Maite Arrondo is an expert on the right to adequate housing and has been working for the past 8 years as a consultant on innovation in housing policies. She is currently working for the Housing and Renovation Institute of Barcelona Municipality where she supports the international social and affordable housing agenda through international networks, events organization such as the European Housing Research Conference. Additionally, she works part-time for the Spanish Foundation HOGARSÍ working to end homelessness. She is engaged with the UN Homelessness Working Group and the European Housing First Hub among others. She has recently joined the Advisory Board of the European Association for Local Democracy.

Piero Baglioni is professor of Physical Chemistry at the Chemistry Department, University of Florence, and MIT affiliate. He was appointed as Visiting Scientist/Professor by the Department of Chemistry of the Houston University, Weizmann Institute, Collège de France, MIT. He is the President of the Center for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI) and member of the Editorial/Advisory Board of several intentional Journals, national and international Academies and Societies. He is author of more than 500 publications in the field of Soft Matter and colloids on books, largely diffused international journals and 27 patents. He pioneered methods and materials for the conservation of Cultural Heritage worldwide used in Museums, conservation institutions and by conservators.

Daniel Bisig holds a PhD in Natural Sciences. He is a member of the dance company Instituto Stocos, partner of the Premiere project, and researcher at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology of the Zurich University of the Arts. He works in the fields of Dance and Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Generative Art. https://www.stocos.com/ https://premiere-project.eu/

Antonia Blau is the director of the Goethe-Institut Madrid. From 2015 until 2020 she was responsable for the EU office at the Goethe-Institut Brussels where she got to know different European programs in the sectors of culture, education, civil society and youth. From 2012 to 2015 Antonia Blau coordinated the creation of an antenna of the Goethe-Institut in Marseille in the framework of the European Capital of Culture Marseille-Provence 2013. She is interested in the contact points between politics and arts and culture in an international context and holds an German-French PhD from the Universities in Hildesheim and Aix-Marseille.

Stefano Boeri, architect and urban planner, is Full Professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano and directs the Future City Lab at Tongji University in Shanghai, a postdoctoral research program exploring the future of contemporary metropolises. Since 2018, he has been president of Triennale Milano and chairs Forestami, the urban forestation project in the Milan metropolitan area. Architect of the Bosco Verticale, built in Milan in 2014, Stefano Boeri’s work ranges from planning architecture and urban visions to design, with a constant focus toward the geopolitical and environmental implications of urban phenomena. Boeri is known for his research, visions and master plans on the future of the urban condition in the world and is among the leading players in the climate change debate in the field of international architecture.

Rickard Bucksch works as Policy Officer in the unit ‘Fair Society and Cultural Heritage’ at the Directorate General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission. Rickard is responsible for developing and following up research and innovation actions under Horizon Europe Cluster 2, where the cultural and creative industries count among the main areas of his portfolio. Rickard has held positions of responsibility in both academic and private sector research and innovation across several European countries. Rickard holds two Master degrees, in Electronic Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and in Business Administration from IESE Business School in Barcelona.

Irene Calvis holds an Art History degree from the University of Barcelona, an advanced degree in Leisure and Tourism from ESADE. She has been responsible for the LiceuApropa social program at the Gran Teatre del Liceu since 2013. Previously, she was part of the Venues department and Patronage at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (2008-2013), public relations of the Gran Teatre del Liceu (2002-2008), tour management for the theater distributor and producer Anexa (1999-2002), and guide in exhibition halls and museums for Serveis Educatius CIUT'ART SL.

Annalisa Cattani is an Italian artist and a Scholar of Rhetoric, Public Art and New Media. Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad, among which the Venice Biennial with the Group “Oreste”. She has collaborated with Public administrations and with the European Community for Public Art Participatory Projects.

Grazia Concilio is an engineer and associate professor of Urban Planning and Design at the DAStU Politecnico di Milano (Italy), on the theme of digital innovation and transformation of urban contexts and leads CALL research lab. Grazia holds a PhD in “Economic Evaluation for Sustainability” at the University of Naples Federico II. She has carried out research activities at RWTH in Aachen, Germany (1995), at IIASA in Laxenburg, Austria (1998), and at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada (2002). She has been a team leader and coordinator of several international research projects (FP7, H2020, HE). She is currently coordinating the project PALIMPSEST, a New European Bauhaus related project.

Débora Domingo-Calabuig is an architect PhD and professor of Architectural Design at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV-Spain). Her interests include the methods, means, and impact of architectural research. She is a recipient of the 2020 edition of the Lilly Reich Grant for equality in architecture, and a member of the NEB Goes South team. She currently holds the position of Vice-rector for Sustainable Development of Campus at the UPV. The functions include planning and launching the university's ecological transition project to achieve carbon neutrality, implementing actions for sustainability in the university spaces, and disseminating a culture of environmental awareness.

Mariacharia Esposito has a background in European policies, social sciences and humanities, and an extensive work experience on cultural policies at European level. Since 2020 she is working as Seconded National Expert at the Cultural Policy Unit of the European Commission, DG EAC, in charge of cultural heritage, research and innovation and the cultural dimension of sustainable development. Main responsibilities and roles include leader of the member states’ Open Method Coordination (OMC) group of experts on Culture and Sustainable Development; coordinator of culture and cultural heritage research topics in Horizon Europe’s Cluster 2 “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society”; policy manager of the CHARTER Project on a sectoral skills alliance for cultural heritage.

Bernd Fesel has been a serial entrepreneur in the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries for over 25 years and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the EIT Culture & Creativity. Prior to this he held the role of director of the European Creative Business Network, as vice director of the European Capital of Culture in the Ruhr Region and was senior advisor to the legacy institute of RUHR.2010 until 2018: the European centre for creative economy in Dortmund. He also played a role in EU initiatives such as JRC-Creative City Monitor, Voices for Culture program and ENCATC.

Dr. Angelos Gkiokas is a researcher in multimedia analysis with Artificial Intelligence with a focus on performing arts (music and dance). Currently he is at Athena Research Center and is coordinating the PREMIERE EU Horizon project. https://www.athenarc.gr/en/home https://premiere-project.eu/

Jessica Guy is a designer and action researcher. Jessica’s work focuses on exploring participatory practices, community engagement and capacity-building activities in European research projects on a global and local scale. Graduated as an Industrial Designer (BA) at the Munich University for Applied Sciences, Jessica holds a Master degree in Design for Emergent Futures organised by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, in collaboration with the Fab Lab Barcelona and Fab Academy. At Fab Lab Barcelona, she is leading the global activities of the Creative Europe project Distributed Design Platform and co-leading the Erasmus+ Project Makeademy educational programme.

Harald Hartung leads the unit ‘Fair Society and Cultural Heritage’ in charge of research in social science and humanities at Directorate General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission. During his time in DG Education and Culture he held various management positions in charge of citizenship, culture policy and programme, multilingualism, Jean Monnet Chairs, the European University Institute in Florence, EU Youth Policy, and the European Institute of Technology. Prior to the European Commission, Hartung worked for the EFTA secretariat and the international department of the Federation of Austrian Industrialist. Hartung holds a Master degree in history and a postgraduate diploma in international law and economics of the University of Vienna.

Matthias Hauser has had extensive experience managing the dialogue between Art and Technology. He received a formal education in music. His experience in Art Education as a professor of violoncello acquainted him with introducing people to art – which is the base of his arts management practice. In 2019 Matthias was appointed as the first director of the Media Solution Center in Stuttgart (MSC) - an extension of the High Computing Center (HLRS) at the University of Stuttgart (Germany). Since this year, he is Chairman of the EIT Culture & Creativity Platform THE NEXT RENAISSANCE.

Founder and director of the digital studio La Tempesta: City, culture & technology, an award-winning company with expertise in strategy, design and web development for social and cultural heritage organisations. Marc is specialized in digital cultural heritage and in leveraging innovation and digital transformation for social and knowledge-based organisations. He worked as Chief Information Officer at the Barcelona Culture Institute and as project manager in a digital signage & TV channel startup and in management and strategy consultancy. Marc holds a Master's degree in Digital Transformation (UPC-FPC/Carnegie Mellon University), he is certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT by ISACA. He also holds a degree in Economics (UAB) and has completed poetry studies.

Alistair Hudson is the Scientific-Artistic Chairman of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe since April 1, 2023. He succeeds Peter Weibel, who had headed the institution since 1999. Hudson is a curator and museum director with broad-ranging international experience. He combines contemporary curatorial expertise with a profound knowledge of the relationship between art, technology and society. From 2018 to 2022 he served as director of two museums in Manchester: the Manchester Art Gallery and The Whitworth. The latter is the art museum of the University of Manchester, where he was also Professor of Useful Art.

María Iglesias is Team Leader at the Cultural Policy Unit of the European Commission, Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC), where she currently deals with analysis of measures targeting the cultural sectors in the national Recovery and Resilience Facility Plans, the cultural dimension of the New European Bauhaus and the impact of new and emerging technologies on the cultural and creative sectors. Previously, María was IP legal officer at DG Joint Research Center (European Commission), Head of Research at KEA, and researcher at different universities and research institutes, including the CRIDS, University of Namur, where she was Head of the Intellectual Property department. María has more than 20 years of experience in the field of cultural and creative industries, innovation, copyright and new technologies. She has contributed to numerous publications, conferences, workshops, university courses and trainings.

General Manager of the Epica Foundation La Fura dels Baus, he is the responsible of the Innovation Department and institutional relations, mainly focussed on promoting the connection of Humanities, Science and Technology, as the catalyzer for disruptive innovation. He has been a researcher in ESADE Business School in the department of innovation for cities, the i2CAT Foundation and Fraunhofer. Iglesias got his Master of Science in Telecommunication Engineering & Management (MASTEAM) in 2008. Always dedicated to applying technology to vertical sectors, mainly in the Cultural and Creative Industries.

Zora worked as the theatre dramaturg, international cultural cooperation consultant and EU Affairs expert for Slovak government and European Commission. She was the co-author and artistic director of the Košice - European Capital of Culture 2013. Until January 201was a member of the Board of the Slovak Arts Council. Today, she works as an advisor to the Mayor of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo and a film producer and partner at MPhilms. She also works as an expert on cultural policy and the creative industries in Slovakia and abroad. She is the President of the Slovak Creative Industries Forum and a member of the European network of film producers Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (ACE).

PhD Eng. Desislava Koleva is a chief expert “Projects and economic development” in Gabrovo Municipality, Bulgaria. Her background is in public and private sectors in the industrial management of a large company and an expert in local economic development, strategic planning, regional development and smart specialization. With a Doctoral degree in Effectiveness and management of telecommunication services, Master degree in engineering and Master degree in Industrial management, she is a Project Manager of different EU projects for innovations and energy efficiency (transport, mobility, environment protection etc.). She is also the coordinator of Gabrovo Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan in Covenant of Mayors.

Dr.-Ing. Bastian Koller joined the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) in 2004 and since 2014 he is the Managing Director. Koller was Technical Manager of one of the first Cloud related European Projects with the acronym BREIN. Since he started at HLRS, he is involved in many national and international research and development activities, in technological domains such as HPC, Grid, Cloud, Data Analytics or Artificial Intelligence. He is currently leading a European Centre of Excellence on Engineering and coordinating the European Initiatives EuroCC and CASTIEL which implement in 33 countries national competence centres on HPC and associated technology.

Trained as chemist and material scientist, Johanna Leissner has been working and managing cultural heritage research for over 20 years focussing on climate change impact on cultural heritage, environmental monitoring of cultural property and fostering the green transition by implementing the concept of sustainability for Green Museums and heritage buildings and collections. She is the chair of the EU OMC (open method of coordination) expert group of European Member States Strengthening cultural heritage resilience for climate change and member of the EU Commission expert group Cultural Heritage Forum. Since June 2022, coordinator of the EIT (European Institute of Technology) programme Culture & Creativity (2022-2029), and since 2020 coordinator of German research project KERES “Protecting cultural heritage from extreme climate events and increasing resilience”.

Veronika Liebl is currently Managing Director at the department Festival/Prix/Exhibitions of Ars Electronica. She studied economic and business science at Johannes Kepler University in Linz and has an interdisciplinary background in non-profit and innovation management. Since 2011 she is in charge of cultural management and European project development at Ars Electronica Linz and serves as a member for the Linz’ city culture council and Linz’ UNESCO City of Media Arts Executive Board. She leads Ars Electronica’s European collaboration projects in the field of culture, research & education. She developed, launched and executed EU projects such as the STARTS Prize, DOORS or the European ARTificial Intelligence Lab.

Ann Light is Professor of Design and Creative Technology, University of Sussex, UK, and Professor of Interaction Design, Social Change and Sustainability at Malmo University, Sweden. She is a design researcher and interaction theorist, specializing in participatory practice, human-technology relations, and collaborative future-making. She has led 25+ UK research projects and worked with arts and grass-roots organizations and marginalized groups on five continents. Regarding the social and ecological as inextricably linked, she is exploring cultural change to address climate collapse and the stress current systems put on the planet, believing creative remaking of relations is needed. She is co-leading the EU project Creative Practices for Transformative Futures.

Charlotte has 25 years’ experience of building, developing and leading innovation-supported organizations. She now works for Lund University in Sweden, leading ekip. Businesses praised for their foresight and ability to deliver results and create impact. Throughout her career she has worked in parallel with the operational, on strategic level in organizations, as well as with having assignments at policy level; internationally, nationally, and regionally. She has extensive experience from building organizations in ecosystems that operate in collaboration with academia, industry, and society. For 9 years she served as the CEO of Sweden's largest incubator and Science Park for food-related companies and innovations.

Areti Markopoulou is a PhD architect, researcher, and urban technologist working at the intersection between architecture and digital technologies. She is the academic director at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). Her research and practice focus on redefining the architecture of cities through an ecological and technological spectrum combining design with new materials, digital fabrication, and big data. She is co-editor at Urban Next, co-founder of the art/tech gallery StudioP52 and has been consulting and developing urban and research projects on topics including urban regeneration through data science (Leading Cities) or guidelines for urban technologies in public space (Barcelona City Council), among others.

Senior manager of European projects, Ángela holds a degree in Political Science and Administration and a Master in Management of Non-Profit Organizations. She has worked mainly for the public and civil society sector, designing, implementing and evaluating projects and funding programs in research, training and citizenship in Spain and Italy. Since 2022, she is a member of the technical team of the European Citizenship Point, which is the National Contact Point of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Program (CERV) in Spain.

Josep Maria Martorell has a degree in Physics from the University of Barcelona (UB) and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Ramon Llull University (URL). He has developed his career in the field of academic and scientific management, both in university and government institutions. He was director-general of research of the Government of Catalonia for five years. Since April 2016, he is the associate director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). He has ample experience as a Business Angel and mentor of a few technological start-ups. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Barcelona Institute of Political Economy and Governance, EADA Business School Foundation, and BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center.

Satu Miettinen is a Dean and a Professor of Service Design at the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland in Finland. She has also worked as a Professor of Applied Art and Design during the years (2011-2016). She is holding one of the first academic chairs in service design and published widely in high level research publications. She has worked as a Principal Investigator for several international research projects funded by H2020 and other international research funding instruments. Satu is an active artist and designer in the area of socially engaged art and ecofeminist photography. She is a member of several professional designers’ and artists’ associations.

Pablo Palacio is a researcher and composer of electroacustic and instrumental music. He focuses on algorithmic approaches in music and the sonification of physical movement and has developed numerous instruments in the field of interactive music. He is founder and co-director of Instituto Stocos, partner of the Premiere project. https://www.stocos.com/ https://premiere-project.eu/

John Palmesino is an architect, co-founder with Ann-Sofi Rönnskog of Territorial Agency, a London-based independent organization that combines contemporary architecture, science, art, advocacy and action to promote comprehensive territorial transformations in the Anthropocene epoch. Recent projects include ‘Oceans in Transformation’ commissioned by TBA21– Academy or ‘Sensible Zone’ at la Biennale di Venezia. John is a founding member of multiplicity, an international network of researchers on the contemporary inhabited territories; he teaches at the AA Architectural Association, and he is one of the chief curators of the upcoming 7th Lisbon Triennale 2025.

Fran Quiroga has a degree in political science from the University of Santiago de Compostela, with studies at the University College of Cork and the University of Granada. He is the general coordinator of Concomitentes, a producer of works of art based on citizen demands and is a mediator of the Legado Cuidado project. He has co-directed investigations such as Ruraldecolonized, the Cabinet of Political Imagination, Fiestas Raras, the Programa de Estudos en Man Común (PEMAN). He coordinated the network of research groups in agroecology of the USC and UVigo. He also has alter egos, such as the Transvestite Bighead Divine or the Queen of the Anthropocene.

Pau Rausell is an economist and lecturer in the Department of Applied Economics at the Universitat de València. He is the founder of the Economics of Culture Research Unit (ECONCULT). Since 2009 he has been principal researcher in 10 European projects of different calls connected with culture and creativity. He is currently the consortium leader of the MESOC project. He has worked on aspects related to the measurement of culture both within the framework of official cultural statistics and in the development of different applications to capture the impact of culture. Co-director of València's successful bid to become World Design Capital 2022, he is also a specialist in the relationship between city and culture.

Muriel Romero has won several international prizes such as Moscow International Ballet Competition and collaborated with choreographers such as W.Forsyhe or Killian. Her choreographic ideation is based on the transfer of concepts from the fields of mathematics and generative art. She is founder and co-director of Instituto Stocos, partner of the Premiere project. https://www.stocos.com/ https://premiere-project.eu/

Jordi Roviras graduated as an Architect in 2002 from the Technical School of Architecture at UIC Barcelona. That same year he founded ROVIRAS CASTELAO arquitectes associats scp. together with the architect Cristina Garcia Castelao. In 2004 he became part of the teaching team at the UIC School of Architecture as a professor in the Department of Architectural Construction and the Barcelona Ceramics Chair respectively. In 2008 and until 2013, he held the position of Deputy Academic and Teaching Director. In 2014 he became part of the LITEIS research group as a research member (Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Industrialized and Sustainable Building).

Marleen Stikker is founder and executive director of Waag Futurelab in Amsterdam. Waag Futurelab reinforces critical reflection on technology, develops technological and social design skills, and encourages social innovation. Marleen leads the trans-disciplinary team of designers, artists and scientists, utilising Public Research and Key Enabling Methodologies to empower people to participate in the collective design of open, fair and inclusive futures. Marleen founded 'De Digitale Stad' (The Digital City) in 1993, the first virtual community introducing free public access to the Internet in Amsterdam. Marleen Stikker strongly adheres to the Maker's Bill of Rights motto: 'If You Can't Open It, You Don't Own It'.

Daniel Van Lerberghe is involved since 2015 in EU projects through Innogage.eu. Recognized as a pioneer in digital innovation, he is passionate about driving change through innovation, digital communication, and visual content creation. He founded POLITECH Institute in 2004, the first European Centre of Excellence in Political Technologies. It quickly became a key player, creating a vast network of contacts and partners. In collaboration with EurActiv, he co-founded initiative.eu and led technology projects supported by the European Commission. As director of social media at EurActiv, he expanded the Foundation's reach and engagement. Later, in Brussels, Van Lerberghe spearheaded citizen participation strategies, fostering partnerships with leading Smart Cities and the European Commission. www.thebattleground.eu www.innogage.eu

Julià Vicens is a research scientist specializing in the study of collective behaviour within complex systems. He applies a combination of computational and participatory methodologies, where science, technology and society converge. At Fundació Eurecat, he is leading the Computational Social Science research line of the Data Science and Big Data unit, contributing his insights and expertise to cutting-edge research applied to gaining a comprehensive understanding of social and technical systems like culture, cities, media, or climate.

Since 2004, Uwe Woessner is heading the visualization department at the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS). He received his PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Stuttgart in 2009. Since 1996 he is working in the Collaborative Research Center “Rapid Prototyping” established at the University of Stuttgart in the field of VR based virtual and augmented prototyping. He is guest professor and guest lecturer at the TU-Vienna, Austria and at HSR, Rapperswil, Switzerland. He is also Co-founder of VirCinity GmbH. He received international Awards such as the 2003 HPC Challenge and 2006 HPC Bandwidth Challenge.

Annemie Wyckmans leads NTNU Smart Sustainable Cities, aiming to support cities in making their journeys to climate neutrality and resilience inclusive, beautiful and sustainable, together with cities, companies, NGOs, civic and grassroots organisations, arts and culture, youth and universities, and more. She is Project Coordinator of CrAFt – Creating Actionable Futures, the NEB-STAR New European Bauhaus Lighthouse project, the Re-Value project strengthening urban qualities in the context of climate neutrality, and the +CityxChange Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse project.

Rarița Zbranca has extensive experience in arts management, curating, cultural research and advocacy. She is the Programme Director of the Cluj Cultural Centre in Romania, where she initiated, among others, the Inner Space programme, an international cross-sector initiative on arts and well-being, including an annual conference, pilot interventions, research projects and policy proposals on the topics of art, health and well-being. She contributed to the CultureForHealth report and coordinated the development of the cultural strategy of the city of Cluj (2006-2012, 2013-2020, 2020-2030). She is a co-founder of the AltArt Foundation.

Mikel Zorrilla holds a Telecommunications Engineering degree from the School of Engineering at Mondragon Unibertsitatea (2001-2007), an advanced degree in Computer Science (UPV-EHU University of the Basque Country, 2011-2012) and a PhD entitled “Interoperable Technologies for Multi-device Media Services” (UPV-EHU University of the Basque Country, 2016). Dr. Zorrilla is the director of the Digital Media & Communications department at Vicomtech and has led and participated in several national and international research and innovation projects, such as TRACTION, a European H2020 project where opera co-creation had been explored as a path for social and cultural inclusion.