Science studies in Social Leadership and Innovation. Feel free to contact her on alisa@mosaic.com.hr
Umberto AMOROSO
European Policies
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Matthew BACH
Just Transition Coordinator, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Matthew Bach leads efforts to foster a just transition in Europe at ICLEI – a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainability. He supports cities in integrating justice into their environmental policies and plans, and serves as EU Climate Pact Ambassador. Together with his team, he is working with cities to pilot Fair Local Green Deal processes, and is developing a knowledge platform for sustainable and just cities. Matthew has over a decade of experience in sustainability governance, including the coordination of the Horizon 2020 project Urban Arenas for Sustainable and Just Cities. He holds degrees from the Universities of Freiburg and Cambridge.
Wessel BADENHORST
Lead Expert, iPlace
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Since 2007, as the economic development officer in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (Dublin), he has focused on a collaborative approach to turn around places like town centres, main streets and market squares. His emphasis is on place diagnosis and place vision that is community-led and based on the principles of participatory placemaking.
In addition to his roles in URBACT since leaving the Council in 2015, he has been involved in place making training and facilitation in Ireland including with Cork City, Wicklow County Council, Sandyford Business District and the Irish Architecture Foundation.
Matthew BAQUERIZA-JACKSON
URBACT Lead Expert
Co-Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson has been an accredited URBACT Expert since 2015 and has been Lead Expert for the Procure Action Planning Network, the Making Spend Matter Transfer Network and currently for the USE-IT! Transfer Mechanism. Matthew is also the URBACT lead on Strategic Procurement and has represented URBACT on the EU Urban Agenda on Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement since 2017. Matthew helped to design and was the Co-Trainer for URBACT’s Online Course on Strategic Procurement and is currently working on the creation of a module around Gender Responsive Public Procurement. Away from URBACT, Matthew is an Independent Policy Advisor, working with Municipalities and other Anchor Institutions to progress the way in which they undertake Local Economic Development. Matthew is passionate about ensuring that the way in which procurement is undertaken brings maximum benefit for local economies and addresses social and environmental challenges.
Ander BERGARA
Head of Unit - EMAKUNDE
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
I have a degree in Law and I have been working at Emakunde, the Basque Institute for Women, since 1995, where I have held different positions. I am currently in charge of the Institutional Cooperation Area and, among other projects, I have coordinated the drafting of the Basque gender equality law, several inter-institutional working groups related to gender mainstreaming and the Gizonduz initiative, a programme aimed at involving men in gender equality.
I am also a gender trainer and lecturer in some postgraduate university courses on gender issues, as well as the author of several publications on the subject.
Marcelline BONNEAU
URBACT Programme Expert
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Taking sustainability as a baseline and adopted paradigm, Marcelline Bonneau (Resilia Solutions) provides research, analytical and experimentation services to support societal transition. Sustainable food, sustainable consumption, foodwaste, circular economy, grassroots initiatives are some of the topics she covers. Leadership, governance, urban planning, integrated approaches, empowerment are some of the transversal approaches she investigates. By combining theory and practice, she has for more than fifteen years been working with public authorities and local initiatives. She is focusing especially on the interactions between stakeholders via co-creation towards a more resilient society. With a background in public policy and management of the environment, she seeks to link theory and practices, grassroots activities and strategic ones, the local and EU levels.
She has in particular and, amongst others, led and implemented various local project on sustainable food: as a member of the Brussels’ network of sustainable stakeholders (RABAD) and of the Sustainable Food Council of Ixelles, working as an URBACT Programme expert and UIA expert, carrying out many other local and transitional activities.
Michaël BREVET
Policy Advisor Waste and Resources, City of the Hague
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
As a policy advisor on both waste and resource management for the City of The Hague, Michaël Brevet has been occupied with the circular vision of the city since 2018. At first, his focus was on several projects as part of the EU Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy. This included, among other things, the drafting of a Roadmap on Circular Resource Efficiency Management Plan. From 2020 and on, Michaël’s focus shifted towards the local waste and resource policy of The Hague itself. As such, he has been involved with the recently established resource management plan of the city and, more broadly, the overall policy on several waste streams. His main areas of interest are biowaste and waste collection in high-rise buildings. Through the URBACT Resourceful Cities Network, Michaël has been, together with the ULG, engaged at the local level with the vision of an urban resource centre in The Hague.
Mads BUNDGAARD
Economic Consultant in the Department of Social Affairs and Employment, Aarhus Municipality
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Mads is employed as an economic consultant in the Department of Social Affairs and Employment in Aarhus Municipality.
He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Aarhus University and works with development, coordination and disseminations of Social Impact Bonds and other types of investment-oriented interventions.
Two Housing First-based initiatives were the first SIB’s in Aarhus Municipality and arguably the first SIB’s in Denmark altogether. Besides the Housing First-initiatives discussed in this presentation, he has contributed to already agreed SIBs on therapy against domestic violence, learning efforts for vulnerable children and employment efforts towards vulnerable young citizens. All SIBs have commenced in 2021 or 2022.
Mads is also part of both the Danish Social Agency's SØM municipal panel, that works to (further) develop a model for forecasting long term economic returns of SIBs, and the EU network project SIBDEV (under the URBACT program), which deals specifically with social investments.
João CAMEIRA
Municipality of Bragança
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
A geographer who decided, 22 years ago, to leave the coast and go to the interior of Portugal - Bragança.
He has responsibilities in the Municipality of Bragança in the area of the Environment and, since 2016, have assumed the responsibility for economic and tourism promotion of Bragança.
Nadia CARBONI
Head of the Department of Strategic Planning at the Union of Bassa Romagna Municipalities
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Nadia Carboni, Ph.D. in “Comparative and European Politics”, is currently the Head of the Department of Strategic Planning at the Union of Bassa Romagna Municipalities. She has a background as researcher at the National Research Council (CNR) of Italy. Since 2003, she has been Lecturer in Public Administration at the Faculty of Political Science and in Business Organisation at the Faculty of Economics (University of Bologna). She has been teaching advanced seminars in Administrative Science and Comparative Public Administration at School of Specialization in Administrative Studies (SPISA) University of Bologna and Italian National School of Public Administration (SSPA).
She has been carrying out research in public administration (administrative reform processes, public sector innovation, senior civil service, etc.), in public policy (better regulation, health, governance and local public policies) and European studies (EU lobbying system, EU health policy and governance) for almost 10 years.
Moreover, she has worked as both project manager and policy advisor for the Department of Public Administration (Office for Reform and Innovation in public administrations) in the Prime Minister Office, the Observatoire Social Européen in Brussels, the Public Administration Research Institute “Vittorio Bachelet” - LUISS Guido Carli, the Research Foundation of the National Association of Italian Municipalities ANCI-CITTALIA, the Research Institute Carlo Cattaneo, the Italian Institute for Social Research, the School of Specialization in Administrative Studies of the University of Bologna.
In 2010 she was in charge of the project management of Ravenna 2019, shortlisted candidate city for European Capital of Culture 2019.
Melanie CARDOSO
Project Manager at InvestAmarante, Municipality of Amarante
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Melanie Cardoso has been project manager for 2,5 years at InvestAmarante, Municipality of Amarante (Portugal).
The Municipality of Amarante, is lead partner of the APN iPlace Network, where Melanie assumes the role of project manager of the project as a whole and for the Municipality of Amarante as a partner.
From the iPlace project, Amarante Tech Hub has been born, which is the digital cluster that is being developed in Amarante as part of their IAP. She is managing this project and collaborating in the investment attraction team in terms of investment and talent attraction for the ICT sector.
Before being a Project Manager, Melanie worked as Human Resources manager in the ICT sector for 5 years, she passed through ICT companies focused on R&D and innovation in engineering, to Telco, User Experience design (UX), to consulting services in all areas of ICT.
Nicolas CASTET
Active Citizens Network Coordinator
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Nicolas CASTET is the coordinator of the Active Citizens Network of which the City of Agen is the Lead Partner. After obtaining an English degree, he chose to work as Civil Servant within local authorities. He started working for the City of Agen (France) 15 years ago on the city twinning programme in the communication department. Then he graduated in Higher State Diploma of Youth, of Popular Education and Sport to become the manager of a Social Center. Always interested in participatory process, the Active Citizens Network was a good opportunity to develop new skills and meet new people all over Europe.
Bianca C. DREYER
Urban Researcher & Consultant
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
I am an urban researcher and consultant working on just and sustainable urban transformations through community-based, mixed-methods, action-oriented research. I am a PhD Candidate and former lecturer in Community Psychology in Canada and Associate Director of the European Research Stream of the Viessmann Center for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS). I have worked across governmental, non-governmental and private sectors utilizing arts and science to promote positive social change. Currently I am leading the reboot of the URBACT Gender Equal Cities Initiative.
I am the author of the chapter on Community and Participatory Approaches to the Environment in the Sage Handbook of Applied Social Psychology and many other publications on topics of cultural transformations, just sustainabilities, gender and lgbtqi equity.
Io CHATZIVARYTI
Geographer
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Ms Io CHATZIVARYTI is a geographer who holds an MSc in Cities, Space and Society (LSE), and she is currently an Advisor to the Mayor of Kavala in Urban and Regional Development and EU Funding and, at the same time, an EU programme Consultant for the Drama Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has an experience of 18 years of in EU programmes’ management. She was a Funding and Donations Advisor at the “Con-E-Ect” UNESCO Chair, located at the Technological Educational Institute of EMTh, Drama, Greece (2017-8). She also worked as a freelancer EU funding consultant, providing consultancy services to Municipalities of East Macedonia and Thrace Area (2004-7). In addition, she worked as a researcher in collaboration with the Hellenic Open University and the University of Macedonia (2002-6). Her current work is to support the Mayor of Kavala and the Drama Chamber of Commerce in project application and implementation and assist them in applying for new EU funding opportunities and turn innovative initiatives into project proposals. The work she offers ranges from EU public grants and partner consortium recruitment, proposal writing, negotiation with the granting authorities, budgeting, quality control and implementation of projects.
Holder of a Master's degree in law, Audrey has been working for the City of Saint-Quentin since 2006.
Initially a public procurement lawyer, then insurance, land and litigation management lawyer, Audrey left the pure path of law to devote herself to the search for financing and contractualization with partners.
Passionate about Europe, she is also in charge of the administrative and financial follow-up of the European projects of the city and the district of Saint-Quentin
Since 2021, Audrey has been managing a team in charge of searching for funding, submitting applications and justifying files. She is also in charge of setting up an evaluation mission of public policies and developing a sponsorship strategy.
Laura COLINI
Programme Expert, URBACT Secretariat
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
PhD in Urban, Regional and Environmental Design, Habil. in Urban Studies . Her research and activism covers socio-spatial inequalities, with a focus on public policies on migration, housing, culture. She works as independent researcher and senior policy advisor in urban and social policies at EU level (e.g. URBACT, UIA, EU Urban Agenda Urban Poverty, Housing, Inclusion, Culture and Cultural Heritage et al.), occasionally teaches in collaboration with several universities and research institutes and collaborates with NGOs, international organisations and independent civic initiatives. Co-founder of TESSERAE urban and social research, MiMétis social enterprise on migration, member of the artist collective Oginoknauss and INURA International Network of Urban Research and Action.
Eileen CROWLEY
Urban planner and Project designer
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Eileen Crowley (MA Town & Country Planning, BA European Development Studies & Spanish) is an urban planner and project designer. Her work focuses on identifying, developing and converting opportunities for urban and regional development solutions into funded projects. She is an experienced expert evaluator for the European Commission and has spent over 20 years working in local and regional government, academia and research management. In 2018 she founded Ascent Consulting, specializing in project development, co-creation and innovation support. She is URBACT Lead Expert for the Resourceful Cities Action Planning Network.
Thomas de BETHUNE
Team Leader, Urban Policy at the European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Thomas de Béthune is a polytechnic engineer specialised in regional development and planning (Sciences Po Paris).
After an experience in the private sector as a management consultant, he joined the Belgian federal State administration to take in charge the Belgian large city policy.
In 2004, he joined the Cabinet of the President of the Region of Brussels as advisor for regional development and European programmes.
During these periods, he developed many new facilities combining the public sector policy interests in partnership with private actors and investors.
Since 2009, Thomas works for the European Commission and is today the team leader for urban policy in the Directorate General for Urban and Regional Policy. Developing the frame and the funding for the sustainable Urban Development in the European Union and facilitating the Urban Agenda for the EU.
He worked as well on the development of the innovative financial mechanisms with Financial Institutions (World Bank, EIB, EBRD and CEB) in the EU and through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (www.wbif.eu).
Thomas speaks English, French, Flemish and tries to learn Russian.
Annika DALEN
Umea (SE), LP GenderedLandscape
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Gender equality officer, Municipality of Umeå, Sweden. Lead partner of the Gendered Landscape URBACT action planning network.
Christophe DENEVE
Eco-conseiller for The City of Mouscron
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
- Zoologist specializing in etho-ecology at the University of Liege 1993
- Additional degree in Environmental Management at the Université Libre de Bruxelles 1994
- Eco-advisor at the City of Mouscron since 1995
- Creator and head of department of the Environment Unit 1995
- Environmental management: waste, water, sustainable development, education, nature, etc.
- Management of cooperation projects: international cooperation, Interreg, etc.
- Local coordinator of the URBACT’s Global Goals for Cities project
Domenico DI SIENA
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Civic Designer, Researcher, Consultant, Entrepreneur and Activist. Cooperative partner at fairbnb.coop where he coordinates the area of community development.
Promotes and develops processes, tools and spaces that help local authorities, organisations and universities to collaborate with citizens to generate Collective Intelligence processes with a positive impact on the territory.
Instigator and co-founder of different spaces, networks and communities, known for their capacity for innovation and knowledge exchange. These include Volumes Lab in Paris, Factoría Cívica in Valencia, the platform Ciudades Comunes, the international network CivicWise and the Civic Innovation School focused on processes of Collective Intelligence and Civic Innovation.
Sonia DOMINGUEZ
Vilawatt UTM Project Coordinator, City of Viladecans
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Sonia Dominguez is the EU project Officer at Viladecans City Council since 2014. She has taken part in several URBACT projects and is currently coordinating the Vilawatt Urbact Transfer Mechanism. This project aims at transferring Viladecans’ experience with the UIA project, Vilawattt, to another 3 European cities: Trikala (Greece), Nagykanisza (Hungary) and Seraing (Belgium).
Ilona DONINA
Riga City Council
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Ilona Donina is the Head of International and Investment Projects Division of the Education, Culture and Sports Department in Riga City Council. Since 2006, she works on projects about innovation, city development, education, culture, youth, sports, and society integration. As a member of the Monitoring Committee of EU Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, she takes part in monitoring the process of the implementation of the European Union funds in Latvia.
Kristine EINBU
Senior Engineer
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Kristine Einbu is a Senior Engineer in the Agency for Waste Management at the City of Oslo. Since 2013 she has been working on the development of waste management services for the citizens of the city. She has been actively involved in, as well as project managed several small scale pilots, incorporating the Lean start-up methodology and new technologies. For many years her work has focussed on the development of Oslo`s mini recycling stations, and she is now responsible for establishing Oslo`s “next level” mini recycling station in one of the city’s districts: an innovative circular resource centre including services for repair, production and job creation in close collaboration with local stakeholders. At the heart of her approach is citizen engagement, small scale experimentation, good processes rather than perfect results, empathy and a humble approach towards different stakeholders, citizen initiatives and entrepreneurs. Kristine is the coordinator of the URBACT Resourceful Cities URBACT Local Group in Oslo.
Céline ETHUIN
Project Officer, URBACT Secretariat
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Céline Ethuin graduated in Political Sciences (Sciences Po) and Humanities, has a Master's degree in History, European Studies and International Relations. Céline is Project Officer at URBACT; she has been working for URBACT for 15 years. Her fields of specialism include the EU Cohesion Policy and more specifically, EU Sustainable Urban Development. In 2019, she got certified in Localising the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Tools for Local Transformation and is currently leading the work on the 2030 Agenda and the localisation of the SDGs within URBACT.
Julita EWERT-STAWOWY
Deputy Director in the office of the Kraków Metropolis Association
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Financier by profession, she has many years of experience in the field of European Funds. She specializes in coordination and portfolio management of metropolitan projects. Her professional interests focus primarily on management issues, in particular the possibility of supporting participants in the implementation of projects with external funding and maximizing the benefits of partnership cooperation for the sustainable development of the Kraków Metropolitan Area. In her daily work she is fascinated by the dynamic process of changes and continuous development resulting from contact with other people. She is passionate about active way of spending free time and implementing the design thinking method both at work and in life.
Eleni FELEKI
Lead Expert of URGE Network
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Eleni Feleki has studied Chemical Engineering and holds a 5 years diploma from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is a Doctor of Philosophy in the field of urban sustainability. She also has 2 Master Degrees (one in Information Management and one in Environmental Management of Infrastructure Projects).
Through her 20 years professional career she has been responsible for drafting, facilitating, leading, implementing and transferring the results of more than 40 EU funded projects, most of them dealing with the topic of sustainable urban development. Apart from her thematic expertise gained through her participation in these projects she has also developed experience in designing and delivering transnational exchange and learning activities and in designing and delivering integrated urban policies. From a scientific point of view she has also published/ announced several results of her research related to urban sustainability and transformation of project results into policies.
Currently, Eleni is associated to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Chemical Engineering and the Lead Expert of URGE, aiming to boost circular economy in the building sector.
Elisa FERREIRA
European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Elisa Maria da Costa Guimarães Ferreira, GCC is a Portuguese politician and economist who has been serving as European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms in the administration of President Ursula von der Leyen since 2019. She previously served as vice-governor of the Bank of Portugal from 2016 until 2019
Tiago FERREIRA
Takes part in the following session(s):
Executive Director of InvestAmarante, the local development agency of Amarante Municipality. Project manager of the Urbact network iPlace as lead partner. Experience on Urbact within the networks City Centre Doctor and Beepathnet. University professor of Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. Experience of working with metropolitan areas, cities, non-profits, entrepreneurs and investors. Experience of volunteering in Mozambique in poor rural areas working on topics like local development, undernourishment and education.
Dominique FIEVEZ
Head of the Housing Department, Toulouse Metropole and the City of Toulouse
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Dominique Fiévez is the local coordinator in Toulouse Métropole for the Urbact Action Planning Network ROOF on ending homelessness, coordinated by the City of Ghent. She is Head of the Housing Service for both Toulouse Metropole and the City of Toulouse. She contributes to the co-piloting of the Intercommunal Housing Conference which defines and assures the implementation of the local policy in terms of reception and information for social housing applicants and social housing allocating while ensuring social diversity. She is also in charge of the Housing Solidarity Fund which provides a variety of financial and social support to all vulnerable groups to facilitate access to and retention in housing.
Haye FOLKERTSMA
Coordinator EU projects, City of Utrecht
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Haye Folkertsma is working for the administration of the City of Utrecht. Since 2006 he is coordinator of the team External Funds and Subsidies. This team develops and manages European projects in close cooperation with colleagues and stakeholders working on various specific policies. The City of Utrecht is Lead Partner for the URGE-network, and Haye has taken the role of coordinator for this network.
Haye holds a MSc in Sociology with the specialisation Urban Studies. Already during his study he started working for a research and consultancy firm. After 10 years he started working for the city of Utrecht holding various positions. Haye and his team have developed a large number of European funded projects for various funding schemes and a great variety of topics.
The City of Utrecht is the fourth city of Utrecht and is growing fast. We want to accommodate this growth within the existing build structure of the city, and at the same time have high ambitions on sustainable development. The overarching ambition is to work on “Healthy urban living for everyone”.
If you want to learn more you can contact Haye on h.folkertsma@utrecht.nl or on 0031 6 18969394
Tracy GERAGHTY
Head of Project Development, Dublin City Culture Company
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Tracy Geraghty is Head of Project Development with Dublin City Culture Company since 2020. She has worked with the Culture Company since 2017 as project manager of EU Lab, supporting the development of European collaborative cultural projects. With over 30 years’ experience in the cultural and creative sector at national and international level including the Arts Council of Ireland, Screen Ireland/the Irish Film Board, Eurimages/the Council of Europe, European Commission, Galway Film Centre, Picture Palace and European Capital of Culture Galway 2020 bid team.
Synopsis:
Dublin City Council Culture Company runs cultural initiatives and buildings with and for the people of Dublin. At the heart of their work is 'Tea & Chats', a people-centred data gathering process - which builds the connections on which to create an infrastructure for cultural inclusion. This recently lead to the creation of a groundbreaking digital tool, 'Culture Near You', providing up-to-date information on all cultural activities available in local neighbourhoods, whilst also ensuring cultural provision and infrastructure are better spread across the city and its communities through its integration into the City Council's information systems.
Nicolas GIBBE
Project Manager – SAINT-QUENTIN municipality
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Always looking for new challenges!
4 years ago and after 10 years as an entrepreneur in the French Riviera, Nicolas had a career change and joined the public service in Saint-Quentin’s municipality.
Project manager in charge of the « Action Coeur de Ville » program, he has transversal missions in the municipality and program’s skate holders. His missions are as wide as housing, economic development, architectural patrimony, access to public services…
In the last months he clearly focused on digital inclusion.
On his free time he is also president of the biggest basketball club of his region and a basketball coach
Elena GIOVANNINI
Architect and Project Manager at the Department for Strategic Planning, Integrated Municipal, National and European Projects of the Municipality of Cesena, Italy
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
She has experience in funds integration and in developing and managing Structural and Investment Funds projects. Through her professional career of more than 10 years, she has been responsible for drafting, leading and managing many funded projects, under various EU programmes mainly focusing on sustainable urban development and integrated urban policies. She has great experience on participative processes and animation of communities, especially linked to urban regeneration.
Gregory GORDON
DigiPlace Network Team Member, Trikala Municipality
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Gregory Gordon has worked as an architect and planner for several years in the Silicon Valley on a variety of projects from large municipal undertakings to technology campuses. In collaboration with universities and technology firms he helped develop and test new tools that have since become industry standards. These ideas and techniques were then brought back and expanded upon in Greece. Currently he is working as a consultant for the municipality of Trikala in their innovation and development department called e-Trikala. There he has been working on a multitude of European projects that the city is participating in. The core of his work consists within the digitization and transitioning of the city and the development of green strategies. His ultimate goal is to help the region and Greece develop into a green and forward looking community.
Christophe GOUACHE
URBACT lead expert
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Designer & researcher at Strategic Design Scenarios since 2012, Christophe studied industrial product design and responsible innovation. His focus is on sustainable and social innovation, collaborative and participative scenario building, participatory foresight and service design. He is working on various projects of public policy design and public innovation with regional authorities and ministries, as well as action-research projects at EU level (H2020). Christophe gives trainings on the topic of ‘public innovation through design & participatory approaches’ at the National Institute for Territorial Studies (INET) (Strasbourg, France) and teaches ‘Public design and innovation’ at Sciences Po (Lille, France)
Ian GRAHAM
URBACT Expert, TechPlace Team Member
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Ian is a highly experienced leader and facilitator of change, specialising in city and social innovation with a focus on the use of open innovation and collaborative methods in a city context. He has worked with cities across Europe and beyond to develop and implement integrated urban strategies across a full range of urban topics. This has included developing digital strategies with cities ranging from Syracuse to Oulu, and facilitating digital and in-person co-design across communities in Belfast. He has held senior leadership positions in change and innovation in local government as well as technical and change roles in the private sector. Ian is currently the URBACT Lead Expert for the DigiPlace network on Digital Innovation for Cities. Previously he was Lead Expert for the Stay Tuned Implementation Network and Project Lead for a Lead Partner city (York, UK) in the URBACT pilot transfer network Genius Open.
Agnès GRANDOU
Local COP21 project manager and transition policies coordinator – Métropole Rouen Normandie
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Holding a master in town-planning and land-use management, Agnès GRANDOU has been working for 25 years in the local public sector in Rouen (France).
From 1996 to 2010, she worked as head of studies for the association of municipalities of Rouen-Elbeuf ‘s area. She contributed to the definition and then to the implementation of the global land-use management scheme, and to thematic projects: elaboration of a commercial urban planning scheme, opportunity and feasibility studies preparing a new railway station in Rouen.
From 2010 to 2017, in the Metropole Rouen Normandie (71 municipalities, 500 000 inhabitants), she was head of the project T4, a high-level service bus line (from the first studies to the beginning of construction).
Since 2017, she has been responsible of a local project dedicated to the local COP21 whereby stakeholders commit to climate change mitigation. She currently coordinates the ecological transition policies of the Metropole Rouen Normandie, and she assumes the role of local project manager for Urb-En Pact, working to achieve a net zero energy territory by 2050.
Ugo GUARNACCI
Economist
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Ugo Guarnacci is an applied economist by training, with a PhD on measuring resilience and subjective wellbeing in post-disaster, post-conflict regions. Ugo has been working for almost 9 years at the European Commission, focusing on EU Research and Innovation strategies and programmes for sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities. First, forthe Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, then for the Executive Agencyfor SMEs (EASME) and currently asProject Adviser attheEuropean Research Executive Agency(REA). Indeed, Ugo is managing Horizon 2020 projects on smart and sustainable cities, social and cultural innovation, nature-based solutions.In 2019, during a sabbatical year, Ugo worked as Lead in Diversity and Inclusion 4.0 at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, fostering gender, diversity and inclusion at the global level.Main areas of expertise: sustainableurban development; adaptation to climate change; resilience; health & wellbeing; gender, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Linda GUSTAFSSON
Gender Strategist
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Linda Gustafsson is a gender strategist working for the city of Umeå. She has worked with gender equality in public organisations for 15 years, with a special focus on gender in relation to urban planning, infrastructure, mobility and climate change on local level. She is currently project leader for Gendered landscape action planning network, focusing on holistic and tailormade methods in gender equality work and has served as project manager for several projects on gender equality and social sustainability connected to the built environment.
Stina HEIKKILÄ
Lead Expert, URBACT Global Goals for Cities
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Stina Heikkilä is currently working as Lead Expert for the URBACT network Global Goals for Cities, as well as Research Lead for an Italian design company called Boundaryless. Passionate about sustainability and motivated by fostering systems-wide change, she explores the edges between public policy, societal transformation, platforms and place-based ecosystems. Before starting her journey as an independent expert, Stina worked with sustainability-related topics in a range of international organisations, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), UNICEF and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Stina holds a bachelor's degree in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a master's degree in Sustainable Territorial Development (STeDe) jointly delivered by the universities of Padova, Italy, KU Leuven, Belgium, and La Sorbonne, France. Living in Paris since 2018, Stina has had time to explore many countries besides her native Sweden over the past two decades. She loves meeting new people and learning new languages and cultures.
Maria HOLANOVA
Project Coordinator, UrbSecurity
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Maria Holanova is a contact person in the project UrbSecurity working as an replacement for former colleague Mrs. Dankova since last September 2021. As a former teacher of English language she has 10 years of experience in school projects on topics of – water management in Slovakia vs. in the Netherlands, preserving nature in the national parks, cultural and natural heritage of eastern Slovakia vs. central Italy , vocational work experience abroad of the secondary students in Hungary/Spain/Great Britain/Germany in administrative work positions, parents educational skills.
Daan JANSSENS
Speaker
Account Manager Retail, City of Antwerp
Takes part in the following session(s):
Daan Janssens worked for 10 years with associations of small entrepreneurs, strengthening their capacities and internal organisation. In 2020 he started working for the City of Antwerp as an account manager retail, stimulating the liveliness and attractiveness of different retail clusters. He was facilitating the participation of local retailers in the actions of the Thriving Streets project in Antwerp.
Tracey JOHNSON
Digital Economy Lead, Barnsley, UK
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Tracey leads the DMC, a hub for digital and creative business at the heart of The Seam, Barnsley's new Digital Campus in the UK. Through the DMC and The Seam she leads on developing tech sector business support programmes, industry relationships and place-based test beds locally and regionally. She also leads on Barnsley's URBACT work: Barnsley has led a successful action planning network 'TechTown' which resulted in The Seam Digital Campus, as well as two Transfer Networks 'TechRevolution' and 'TechRevolution 2.0' both helping to further develop the local and regional business support and technology ecosystem in South Yorkshire. Tracey is also a freelance consultant and a thought leader working with other areas in the UK, EU and beyond to develop successful creative and digital clusters.
Thibault JOUANNIC
Phd Candidate – Laboratoire Pacte and Ville de Grenoble
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
I am currently working both at “Pacte laboratory”, a social sciences laboratory affiliated with Grenoble University, and at the “Mission Démocratie locale” of the city of Grenoble. As a Phd candidate, my work focuses mainly on how citizens' arguments, produced within participatory processes, are translated into public policies. As part of the team which implements participatory processes of the city of Grenoble, I also have been coordinating such processes in the past year and a half.
Tamás KALLAY
LE, Health&Greenspace APN
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Tamás Kállay is an expert on green spaces and sustainable resource use. He currently acts as an URBACT Lead Expert of the Health&Greenspace Network that promotes health-oriented planning and management of urban green spaces. He is also an UIA Expert of the CLAIRO project, that aims at improving air quality with the use of nature-based solutions. He specializes in health-oriented green space design, sustainable resource use, circular economy, air quality and policy analysis. For 10 years he was working at the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), where he was the leader of the Sustainable Resource Use Topic Area. Tamas was involved in a number of policy studies for the EC and EEA in the fields of resource use, air quality and industrial emissions.
Ieva KALNINA
Circular economy expert & Coordinator of International Projects, Riga Municipal Agency “Riga Energy Agency”
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
I hold a BSc degree in Financial Sector Management and an MSc degree in Project Management. I’ve been fortunate to gain experience in different fields and types of jobs. I’ve been an entrepreneur and a head of an NGO, I have worked in SMEs, in large companies and also in the public sector. Since 2019, I’m the part of the Riga Municipal Agency “Riga Energy Agency” team working with various projects related to climate issues and participating in strategic planning processes in the Municipality.
My previous experience helps me to understand the needs and opportunities of different stakeholders, as well as to find solutions to complicated situations in developing and implementing new ideas in Riga municipality. This is particularly important in the context of the circular economy, as there are no sectoral boundaries. I strongly believe in the potential of the circular economy and I'm convinced that without it climate neutrality is a utopia. I see how many things must to be done to make it possible. That is why I'm deeply grateful for the opportunities provided by the URGE project to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in one of the most polluting sectors – construction.
Anja KATALIN DE CUNTO
Eurocities - Project Coordinator & Policy advisor
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Anja Katalin De Cunto is project coordinator and Policy advisor for the topics of food and procurement at Eurocities, the network of major European cities.
Since 2013 she works in European projects ad initiatives that help cities learning and sharing with each other on a variety of topics, making sure good practices are spread and replicated across Europe and beyond.
She is also representing cities interest in the development of the EU proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems, part of the Farm to Fork communication, which includes a more strategic use of public procurement for supporting food system transformation and acknowledging the role of food environments.
She is currently leading the work on the Big Buyers for climate and environment, a collaboration platform between big buyers in Europe supporting a strategic use of public procurement and she is managing the capacity building and replication activities in the Horizon 2020 projects Food Trails, focusing on cities role for food system transformation, in line with the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and the Food 2030 initiative.
Renata KISS
Project Coordinator, Municipality of Veszprém
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Renata Kiss works currently as Project Coordinator at the European Capital of Culture and Transnational Project Group of the Strategic Department in Municipality Veszprem. Her main tasks include technical and financial management of international projects, communication with the stakeholders, organising and participation at national and international meetings, participation in the design and development of new projects.
Renata holds master’s degree in agricultural chemistry and economics, she took special courses on environmental sciences and policy, economics of organic farming and climate change.
In her career she worked for various international and local non-profit organisations, like the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, Hungarian Partnership Foundation, Nettle Environmental Protection Association. In latter she was responsible for programs in climate change, environmental education, voluntarism, ecological consumer protection, awareness raising and communication.
Renata is happy to work in teams, she is proud of her communication and organising skills. Renata and her family lives near Lake Balaton and in her spare time she likes hiking and gardening.
Sally KNEESHAW
URBACT Programme Expert
Moderator/ Co moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Sally Kneeshaw is a London based policy consultant specialising in urban innovation, sustainability and inclusion, working on strategic development for the European Commission, cities, and international networks. Sally is currently Programme Expert and leader of the Gender Equal Cities initiative for URBACT. She also works for the London Borough of Lambeth Business, Culture and Investment Team, the Greater London Authority Social Integration Network and the Capital Enterprise OneTech project.
Claus KOLLINGER
Manager at VISION5
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Claus is a spatial planner by education but has spent most of his work life in the sector of sustainable urban mobility planning. In this, Claus applied a range of views: by combining mobility with topics like health, environment and social impacts, by addressing specific target groups like companies, schools and residential areas as well as by focusing on detailed themes such as parking, cycling, walking or mobility management. With the rise of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) concept, Claus became active in supporting towns and cities in applying SUMPs as a novel approach to traffic planning. Like working within the URBACT III APN CityMobilNet that elaborated SUMPs in 11 locations. Or as a member of the ELTIS management team over the last 5 years. Today, Claus is serving the recent URBACT III APN Space4People as Lead Expert and is jointly with its
9 partners creating action plans to give public space back to people. Which often has been dedicated to motorised traffic during the last decades.
Roland KREBS
Director at Superwien Urbanism and RiConnect Lead Expert
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Roland Krebs is the Lead Expert of the RiConnect network. He is an Urban planner and urbanist, and director of Superwien urbanism, where he develops strategic action plans for cities to tackle urban growth. He has a vast, international experience in urban planning, design and development, real estate development, land use planning and regional planning.
Damian KUZMINSKI
Gdańsk City Council
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Damian, main specialist at the department of social development, has been working for Gdańsk city for over a decade. In charge of the collaboration with NGOs, voluntary development, he is an activist in creating healthier and active communities and has been involved in helping Ukrainian people since the outbreak of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
David LAWLESS
Tourism Development Officer
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
David Lawless has worked in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for 20 years in various roles from Community Development, Social Inclusion, Economic Development. David is currently managing the Tourism Development and Twinning unit. David has been involved in a number of URBACT Networks (SURE & CHANGE) and was the Lead partner in the Placemaking 4 Cities Network.
Nuša LAZAR
Expert Associate, ULG Coorinator, Nigrad d.o.o
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Nuša Lazar is working as an Expert Associate at Nigard d.o.o., the utility company in the Municipality of Maribor, Slovenia. She is coordinating and managing the circular economy project CINDERELA (New Circular Economy Business Model for More Sustainable Urban Construction) and URGE (circUlaR buildinG citiEs). She is also the URBACT Local Group (ULG) coordinator for the URGE project. Being the CEO of the company Dekorina d.o.o., she is mostly responsible for the business management consulting services offered to other private and public-owned companies: Project Management, Business Consulting, and Event Management. She is very invested in the topics of the circular economy as well as social topics, with emphasis on education and more specifically adult education. She holds a Master's degree in applied economics as well as a professional education degree in pedagogic and adult education from the University of Maribor. She also holds the academic title of Senior Lecturer. She has coordinated several in-house projects and participated in various international projects. Her company is also an associate member of the European Network for Economic Cooperation and Development (EUCED).
Simina LAZAR
Network Coordinator at ASToN
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Simina coordinates ASToN - a network of 11 African cities using digital tools to overcome local and global challenges. Financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), and using a method inspired by URBACT, ASToN supports cities in their digital transformations in a way that is appropriate and sustainable for local context. Prior to that, Simina worked at the URBACT Secretariat and in national governments across Europe. She is also a guest-lecturer on international urban development at the University Paris-Est Créteil.
Øystein LEONARDSEN
Program Director, Green Transition, City of Copenhagen
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Øystein Leonardsen is an experienced URBACT participant. Since 2012 he has been local coordinator for 3 different networks. Currently he is local coordinator for URGE in Copenhagen. His professional career spans four decades comprising urban development, planning and international collaboration. The last many years he has had a broad portfolio of local projects and initiatives. With more than 300 different projects under the belt he has been engaged in a.o. establishment of five urban gardens, social inclusive planning, participatory budgeting, local business development, public art, public spaces and numerous partnerships, networks and associations. Lately he has developed a program for the green and just transition in Copenhagen Integrated Urban Renewal. This program covers initiatives like circular economy in the building sector, citizens energy communities, energy saving and renovations, green streets etc. Most of these initiatives are compiled in Copenhagen Climate Taskforce with four local climate officers and a cross sectoral steering committee. He holds a Master in Technology and Policy (cand. techn. Soc) and a Diploma in Leadership. He also functions as an external lecturer at Roskilde University
Laura LUNDGREN
Environmental Specialist at Espoon kaupunki - City of Espoo
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Laura Lundgren is an environment specialist who works for the City of Espoo, in the Environmental protection’s services. Her professional expertise is in urban ecology and nature conservation issues as well as in how land use and nature conservation can be reconciled. Laura has comprehensive knowledge of environmental impact assessments and climate change mitigation at municipality level. City of Espoo is part of the URBACT -project Health & Greenspace (2019 - 2022) and Laura was Espoo’s project manager. She is also Espoo’s project manager in Flying Squirrel LIFE -project (2018 - 2025) coordinated by Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife Finland, with 17 partners from Finland and Estonia.
(In Espoo’s Environmental Protection service, we serve as experts in matters relating to climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and water systems. We prevent environmental pollution and provide environmental education services at Nature House Villa Elfvik. We are part of the Environment and Building Control Department.)
Annika LUNDGVIST
Head of International Office at Municipality of Gävle
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Annika is the Head of the International Office in the Swedish city of Gävle. The city is currently part of the Global Goals for Cities network, a pilot URBACT network aimed at accelerating progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at local level in 19 European cities. Before that, the city of Gävle was a partner in the TechTown network exploring how small and medium sized cities can maximise job creation in the digital economy.
Jana MACHOVA
IT expert - Town Michalovce, Slovakia, Partner in UrbSecurity
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Jana Machová is an expert in IT educational department and implementation of smart resolutions in the town of Michalovce. She is an author of the Informatics „Work with the text“ for grammar schools and secondary schools in Slovakia, the author of electronic schoolbooks for certificate preparation of The European Computer Driving Licence, the author of many electronic courses in Learning content management system Moodle. She worked as an exam commissioner of ECDL. At presence she is working on strategic and conceptual documents, she manages and implements project co-financed from EU funds and other supportive politics, she deals with informatization and implementing smart solutions of the investment intentions of the town of Michalovce.
Patrizia MARANI
EU Projects, Senior Project Manager, City of Parma
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Patrizia Marani works since 2003 in the design and management of EU funded projects. She has specialised in projects on sustainable urban mobility and energy, with a focus on integrated and participatory approaches. She has been responsible for the coordination and management of a number of European projects funded by URBACT, Horizon, Interreg, Life, Erasmus, IEE, eTen, VII FP, CIP ICT and other programs. In her career she has given lectures on European project management and has worked for training centres, trade unions and the cities of Bologna and Parma in Italy. In Parma she has set up and developed the EU affairs office of the municipality. Currently, she is lead partner of the URBACT network Thriving Streets and coordinator of the H2020 project FEASIBLE.
François-Antoine MARIANI
Director-General Delegate for ‘Politique de la Ville’ at France’s National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) – the Managing Authority of the URBACT Programme
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Since January 2020, François-Antoine Mariani is Director-General Delegate for ‘Politique de la Ville’ at France’s National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) – the Managing Authority of the URBACT Programme.
He started his career as a parliamentary assistant and then became delegate to the Chief of Police of Seine-Saint-Denis in charge of Equal Opportunities, in this French Department located just outside of Paris. From 2010 to 2016 he occupied various positions at the Paris Political Studies Institute (Science Po), a selective and internationally recognised university in the field of public administration and political sciences.
In 2018, he joined the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe as an advisor on territorial policies. Later the same year, he became Commissioner Delegate for Territorial Equality and Urban Cohesion at CGET (former ANCT) in the division responsible for planning urban policies at ministerial level and overseeing their delivery at local levels.
Jorge Miguel MARQUES DE BRITO
Intermunicipal Executive Secretary of Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região de Coimbra
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Jorge Brito is the Intermunicipal Executive Secretary of CIM Região de Coimbra.
He is part of the EU Urban Agenda - Partnership Culture / Cultural Heritage and is an Expert of the European Commission / TAIEX - Technical Assistance and Information Exchange. He was a member of the board of directors of the incubator Instituto Pedro Nunes, head of the Investor Support Office of the Municipality of Coimbra, coordinator of the Europe Direct Center in the Region of Coimbra, Mentor of the National Mentoring Network, permanent councilman of the Municipality of Seia, and member of the Intermunicipal Assembly of the Intermunicipal Community of Serra da Estrela. He was also founder of the Association for the Integrated Development of the Mountain Villages Network and researcher at the Social Studies Center / OSIRIS of the University of Coimbra (UC).
In terms of education and training, he is a PhD candidate in Territory, Risk and Public Policies. Institute of Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Coimbra, has a M.S. in Geosciences - Specialization in Spatial Territory and Environment by the Faculty of Sciences of the UC; a postgraduate degree in Social Dynamics and Natural Risks by the Faculty of Economics of the UC, and is a geographer - Specialist in Environmental Studies by the Faculty of Letters of the UC.
Dr Kieran McCARTHY
Member of the Cork City Council, Member of the European Committee of the Regions (COR) and President of the European Alliance Group, COR
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Dr Kieran McCarthy is an Independent member of Cork City Council, Ireland. He is an Irish member on the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). Kieran holds membership of the CoR’s Commission (sub-committee) for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC). Within SEDEC, Kieran champions informal and formal education, lifelong learning, culture and communities, and science and innovation in the regions and cities. Kieran also sits on the CoR’s COTER Commission (Cohesion Policy and Territorial Development). Within COTER, Kieran champions the role and voice of small cities within the EU, the EU Urban Agenda and its partnerships, and interregional co-operation programmes. He is currently the CoR’s rapporteur on the New European Bauhaus and Small Cities and the Just Transition opinions respectively. Kieran is also currently President of the CoR's European Alliance grouping.
Rute MENDES
Partner ACCESS and adviser for the Deputy Mayor for Culture at Lisbon Municipality
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Rute Mendes work as adviser for the Deputy Mayor for Culture at Lisbon Municipality. She’s responsible for international cultural programmes with Europe and South America. She studied Communication, Culture and Technologies and has two decades of experience in public local administration, combined with a keen innate interest in everything about public policy, all blended together to make an unconditional Cities enthusiast and a supporter of the power of culture in the sustainable development of territories.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rutecarmomendes/
Synopsis:
Culture plays an important role in finding solutions to the complex issues of today’s urban metropolises. The participation of citizens and stakeholders is central in this approach at Santa Clara, Lisbon. ACCESS helped in deeply knowing the territory, the human territory, the people who live there and their personal stories. TODOS (All) is a festival that aims to enhance, to bring light to a territory, to bring people together, to tell their stories and to share their heritage. Working on identity issues, self-esteem, and inclusion TODOS is helping citizens to participate in the daily life of the city.
Petar MISURA
Sibenik (HR), PP KAIROS
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Petar Mišura is an economist from Šibenik, Croatia who serves as Head of the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Development in city government. His work focuses on identifying, preparing, obtaining funds, and leading projects like renovation of Šibenik fortresses, implementing business incubator, modern traffic solutions etc. With over 12 years of transnational experience working for local government on various projects he participate in 4 Urbact projects. In addition to the topic of sustainable urban development, he specializes in leading the project of revitalization of cultural heritage and the problems of old city cores.
Prof. Carlos MORENO
University Professor, cities expert, territories of tomorrow, specialist in intelligent control of complex systems
Keynote Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Researcher of international renown, Carlos Moreno is Associate Professor at the Paris IAE – Panthéon Sorbonne University in France, and also co-founder and scientific director of the ETI Chair « Entrepreneurship – Territory – Innovation ». He is specialized in the study of complex systems and in the development of innovation processes. He is now renowned as a scientific advisor of national and international figures of the highest level, including the Mayor of Paris, Mrs. Anne Hidalgo, in quality of “Smart City” special Envoy of the Mayor. He has developed numerous concepts, most recently the "15 minute City", involving a new urban and territorial approach to the city of proximity. https://www.moreno-web.net/
We are delighted to have Prof. Moreno present the "15 minute City" concept and how it is being applied in cities such as Paris. This is an excellent opportunity to understand the different way of living, of consuming, of working, of being in the city it offers. It means rethinking the way of getting around, of crossing the city, of exploring it, of discovering it.
Nuala MORGAN
Head of Unit - Communication & Capitalisation
Moderator / Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Nuala joined URBACT in February 2017 as Head of Unit for Capitalisation and Communication. She is responsible for developing and implementing the programme's capitalisation strategy, as well as coordinating the work of the Cap' & Com' team. She has launched knowledge projects on the New Leipzig Charter, Gender Equal Cities, Right to Housing and more. Graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with an honours degree in Business and Politics, Nuala has always had a European outlook. An Erasmus year in Strasbourg, France, saw her involved in the launch of cafebabel.com, the online European magazine and for whom she later worked as Communication & Project manager. Before moving to URBACT, Nuala was responsible for communication at Interreg Europe and Interreg IVC, also dedicated to exchange and learning across Europe.
Sean MORRIS
Organisation Manchester Climate Change Agency
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Sean Morris is currently the Policy and Strategy Lead for Manchester Climate Change Agency, which he joined on secondment from Manchester City Council in September 2021. He is heavily involved in the development of the refresh of the Manchester Climate Change Framework and providing policy and strategy advice to the Agency, the City Council and the Manchester Climate Change Partnership.
From 2008 – 2021 Sean was a Principal Policy Officer in the Manchester City Council Policy and Partnerships team, specialising in climate, energy and international policy. This included developing reports on best practice on climate change projects across UK and Ireland municipalities. As part of this post, Sean was the UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities Secretary and lead officer to support Manchester City Council’s role as a Vice President of Mayors for Peace.
Prior to that, Sean was an Emergency Planning Officer from 1999 – 2008 with Leeds City Council. This involved supporting the Council’s emergency response to large-scale flooding, terrorism, and other major incidents, writing and exercising emergency plans and promoting the Council’s peace and humanitarian policies.
Margherita MUGNAI
Facilitator, trainer and participatory development expert supporting cities, regions, organizations and communities
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Facilitator, trainer and participatory development expert supporting cities, regions, organizations and communities harnessing the potential of co-design and collaborative practice to innovate. Member of Sociolab (www.sociolab.it), an Italian cooperative and social enterprise active since 2006 in the fields of participatory processes for policy design.
Guarantor for the CNDP - Commission Nationale du Débat Public www.debatpublic.fr, French independent authority guaranteeing the right to information and participatory democracy.
Working between Italy, France and Europe.
Eva NAVARRO
IMPEFE’s Head of Projects Unit, City of Ciudad Real
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Eva Navarro has a degree in Psychology from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Master's in Research in Applied Psychology from the University of Castilla La Mancha.
Since 1994 she has been working for the Ciudad Real City Council managing regional, national and European projects in the fields of employment and training. She currently works at the Municipal Institute for Economic Promotion, Training and Employment of the Ciudad Real City Council as head of the programs, projects and training section. She has extensive experience in the management of projects within the framework of diverse European initiatives such as URBACT, ERASMUS +, HORIZON, INTERREG or Europe for Citizens, as well as in strategic planning and networks participation. She is currently the local coordinator of the “Resourceful Cities” project of the URBACT initiative.
Mats-Laes NUTER
Analyst-Strategist, Tallinn Strategic Management Office
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Mats-Laes Nuter is a strategist in Tallinn Strategic Management Office, focussing mainly on the development plans of the whole city organisation. His mission is to help Tallinn achieve sustainability goals in a systemic balance of the city’s public space, housing, urban nature, utilities, services, and cultural infrastructure. No stone left unturned because everything affects everything. Mats has a bachelor’s in Sculpture from Estonian Arts Academy and a master’s degree in Urban Governance from Tallinn University. Before public service, he has written numerous successful articles in national media, and coined a “hurry-up” hashtag that drives local change while he now works to make that hashtag a thing of the past.
Corynne OUDE AVENHUIS
Lead Partner ACCESS and policy advisor Arts and Culture for the City of Amsterdam
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Before coming to Amsterdam, I worked and lived in Antwerp where I studied film studies and visual. I started at the City of Amsterdam with a two year trainee programme in September 2016. After that I worked for the department of Arts and Culture on various topics, including diversity and inclusion, good labour practice and the national slavery museum project (project lead) that will be realised in Amsterdam. In addition, I’m the Lead Partner in the ACCESS network – a very interesting network with shared challenges and lots (still) to learn.
Synopsis:
Amsterdam's cultural offer is a key part of the city's identity and prosperity, with its major museums and galleries part of the draw for 20 million visitors annually. The city however is more than its centre: its peripheral neighbourhoods have distinct, vibrant communities with unique cultural expression and cultural needs. Amidst a range of policy measures to ensure diversity in the city's cultural offer, the city has focused on working with the neighbourhood of Zuidoost to understand what residents need and want to feel culturally included and empowered. A unique community filmmaking project explores this discussion.
Stefania PAPA
European Projects, Municipality of Perugia
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
She has a master’s degree in Architecture (1993). She worked in the private sector until 2000 in the field of transport planning. After that she was an employee in Mobility planning and regulation Operative Unit of Municipality of Perugia, dealing with European Projects from 2006.
She is responsible for the European Projects Office since 2008, managing and coordinating funded projects in several fields since 2015. In 2021, a Master in EU funds, project design and project management for culture, creativity and multimedia.
Alison PARTRIDGE
URBACT Expert, TechPlace Team Member
Speaker and Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Alison is a skilled, diligent, adaptable and motivated professional with thematic expertise in tech, inclusive enterprise, entrepreneurship and economic development in European cities. She has long term experience of co-creating and implementing integrated policies and programmes in response to complex ever-changing contexts. For URBACT, since 2009 Alison has been Lead Expert of 5 different Action Planning and Transfer Networks, most recently TechTown and TechRevolution. She was one of the founding team behind the TechPlace community and is currently leading the programme’s digital transitions capacity building work. In addition to her European work, Alison works at the heart of London’s tech entrepreneurship ecosystem and founded and led (until June 2021) a diversity in tech organisation, OneTech for which she is now Head of Partnerships.
Katrin PARVE
Saku City Council
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Katrin is currently the Head of Culture and Education Service of the City of Saku, EE. Before that, she used to work as a teacher and then for Tallinn’s city council on educational affairs. This is how she was involved in various URBACT networks and recently became URBACT expert for the National Practice Transfer Initiative about Education Innovation Networks in Estonia.
Andrea PATRUCCO
Project Manager – Municipality of Milan
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
I’m an urban planner based in Milan specialized in territorial policies with 15 years of experience in local economic development projects funded by European, national and regional institutions. I concentrated my work on agricultural development with a focus on urban-rural connections for the economic territorial development of peri-urban and rural territories. I supported the set-up of new rural districts in Lombardy and I collaborated with different public institutions in managing European projects related to agricultural and food topics, such as: for Lombardy Region RUMORE Rural-Urban Partnerships Motivating Regional Economies (Interreg Europe); for Municipality of Milan, Urban Economy Directorate, OpenAgri – New Skills for New Jobs in Peri-urban Agriculture (Urban Innovative Actions), Reflow - constRuctive mEtabolic processes For materiaL flOWs in urban and peri-urban environments across Europe (H2020). From early 2022, I’m part of the Milan Food Policy team as project manager of Food Trails (H2020).
Gilles PÉROLE
Deputy Mayor of the City of Mouans-Sartoux
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Gilles Pérole, Deputy Mayor of Education of the city of Mouans-Sartoux (France), is the father of the Mouans-Sartoux sustainable food project. He is responsible for translating into action the municipality's firm desire to move towards an organic, local, healthy and fair model. "We can eat organic and local food everywhere in the region tomorrow. It's all a matter of political will" he likes to repeat to his many visitors, elected officials and technicians.
Dr Rebekah POLDING
Dr Rebekah Polding
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Rebekah has worked widely across the creative sector in the UK, Europe and beyond to support organisations connect people through culture. Her work has included a festival development programme across the Middle East for the British Council, strategies for urban heritage in the UK (National Trust), the foundation of London’s Screen Archives, a directorship at BAFTA and a wide range of audience development and evaluation projects including Picturehouse Cinemas, Royal Horticultural Society and National Lottery Heritage Fund. She is currently Head of Cultural and Town Centre Development for the outer London borough of Enfield and Lead Expert for the URBACT-funded ACCESS network, lead by City of Amsterdam.
Iulia-Ramona POPÂRȚAC
International relations officer at European Integration Department, Bistrita Municipality
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Management of international relations activities and of territorial cooperation projects.
Emilia POSTOLACHE
Council of Europe Development Bank
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Emilia Postolache is a European Affairs Officer with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) In this capacity, Emilia represents the bank in European technical and policy fora, such as the Urban Agenda Partnership for Inclusion, and works with potential CEB clients and the European Commission on addressing inclusion challenges.
Lana RADCENKO
EU project specialist
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
International cooperation and EU project specialist with 12 years of experience. In the past years actively working on implementation of various EU initiatives in the town of Saldus in Latvia.
European values ambassador.
Judith RECIO HEREDIA
Urban Planner at Barcelona Metropolitan Area
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Architect by ETSAB, UPC (2014) and Master’s degree in Business Management (UOC). Since 2014, she has been working in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona in the service that is drafting the new Metropolitan Urban Master Plan, developing strategic territorial planning, urban planning and the analysis of geospatial data to support decision-making. From 2019 to the present, she has been the coordinator of the Integrated Action Plan Avinguda del Vallès, URBACT-RiConnect, rethinking infrastructures.
Miguel RIVAS
Lead Expert, KAIROS
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Throughout his career, Miguel has addressed a variety of topics within the spectrum of spatial economic development, with a special focus on firm performance, creative economy, innovation spaces and the growing role of cities as key actors for change. Currently, he is quite involved in maximizing the potential of cultural heritage as a driver for sustainable urban development and regeneration.
Prior to his work as international consultant at TASO, he was responsible for studies and planning at the Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia and CEO of Sevilla Global, the Economic Development Agency of the city of Seville. On a regular basis, Miguel is appointed to provide direction and main support to large-scale transnational projects, mainly in the context of URBACT and other EU-funded programmes.
Marta ROFIN SERRA
Architect in Urban planning city of Vic. Project coordinator Healthy Cities URBACT network
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Architect in urban planning, with professional experience in spatial planning and urban development. She was part of the team of the Master Plan of the city of Vic (winner of the Catalunya prize of urbanism 2020), and she was the coordinator of the project "implementation of indicators and evaluation of the impact on health of urban planning". She has also collaborated with the University of Vic and the Barcelona Provincial Council as consultant for the incorporation of health in urban planning, and is co-author of the “guide for incorporating health into master planning”.
Currently, she is the coordinator of the URBACT-Healthy Cities network in the Vic City Council; the director of the Postgraduate Course “Urban planning and health” at the Politecnic University of Catalonia; and she is part of the teaching staff of the master's degree "community health promotion" at the University of the Basque Country.
Liat ROGEL
Lead Expert, URBACT | Director at Impact Housing Foundation
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Service designer and expert in social innovation. Liat passionate about creative processes and developing new tools for design thinking and innovative strategies towards sustainability. As founder of HousingLab and the Director of the Impact Housing Foundation, she is facilitating and coaching processes of urban housing renewal and exploring how private investments may be used to generate more housing options. Liat coordinats and manages local and European projects aiming at improving the urban lifestyle from an environmental and social point of view. She is the Lead Expert of the ROOF, URBACT network aiming to end homelessness and the project manager of the Pilot action of the H2020 project Centrinno. Liat holds a PhD in design from Politecnico di Milano and teachs social innovation In IES abroad Milan.
Pierre-Louis ROLLE
Director for Strategy and Innovation, French National Agency for Territorial Cohesion
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Pierre-Louis Rolle is the Director for Strategy and Innovation at the French National Agency for Territorial Cohesion and the Chief Data, Algorithms, and Source Codes Officer at the Ministry for Territorial Cohesion. A co-founder of Code for France, he is an advocate for transparency and accountability through civic technologies and a proponent of digital commons.
Irina ROTARU
Head of European Projects, Saint Germain-en-Laye
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Trained as an architect and urban planner in Romania, France, Italy and the UK, Irina Rotaru is working since over 15 years on urban mobility, cultural heritage, nature-based solutions and climate neutrality. She is founder and president of the "Cities on the move" network that advises public authorities and develops trans-disciplinary European projects. In 2014 she has been awarded a European PhD by the Polytechnic School of Milan. Independent expert for the European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA), the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), the European Research Executive Agency (REA) and Urban Innovative Actions (UIA), she is frequently contributing as trainer, keynote speaker, editor or author. As a Head of European Projects, Sustainable Development & Innovation for the French municipality of Saint Germain-en-Laye, she has initiated the “Safely Connected” EIT Urban Mobility project and several urban logistics and public space regeneration measures. Furthermore, she ensures the local coordination of the “Space4People” URBACT III network and of the Climate and Energy Action Plan.
Jurgita RUDIENĖ
Project Management Specialist
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Jurgita Rudienė is a chief specialist of Investment and Property Management Division for the Administration of Druskininkai Municipality. She is responsible for coordinating and managing projects implemented within the framework of Operational Programme for the European Union Funds' Investments, European Neighbourhood Instrument Cross-border Cooperation Programmes, Norway‘s financial mechanism programme and URBACT programme.
Before she gave lectures on Project Management in Kaunas University of Applied Sciences and was responsible for implementing the projects within the framework of Comenius, Socrates and Erasmus programmes. You can reach her at jurgita.rudiene@druskininkai.lt
Gianluca SABA
Lead Partner, City of Genoa
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Gianluca Saba is the Head of International Affairs Office of the Municipality of Genoa. In his position, Gianluca participates to international meetings, fosters relations with Governmental and Diplomatic Authorities and promotes agreements and twinnings between Genoa and other cities.
His experience in the management of European projects dates back to 2004 when the Municipality of Genoa was lead partner in the project Med’Act, part of MEDA program. Since then, Gianluca was project manager of 10 other European projects and coordinated the overall organization of the Eurocities’ Annual Conference 2011 in Genoa, “Planning for People”. Moreover, inside the Eurocities network, he was representative of the Municipality of Genoa (at officer level) at the Executive Committee from 2003 to 2012, Technical chair of the Economic Development Forum in 2015-2016 and, at present, co-chair of the Task Force Digital Citizenship.
Gianluca is currently project coordinator, for the Municipality of Genoa, of the following European projects: EUdigit, on the challenge of digitalization in the European countries, in the frame of Europe for Citizens program; EUrights on the importance of human rights at European level, within the Europe for Citizens program; Tourism-Friendly Cities, on sustainable tourism in middle sized-cities, financed by the URBACT program; Europe Direct Centre of Information in Genoa.
Mireia SANABRIA
Vilawatt UIA-URBACT Transfer Mechanism Lead Expert
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Trained in International Politics and experienced in international exchange and learning. I join local administration teams and practitioners to help develop urban integrated and sustainable strategies and projects with a participative approach, connecting public and private agents. With a special focus on Agenda 2030 and the Urban Agenda, and an interest in small and medium-sized cities. URBACT III Lead Expert and member of Restarting Badalona.
Sanda ŠIMIC STAMBOLIC
Head of Division for planning, set-up and monitoring of the system of cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes and coordination of EU Macro regional strategies, in the Department for cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes and cooperation with bodies and organizations on local and regional level for better utilization of funds, Ministry of European Integration, Government of Serbia
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Graduated on the Department for Civil Engineering, University of Novi Sad, Serbia. Finalized master studies on EU integrations and public administration on Faculty of Economic, Finance and Administration FEFA, Singidunum University. Currently attending PhD studies on Spatial Planning, Belgrade University, Faculty of Geography.
During studies was engaged in the TEMPUS - Center for post-graduate studies in environmental sciences, on numerous scientific projects related to GIS systems and its application on numerous fields including environmental cadastre. Worked in the Yugoslav National UN Habitat Focal Point and briefly was a head of the Focal Point. Within the various institutions of the Government of the Republic of Serbia gained work experience including the programming, monitoring, evaluation and management of EU funds as well as donor and IFI`s coordination and harmonisation, liaising with European Union bodies, International Financing Institutions and the donor community. Was responsible for setting-up the system of implementation and control for four generations of territorial cooperation programmes with EU member states in Serbia (FP 2004-2006, 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 and 2021-2027) and participated in setting-up of Indirect Management System for cross-border cooperation programmes between Serbia and bordering non EU member states.
Pedro SOUTINHO
LE, UrbSecurity APN
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Pedro Soutinho is an expert of the Urbact programme where for the last 7 years he has been playing the role of facilitator of European city networks, on issues such as Urbanism, Security, Heritage, Circular Economy, among others. He is a project evaluator at the European Commission (Factories of the Future programme) and is currently participating in the STEAM project led by the Municipality of Aveiro, within the programme "Urban Innovative Actions" (UIA). In recent years, he has also supported several municipalities in the development of sustainable policies, supporting and boosting innovative projects, from the design phase to their implementation, developing activities such as, identification of funding, writing and submission of proposals, project management and expert advice.
Liviu STANCIU
Lead Partner of Find your Greatness Network, Alba Iulia, Romania
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Experienced in writing and implementing smart city projects, EU funded projects; technical expert within Horizon 2020 projects; local expert in URBACT projects.
Alba Iulia Municipality`s expert in elaborating the smart city strategy; experienced PR & communication, with a demonstrated history of working in the civic & social organization industry; skilled in Web Design, Digital Marketing, Creative Writing, Social Media, Facebook and Google Ads, Graphic Design; Blockchain passionate.
Jana SVOBODOVA
City Partner Coordinator, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Eva TERRER TAPIA
Senior Computer Engineer, Autonomous University of Barcelona
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Eva Terrer Tapia is a Senior Computer Engineer from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She began her professional career in 1996 as an Associate Professor in Computer Engineering, later joining a consulting firm where for twelve years she carried out project development and management, as well as organizational consulting for both the private and public sectors. In June 2009 she joined the Municipal Institute of Information Technology (ICT area of Barcelona City Council) where, from the Strategy Department, she led various conceptualizations and strategic projects. After a period of training in agility, she participated as a Scrum Master in the first agile projects of Barcelona City Council, collaborating in the construction and implementation of a new agile corporate framework, becoming, in October 2020, the head of the Agile Impulse of ICT area of Barcelona City Council.
Iván TOSICS
Urban Explorer
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Iván Tosics is an “urban explorer”, eager to find interesting examples and good practices of cities to innovate urban development. Since his involvement in Eurocities (1998-2011) and URBACT (2008-onwards, as one of the Programme Experts) he is an enthusiastic believer in integrated and sustainable development, in which cities have to play a key role, both as local governments and as the natural leaders of functional urban areas and metropolitan territories. He strives to be an independent thinker who analyses EU-wide policies, exploring (as a critical friend) besides the achievements also their problems and deficiencies, from inclusion and sustainability angles. He is a passionate analyst of multi-level governance conflicts; e.g. how well-intended EU policies are miss-directed by national gatekeepers, and how financial support is misused by beneficiaries, especially local governments.
Irene TSAKIRIDOU
Sustainability Consultant, MDAT S.A
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Irene Tsakiridou (F) is a BSc, MSc Mechanical Engineer, specializing in Sustainable Development. Irene has been involved in over 40 EU & national-funded projects, focused on Sustainable Development, Climate Change & Digital Technologies. She is a certified energy auditor. She has been involved in project management and elaboration activities including the development of Sustainable Climate Action Plans for five municipalities of the region, mapping the CO2 emissions footprint of the area, organizing pilot activities in the city of Thessaloniki, capacity building, raising awareness & engagement events for various target categories and under different thematic areas. She is also a member of the project team working for the “Thessaloniki within the 100 Climate-Neutral & Smart cities by 2030”, and the Focal Point of the “Thessaloniki City of Gastronomy-UNESCO Creative Cities Network”.
Ian TURNER
Lead Partner, Zero Carbon Cities
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Trained as a human geographer, Ian Turner first specialised in Environment Management and then in the Energy Transition. Ian has over 20 years’ of experience in the field of local governance having worked closely with local authorities in Africa and Europe. Ian is particularly interested in the participation of civil society via different processes such as local energy forums and poster campaigns. For the last 17 years Ian has been a project manager at Energy Cities, the European learning community for future-proofed cities. Energy Cities gathers approximately 200 individual members as well as collective members, representing 1000 local authorities in EU 28. In this framework Ian has coordinated city to city cooperation, thematic twinning and working groups and is experienced in using several facilitation techniques in order to ensure large scale involvement and participation. This includes world café, fishbowl and holdup. In 2020 Ian qualified as an URBACT Lead Expert and since then has been guiding the pilot cities of the Zero Carbon Cities Action Planning Network to establish science-based carbon reduction targets, policies and action plans.
Sebastiaan VAN HERK
Lead Expert, Healthy Cities APN
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Dr Sebastiaan van Herk is the URBACT Lead Expert for the EU network in Healthy Cities and co-developed the healthy cities generator to help planning for healthy cities. He is Managing Partner at innovation consultancy Bax & Company and specialised in liveable cities, climate adaptation and digitalisation. Since 2002 he has coordinated >50 international collaborative projects with over €250M in innovation funding, and has mobilised a multiple in public and private investments in city transformations. He is the winner of Regiostars award for best EU project in 2021 (Public choice and Green Europe) for BEGIN on blue-green infrastructure. He is UN expert in Sustainability (UNEP) and UN advocate in Resilience (UN-DRR). He is Guest Professor at IHE-Delft (Netherlands), SEU (China) & UPC (Spain). He has 20 years of experience in innovation for City challenges and delivered over 40 scientific and professional publications.
Willem VAN WINDEN
Expert on Sustainable Urban Development
Moderator
Takes part in the following session(s):
Willem van Winden (PhD) is an expert on sustainable urban development. He works as adviser for several cities, city networks and other organisations, including URBACT (Europe’s largest exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development), Urban Innovative Actions (UIA), and EUniverCities (a network of European city-university tandems). He holds the chair of Urban Economic Innovation at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, where he leads the universities’ Centre for Economic Transformation. He is active in the Amsterdam Doughnut Coalition, and recently organised a series of six workshops for companies titled “When Business Meets the Doughnut”, together with Kate Raworth and her Doughnut Economics Action Lab team.
Patricia VANDERBAUWHEDE
Housing Policy Officer, Housing Service of the City of Ghent, Belgium
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Patricia Vanderbauwhede is the Project Leader of the URBACT Action Planning Network ROOF on ending homelessness through housing (first) solutions and data collection. Patricia a housing policy officer with the Housing Service of the City of Ghent, Belgium. She works on housing for vulnerable groups. She is also coordinator of the Ghent Taskforce Housing and shelter, a taskforce where the City and non-societal organisations meet to develop housing solutions for vulnerable groups.
Anamaria VRABIE
Lead Expert, URBACT
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
Anamaria Vrabie is a behavioural-informed economist and leader of urban innovation practices with over 15 years of international experience.
She currently supports European cities in developing strategic action plans and transferring good practises, acting as URBACT lead expert and principal investigator for the Urban Innovative Actions knowledge and capitalisation studies on urban integrated development. Since 2019, she is Lead Expert for the URBACT Tourism Friendly Cities (TFC) network, which focuses on the sustainable impact of tourism in cities.
Between 2017- 2021 she has co-designed and managed Cluj-Napoca Urban Innovation Unit, the first municipal public innovation lab in Eastern Europe. She is also co-founder of the Urban Insights Center- Urban INC, a think-tank advancing the practice of sustainable urban development since 2010.
She holds an MA in International Affairs as a Fulbright Scholar at The New School New York and in PhD in Applied Economics. You can reach her at anamaria.vrabie@urbaninc.org
Silva VUOPPONEN
Project Manager, EcoFellows Ltd., City of Tampere
Speaker
Takes part in the following session(s):
I'm a sustainable development specialist with strong experience in the fields of waste management and energy efficiency. I work as a project manager at a sustainable development agency EcoFellows Ltd., owned by the City of Tampere. Our goal is to make Tampere carbon-neutral by 2030 and be a well-known forerunner in sustainability. Personally, I also want to make an impact every day and with every choice. Because it's the only way to give meaning to myself and a chance for my children.
Béla Kézy
URBACT expert and TechPlace team member
Takes part in the following session(s):
Béla Kézy is an urban development professional with over 20 years of experience. He runs one of Hungary’s leading development consultancies helping the implementation of urban and regional development projects mostly in Hungary but also in other European countries. He has nearly 10 years of experience as an URBACT expert: he has an extensive track record of supporting URBACT Action Planning Networks, and recently he has also been working with a number Transfer networks. Béla has been involved in numerous URBACT capacity development initiatives as well: he was one of the lab managers at the last two URBACT Summer Universities (Dublin and Rotterdam), and was a trainer also at the e-University both in 2020 and 2022. Béla is the Lead Expert of Thriving Streets Action Planning Network, connecting mobility with economic prosperity, accessibility, inclusion, participation and health to encourage a change towards more resilient and attractive cities.
