Eduardo Saravia

Shain Shapiro

Susannah Tasanee Martin Tantemsapya

Hiroko Tsuboi-Friedman

Solamalemalo Dr Hai-Yuean Tualima

Samba Yonga

Dr Daryna Zhyvohliadova

Ms Aika Alemi is an artist, business coach, mentor, speaker, author, art director and event organiser. She is the creator of the Business of Creation methodology, her proprietary 10-step startup framework that has helped more than 3,500 creatives and innovators build their brands and enterprises. Ms Alemi currently serves as Director of the Central Asia Creative Incubator and Born Nomad and chairs the Creative Industries Alliance of Qazaqstan. She contributes to Elle Kazakhstan and Forbes Kazakhstan. 

Ms Alemi is a womenswear finalist for the International Woolmark Prize 2017 (Europe) and awarded Best Mentor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Women Entrepreneurs Programme 2018. She has organised over 50 major events including Central Asia Creative Incubator, Responsible Fashion Series Silk Road and Shymkent Art Days. 

Ms Alemi serves as a director on boards including for Duke University CIS, De Montfort University Kazakhstan, and NarXoz University Graduate Business School. She holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and speaks multiple languages including Kazakh, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Russian and German. 

Mr Santiago Alfaro Rotondo is a lecturer at both the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the University of the Republic (Uruguay). His research interests focus on cultural policy, inequalities in the cultural and creative industries, audience development, and the intercultural approach in public policy.

Mr Alfaro Rotondo has held various roles including Programme Officer of Indigenous Rights and Interculturality at Oxfam America; Deputy Manager of Performing Arts and Cultural Industries at the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima; and General Director of Cultural Industries and Arts at the Ministry of Culture of Peru. He has worked as an external consultant for the British Council and the Inter-American Development Bank and as a researcher at the Leeds Institute for Excellence Teaching at the University of Leeds, UK.

Mr Alfaro Rotondo holds a Master of Arts degree in Society, Culture and Media from the University of Leeds, UK.

Mr Abdullah Alkafri is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Ettijahat–Independent Culture, which supports artists from Syria and the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region.

Mr Alkafri is a playwright, cultural manager and cultural activist. His work spans cultural policy, strategic planning and arts education. As an author and researcher, he has published academic works on art, society and cultural change, including On the Margin’s Margin: Some Fragmented Thoughts on the Circumstances of Those who Make Art. His writing focuses on cultural displacement and artistic expression during crises, examining independent culture in the SWANA region. Based between Brussels and Beirut, he lectures at the Institute of Fine Arts and Audiovisual Studies, Beirut, teaching cultural production sociology, playwriting and theatre direction.

Mr Alkafri holds a PhD in theatre studies from Saint Joseph University, Lebanon. Previously, he has served on the International Programme Advisory Committee for the 8th World Summit on Arts and Culture (2019, Malaysia).

Mr Toni Attard is Founder of Culture Venture, an international firm supporting cultural projects, creative industries and policy initiatives. He has many years of strategic experience in Malta's arts sector: he has co-authored national cultural policies, served as the first Director of Strategy at Arts Council Malta and was Vice President of the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association. As an arts practitioner he is creative producer of Udjenza and has directed numerous theatre productions and arts festivals including ZiguZajg International Festival and the arts programme of EuroPride 2023.  

As a champion of cultural rights and a founding member of Opening Doors Association for artists with learning disabilities, Mr Attard’s work bridges artistic practice, community engagement and strategy development. His international contributions include his current role as an expert on the European Capitals of Culture Monitoring and Selection Panel and his past role as chair of the International Programme Advisory Committee for the 8th World Summit on Arts and Culture (2019, Malaysia). 

Ms Michelle Chawla is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Council for the Arts, a role she commenced on 26 June 2023.   

Prior to this appointment, she was the Director General of Strategy, Public Affairs and Arts Engagement, responsible for the executive leadership and direction of a wide range of functions, including strategy development, communications, partnerships, strategic planning, research, international coordination, and cultural diplomacy. She has previously held the position of Secretary-General at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. Ms Chawla has a wealth of experience in leadership roles, particularly in arts and culture policy, equity and inclusion, corporate governance, government relations, and transformation initiatives.    

Ms Chawla is bilingual, with a Punjabi and Quebecois background, and is a proud member of the Sikh community. She is passionate about ensuring that diverse voices are valued, heard, and respected through arts and culture.   

Dr Ismail El Fihail is the Director General of the House of Heritage, a cultural centre in Khartoum, Sudan. He is an UNESCO accredited facilitator on Intangible Cultural Heritage and has served as a lecturer in sociology, anthropology and folklore.  

Dr El Fihail serves as a board member of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, Sudan and previously chaired the committee responsible for developing Sudan's national cultural policies. Previously, he served as an advisor for the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, UAE (2003-2016) and as a researcher on the Special Project African Identity at Bayreuth University, Germany (1984-1989).  

Dr El Fihail has authored 13 books and numerous articles. He earned a PhD in Ethnology, Geography and Islamic Studies from Bayreuth University, Germany in 1989. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and a Master of Arts in Anthropology and Folklore from Cairo University, Egypt. 

Ms Paloma Estévez is a New York-based, Chile-born performing arts manager, producer, and curator with extensive experience working with artists and cultural institutions. She currently serves as the Director of Artistic Programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City (NYC). Here, she leads Summer for the City, one of NYC’s largest outdoor festivals. Ms Estévez also curates year-round programming and oversees the organisation’s line-producing team.   

In her current role at the at Lincoln Center, Ms Estévez leverages her expertise across disciplines, taking pride in her artist-centred approach while fostering partnerships, growing audiences and advocating for a radically equitable field.  

Ms Estévez began her career in Santiago, Chile, managing theatre companies and producing large-scale cultural events for nearly a decade. In 2016, she relocated to New York City and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management and Producing from Columbia University, USA.   

Ms Renu Ghimire is a social activist from Nepal leveraging art, media and technology to drive social change. As Program Associate at Freedom Studio, a youth-led non-profit based in Kathmandu expanding civic expression, she leads initiatives that promote civic expression, human rights, gender equality and climate advocacy. 

Ms Ghimire’s work addresses systemic inequities, supports marginalised groups and fosters vibrant civic spaces. She is dedicated to championing freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. She is a founding member of The Artivist Network, an independent collective of artists, activists and social workers. 

With a background in social work and a deep interest in historical narratives and peacebuilding, Ms Ghimire works to empower communities through visual storytelling, artivism and digital media campaigns. She organises workshops, festivals and other creative events focused on feminist movements to equip individuals with creative tools to amplify social movements. 

Associate Professor Dr Xin Gu is a cultural policy analyst, writer and speaker. She has been appointed a member of the EU/UNESCO Expert Facility (2023-2026) for the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression. She is Director of the Master of Cultural and Creative Industries at Monash University in Australia. She co-authored the report A crisis of sustainable careers? Examining working conditions for independent arts and cultural workers commissioned by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), writing about the social protection of cultural work.  

Dr Gu has worked with governments and civil society organisations in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand to develop cultural policies and strategies. She has delivered many capacity building and public outreach programmes on the development of cultural economy in the Asia Pacific region for the EU, UNCTAD and UNESCO, among others. Her most recent book is Cultural Work and Creative Subjectivity (Routledge, 2023). 

Mr Abid Hussain is the Director, Diversity at Arts Council England (ACE) where he leads the Arts Council's work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, delivering more equitable access to creativity and culture. He is responsible for delivery of the Arts Council's equality objectives and equality action plan.  

Mr Hussain is the programme lead for All In - a UK and Ireland-wide scheme established to improve access to arts and cultural events for people with disabilities, developed in partnership with Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, and Creative Scotland. He is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Programme and the Salzburg Global Seminar and holds an MBA from Aston University, UK.   

Mr Hussain has extensive experience working with cultural agencies, government and academia internationally and has contributed to several international conferences and academic texts and journals in his field of expertise.  

Ms Cislé Jacobs specialises in Intellectual Property (IP) law as a legal and cultural professional and currently serves as Chairperson for the National Arts Council of Namibia. As a certified IP Agent in Namibia, she advises creatives, entrepreneurs and institutions including the National Theatre of Namibia and the Namibia Society of Composers and Authors of Music.

Ms Jacobs is an IP and Legal Compliance Expert Facilitator at Basecamp Business Incubators Namibia, has worked as an EU/UNESCO National Expert, contributing to the revision of copyright legislation and served as a technical expert for the National Arts Fund Draft Bill and Regulations 2024. She is author of The Intellectual Property Regime in Namibia (2017) and Copyright Law: Contracts and Protective Procedures for Musicians (2021).

Ms Jacobs holds a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Namibia.

Ms Avril Joffe is an Associate Researcher and holds the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Entrepreneurship and Policy at Cultural Policy and Management Department at the Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.  

Ms Joffe is an economic sociologist and works at the intersection of academia and practice in the fields of cultural policy; culture in urban life; culture and sustainable development; fairness in international cultural cooperation; decent work; the rights and status of artists and cultural professionals; and, teaching pedagogy for postgraduate studies in the cultural economy. Her focus areas are Africa and the Global South.  

Ms Joffe is an active member of the EU/UNESCO Expert Facility Group for Cultural Policy and Governance; the Global Creative Economy Council; the International Cultural Relations Research Alliance; and,  the external international advisory panel for the Horizon Europe programme, IN SITU - Place-based Innovation of Cultural and Creative Industries in Non-urban Areas. 

Mr Emile Kairua is Secretary and Head of Ministry, Ministry of Cultural Development, Cook Islands. He has an extensive background in marketing and public relations, driving business development efforts in tourism and travel related businesses in the Cook Islands.    

Prior to joining the Ministry, Mr Kairua has held various positions including being on the first Māori Language Commission. He has worked as Producer and Director of Kairoi, a five-hour a week cultural TV programme at Cook Islands Broadcasting. Subsequently, he served as General Manager and Managing Director at Cook Islands Broadcasting. Mr Kairua has previously worked as Product and Marketing Manager for Island Hopper Vacations and at The Edgewater Resort and Spa, serving as the Director of Sales and Marketing, Cultural Ambassador and General Manager. 

Dr Hae-Bo Kim is the Advising Director of the Policy and Strategy Division at the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC). Since joining SFAC in 2004, he has overseen business management, arts education, research and policy development, arts grants, cultural space development and festival production. He regularly contributes to the SFAC Issue Paper Culture + Policy.

As Director of the Korea Regional Culture Policy Institute, affiliated with the National Assembly of Foundations for Arts and Culture, Dr Kim leads collaborative research across 17 metropolitan cultural foundations. He recently led research on regional cultural development titled Research on Strategies to Enhance Regional Attractiveness and Vitality through Locality and Culture, for the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development.

Dr Kim lectures on culture and technology and cultural policy at the University of Seoul (UOS), Republic of Korea, exploring topics like cultural globalisation, algorithmic culture and emotional economics. He holds a PhD in Sociology from UOS.

RAY LC is an artist and researcher whose practice investigates how humans adapt to new methods of interaction in creative expression involving artificial intelligence (AI) and machines. He holds a PhD in Neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Master of Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design, New York. He is currently Assistant Professor of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong and is the Founder of the Studio for Narrative Spaces.

RAY LC’s artistic practice is informed by his neuroscience research Nature Communications and human-computer interaction. He has exhibited his work internationally, including at the New York Hall of Science, KYOTO Design Lab, Ars Electronica, Osage Gallery, Goethe Institute, Hong Kong Arts Centre, and International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA). His work has received awards from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Hong Kong Arts Development Council and New York Foundation for the Arts.

Ms Marie Le Sourd has been Secretary General of On the Move, the international cultural mobility information network, since 2012. Prior to this position, Ms Le Sourd worked at the Asia-Europe Foundation (Cultural Department) in Singapore from 1999 to 2006 and directed the French Cultural Centre in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 2006 to 2011.

Ms Micaela Mantegna is a lawyer, researcher and council member of the World Economic Forum. She is also known as Abogamer and specialises in video game law and advocacy, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) ethics, extended reality (XR) policy and the intersection of AI with creativity, culture and copyright law.

A 2022 TED Fellow, Ms Mantegna’s talk on metaverse ethics has reached over 1.5 million views. She is currently affiliated with MetaLAB (Harvard, Berlin, Basel) and previously with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University, USA. She has been a Salzburg Global Fellow and a Datasphere Initiative Fellow.

Ms Mantegna’s published works include ARTficial: creativity, AI and copyright (2022) and she is working on Braindancing in the Metaverse: a capitalism of cognitive surveillance forthcoming in 2025, examining digital capitalism's impact on creativity, neuroscience, intellectual property, AI ethics and aesthetics.

Dr Tomás Peters is a cultural sociologist based in Santiago, Chile and is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Communications and Image, University of Chile, Santiago.

Dr Peters holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from Birkbeck, University of London and his main areas of research include sociology of art, Latin American studies and cultural policy.

Dr Peters has previously held a visiting researcher position at the Ibero-American Institute, Berlin and has taught as a visiting professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Peru), Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa (Mexico), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) and University of Guadalajara (Mexico).

Mr Zikri Rahman is a writer, translator, independent researcher, and curator. Mr Zikri is currently a Researcher for Malaysia, Arts Equator’s Southeast Asian Arts Censorship Database and an experienced Programme Coordinator at Pusat Sejarah Rakyat, an independent archive dedicated to documenting the people’s history of Malaysia and Singapore. In 2011, Mr Zikri co-founded Buku Jalanan, a grassroots street library movement aimed at decentralising and democratising knowledge and cultural production and initiated LiteraCity, a literary and cultural mapping project of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mr Zikri has contributed to projects including the DEMO: An Oral History of Protest in Malaysia project for Pusat Sejarah Rakyat, the Southeast Asian Arts Censorship Database for Arts Equator and is the co-editor for Where are the people? People’s theater in Inter-Asian Societies (2022).  

Ms Chaymaa Ramzy Zaatout has more than 17 years' international experience in arts management, production and consultancy across the Middle East and North Africa regions. She holds a BA in Business Administration from Alexandria University, Egypt and is an international fellow of Arts Management and Strategic Planning in the Arts from the DeVos Institute, USA and the Business School of the Arts, University of Maryland, USA.

Ms Ramzy Zaatout’s work focuses on strategic development in the arts and education, designing programmes that engage communities and building partnerships. She has a strong history of working with public, private and civil society partners across the creative sectors, particularly in arts, education and creative economy research.

Ms Ramzy Zaatout is the Founder of Creative Invest as well as Executive Director of Shelter Art Space, Alexandria, and previously served as Art Manager at the Anna Lindh Foundation, based in Alexandria.

Mr Eduardo Saravia is an economist with a Master’s degree in Economics and over 14 years of experience in designing, evaluating and implementing policies and initiatives for the cultural and creative sectors. He specialises in cultural economics, heritage, and creative industries, focusing on their role in economic and social development. 

Mr Saravia currently serves as Chief Economist at Sound Diplomacy, a global research and strategy consultancy dedicated to driving economic and social growth through music and cultural strategies. He has extensive experience across public and private sectors and has also collaborated with national entities, including the Ministry of Culture of Colombia. He brings significant international experience, having worked with the Inter-American Development Bank and UNESCO, among others.  

Serving on several UNESCO Expert Facilities, including those for the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the Culture|2030 Indicators, he helps shape policies for the cultural industries and heritage globally and advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Dr Shain Shapiro is an author working at the intersection of music, culture and urban policy. He is founder and current Executive Chairman of Sound Diplomacy, which has offices in London, Barcelona, Berlin as well as in Delaware and Louisiana, USA. He is Executive Director of the Center for Music Ecosystems, which operates globally.

In his book This Must Be The Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better, Dr Shapiro explores fresh approaches to valuing music in cities and places. He writes extensively about music’s role in cities, tourism, the night-time economy, real estate and recovery. His work includes a comprehensive guide to music and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed in partnership with UN.

In 2014, Dr Shapiro delivered the first TEDx talk on music's role in cities. He has spoken at global conventions, including South by Southwest (SXSW) and the UN World Urban Forum. He earned his PhD from the University of London, UK.

Ms Susannah Tantemsapya is the founder and Executive Director of Creative Migration and Bangkok 1899, based in Los Angeles and Bangkok. She is the producer of Creatives for Climate Action - Thailand (CCAT), a member of the convening team for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Entertainment and Culture for Climate Action (ECCA) initiative, a non-profit advisor for the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, and serves on the Advisory Council of the Hollywood Climate Summit. She is a global ambassador and fellow at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), was included in Tatler's Gen.T Asia List (2019), is a founding member of Soho House Bangkok, and an advisor for Brackish Water Los Angeles (Getty: Pacific Standard Time 2024).   

Ms Tantemsapya holds a BA in Photojournalism from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill. She has participated in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and architecture workshop at Arcosanti, which has shaped her commitment to environmental preservation.

Ms Hiroko Tsuboi-Friedman is a consultant and member of the EU/UNESCO Expert Facility for the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. She combines academic foundations in art history, sociology and cultural anthropology with expertise in arts and culture, finance and public administration to develop, implement and evaluate projects, workshops and symposiums. Additionally, she conducts research and delivers lectures on topics related to the 2005 Convention and the 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist.  

Ms Tsuboi-Friedman has served as Deputy Director for International Affairs at the Science Council of Japan Secretariat and as Senior Policy Researcher in the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. She is co-founder of Culture All Nippon to create a supportive environment for the cultural and creative sector in Japan. Shecontributes to various initiatives including the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD), the Civil Society Forum of the 2005 Convention and the Japan Association of Cultural Policy Research.   

Solamalemalo Dr Hai-Yuean Tualima is an expert in traditional knowledge and Intellectual Property (IP) in the Pacific. Currently she is Senior Law Lecturer at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her PhD research in Samoa, using Talanoa Research Methodology, offers practical solutions for the protection and preservation of traditional knowledge.

In 2023, Solamalemalo led Pacific country negotiations on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge. She was the first Pacific Islander appointed as a WIPO Indigenous Fellow (2015-2017).

Solamalemalo formally established the first National Human Rights Institution in Samoa (2013). She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, and Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She was admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand (2010) and to the bar in Samoa (2014).

Ms Samba Yonga is a journalist, communications specialist and cultural curator based in Lusaka, Zambia. She is co-founder and Museum Director of the Women’s History Museum of Zambia, an institution established to research and restore African Indigenous narratives, knowledge and living histories of women using digital technologies.  

Ms Yonga curatorial work and research centres on preserving African cultural heritage as part of decolonial practice. She works to centre Indigenous knowledge systems alongside communities to support the process of correcting knowledge asymmetries to validate the knowledge production process of local communities. She is also involved in future-modelling design for museums and sites of memory for cultural heritage across Africa.  

Ms Yonga is the founder and managing partner of Ku-Atenga Media, a communications agency that designs strategies to impact development for Africans, by Africans.  

Dr Daryna Zhyvohliadova is a cultural professional and academic from Ukraine with expertise in management and knowledge exchange practices for international cultural cooperation, as well as in strategies for safeguarding cultural heritage. In 2023, she was awarded the Youth Cultural Protection Professional Award by the International Arts and Antiquities Forum, UK.   

Dr Zhyvohliadova has delivered guest lectures at universities worldwide, including the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), University of Maribor (Slovenia) and University of Technology Sydney (Australia). She has served as consultant to the ALIPH Foundation, Europa Nostra and the Cultural Relations Platform; led the Creative Europe Desk; and coordinated the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) humanitarian response for youth. As an individual member of leading European networks, including ENCATC and Culture Action Europe, she is a committed youth advocate and promotes culture as a cornerstone of sustainable development.