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International conference: ‘Culture in EU External Relations‘
Centre for Fine Arts of Brussels – BOZAR
7-8 April 2014 – List of Speakers
Markus APPENZELLER
Born in Tubingen, Germany, 1972, Markus holds a professional degree
in banking business. He studied law, architecture and urban planning
in Konstanz, Stuttgart and Chicago. He graduated in 2003 from
Stuttgart University. In his early career Markus worked for UnitA
Architects (Stuttgart), Fink&Jocher Architects (Munich) and in the
Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Rotterdam).
Overall, Markus has been in charge of large scale architecture and
urban planning projects in China and across Europe. Before founding MLA+ Markus was Director at KCAP
Architects&Planners in Rotterdam (2006 – 2011), where he was design leader for the Olympic Legacy
Masterplan for London and the masterplan for the Central Business District of Beijing. For the central area
of Shenzhen, Markus headed a team to develop a regeneration strategy that sets an example for a new
form of urban transformation in China. Also, he has been the project architect of OMA’s masterplan for
White City in London. In 2011 he set up MLA+ with Gerard Maccreanor and Richard Lavington.
Markus is a regular guest critic at the AA School of Architecture in London, has lectured at several schools
across Europe and has been teaching at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. He also writes on various topics
of contemporary urbanism and advises companies in how to operate in other countries and cultural
environments.
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Blanka BERKYOVÁ
Blanka Berkyová, currently working for K13-Košice cultural center and is
responsible for programming and leading one type the new cultural -
community artistic infrastucture in the suburbs areas in the Košice city. During
the candidacy of Košice for the title of European Capital of Culture, she was a
consultant for key community project SPOTs – cultural artistic centers and since
2009, she worked in this project as Executive Manager. Since 2012 she has been
involved to the specific project „Evaluation methods for measuring the impact
of cultural interventions and community artistic projects on the Košice´s
neighbourhoods together with partners from CAL XL (Netherland). She has been
working for NGO Centre for community development (2003- 2009) as a
manager for urban and community development. During that period she
worked as a consultant for international research projects aimed at the removal
of barriers in the education of the Roma in Slovakia, as a trainer and consultant for the development of
youth initiatives in socially disadvantaged areas and as a facilitator of development projects in Roma
communities under the international program Youth Empowerment Partnership Program (YEPP). She has
been a member of the Orange Foundation grant commission, a commission of the Slovak Gas Foundation
to support projects in the fields of culture, art and social development.
Nenad BOGDANOVIC
Born in Serbia and resident of Cyprus, Nenad Bogdanovic is an international
cultural operator and activist. Currently, he holds the position of Executive
Director of Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation and Euro-Arab Youth
Music Center. He is Board member of Jeunesses Musicales International and
European Music Council.
After graduating the Music School of his born-city, Kragujevac, Nenad
Bogdanovic studied music performance on accordion in National Music
Academy of Ukraine in Kiev. Moving to Cyprus in 2001 he worked as Executive
director in Dance House Lemesos and Cultural Movement of Limassol “Epilogi”
- Jeunesses Musicales Cyprus. Nenad managed decades of projects supported among others by EU
"Culture" and "Youth in Action" Programmes, Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, the European
Cultural Foundation and Anna Lindh Foundation, all having young people in focus and using music and arts
as a media for intercultural dialogue. On local level, mobilising various NGOs, Nenad worked on bringing
two Cyprus communities closer through “Cyprus Youth TO-GEt-THERe” project creating and publishing first
Cyprus bi-lingual cooking book and organising intercultural festivals and art camps for young Greek-Cypriots
and Turkish-Cypriots. On international level he initiated various mobility schemes and events including
“Ethno Cyprus” youth music camps, Euro-Mediterranean Choral Fair “Choral Crossroads” in 2011 and 2013
and “Euro-Med Youth Music Expo” that moved hundreds of young musicians across borders and
established mechanisms for further project development among over hundred European and
Mediterranean youth & music organisations. Those projects resulted in the establishment of Euro-Arab
Youth Music Center between Jeunesses Musicales International, Arab Academy of Music (of the League of
Arab States) and the Cultural Movement "Epilogi".
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Nenad participated actively in a wide range of local NGO initiatives including Cyprus Youth Council, New
Cyprus Association, Anna Lindh Foundation (National Network) and Limassol Cultural Council, Union of
European Federalists and Initiative for Federal Cyprus. Nenad is a member of the team of Belgrade 2020,
European Capital of Culture Candidate City in charge for international collaboration. He participated as a
speaker and facilitator in a number of international conferences including "Music on Troubled Soils"
(Jerusalem, 2007), Euro-Arab Youth Music Forum (Amman, 2011), Euro-Mediterranean Youth Choral Forum
(Limassol, 2011), European Music Forum (Glasgow, 2013) and Anna Lindh Foundation Forum (Marseille,
2013).
Younès BOUMEHDI
Younès Boumedhi is the Chief Executive Officer of HIT RADIO. He holds a
degree in Marketing and Communications (Etudes Supérieures en Com-
munication et Marketing) from Paris. In 1992, he founded MediSystème, a
laboratory products retail company. In 1993, he submitted his first proposal
to create a private radio station in Morocco.
In 1996, he created IAM, working to promote and support young talent in
design and fashion. In 2006, he created HIT RADIO in Morocco. His radio
model was replicated in Belgium in 2009, Central Africa in 2012, and Gabon
and the Congo in 2013, and is planned to be launched in a dozen or so
countries in francophone Africa.
He founded a Paris association to promote young talent in 2005 and, in 2007, co-founded the Association
des Radios et Télévisions Indépendantes (ARTI; Association of independent radio and television
broadcasters), for which he is also the General Secretary.
He is a co-founder and the Vice-President of the association Marocains Pluriels, created in 2009. In 2013 he
became President of the foundation HIBA for the promotion of arts and culture in Morocco.
Sir Martin DAVIDSON KCMG
Martin Davidson took up the role as Chief Executive of the British Council in April
2007. Prior to the British Council he worked for the Hong Kong Government as an
Administrative Officer. He joined the British Council as Assistant Representative in
Beijing in 1984. Martin was responsible for opening the South China office in
Guangzhou in 1989 and returned to Beijing in 1995 as Director China. He speaks
both Cantonese and Mandarin. He has also held various posts in the British Council’s
London HQ with responsibilities covering South East Europe, the Middle East, East
Asia and the Americas.
Martin is married with 3 children. He is International trustee for Leonard Cheshire
Disability, a Governor of Goodenough College and Board Member of the Great Britain China Council.
Martin was awarded a KCMG in 2014 for his services to British cultural, scientific and educational interests
worldwide.
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Pavol DEMES
Pavol Demeš is an internationally recognised NGO leader based in Bratislava,
Slovakia. Prior to the "Velvet Revolution" in November 1989, M. Demeš was a
bio-medical researcher at Comenius University in Bratislava. He is a graduate of
the Charles University in Prague (1980). After the democratic changes in 1989
he served as the Executive Director of the Slovak Academic Information Agency-
Service Center for the Third Sector, a leading NGO in the country. He also served
as Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic (1993-97), and
in 1991-1992 he was the Slovak Minister of International Relations. From 2000
until September 2010 he was the Director for Central and Eastern Europe of the
German Marshall Fund of the United States. Now he is non-resident senior
fellow with the GMF US.
Pavol Demeš played a key role in the EU’s civil society development program (PHARE) in Slovakia and
democratization efforts in the Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries. In the last two years he visited
several Arab countries where he spoke on civil society issues.
Gijs de VRIES
Gijs de Vries has been the Leader of the Liberal and Democratic Group in the
European Parliament, a Senior Advisor to Secretary-General/High Representative
Javier Solana, and a Member of the European Court of Auditors. He is a former
member of the Government and Parliament of the Netherlands, and served as
the Dutch Government’s Representative in the European Convention. He was a
member of the Advisory Board of the European Cultural Foundation and a
founding member of the European Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author
of A Europe Open to Culture: Proposals for a European Strategy of Cultural
Diplomacy. He is currently on a sabbatical in Oxford, UK.
Johannes EBERT
1982 – 1988 Student of Islamic studies (Arabic, Persian, Turkish) and
Political Science in Freiburg im Breisgau
1984 – 1985 Year’s scholarship from the DAAD in Damascus to study
the Arabic language
1990 – 1991 Editorial traineeship at the newspaper
HeilbronnerStimme
1991 – 1993 Trained as a Goethe-Institut instructor in Munich,
Prien, Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire)
1993 – 1994 Goethe-Institutinstructor (teacher of German as a
foreign language) at the Goethe-Institut Prien
1994 – 1995 Language course consultant at the Goethe-Institut Riga (Latvia)
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1995 – 1997 Deputy head of the Public Relations division at the Munich head office of the Goethe-
Institut
1997 – 2002 Director of the Goethe-Institut Kiev (Ukraine)
2002 – 2007 Director of the Goethe-Institut Cairo/Alexandria (Egypt) and Goethe-Institut Regional
Director Middle East/North Africa
2007 – 2012 Director of the Goethe-Institut Moscow (Russia) and Goethe-Institut Regional Director
Eastern Europe/Central Asia
Since 1 March 2012 Secretary-General of the Goethe-Institut
Ahmed EL ATTAR
Ahmed El Attar, is an Egyptian independent theatre director,
translator and playwright.
He is the founder and artistic director of Orient Productions and the
Temple Independent Theatre Company. El Attar is also the founder
and General Manager of Studio Emad Eddin Foundation, and the
artistic director of D-CAF (Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival)
and the Falaki theatre in Cairo.
El Attar has a BA in Theatre from the American University in Cairo (1992) and an MA in Arts and Cultural
Management from Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle (2001) and is a Chevening scholar and a Clore Leadership
Programme alumni (UK- 2009), a CEC Artslink resident (USA – 2013) and has received the pioneers of Egypt
award in November 2013 from Synergos foundation (USA).
El Attar’s theatre work has been performed in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Sweden, Portugal, Germany,
Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, the United Kingdom and the UAE. El
Attar is currently preparing ‘The Last Supper’ which deals with the apathy of the Egyptian & Arab
bourgeoisie and is scheduled to open in Cairo in April 2014.
El Attar has been chosen by the Arabic edition of Newsweek (26/4/05) as one of 42 personalities who
influence change in the Arab world. In January 2010, El Attar received the prize for best theatre text from
the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development for his play ‘Life is beautiful or waiting for my uncle from
America’.
Birgitta ENGLIN
1999 she started the “Electra” project, a youth and performing arts agency
negotiating intersectional antagonism and society.
2005-2013 as CEO of Riksteatern, one of the world’s largest touring theatre, she
achieved global outreach and glocal relevance through enhanced R&D and long
term interactions with NGO:s and the diaspora.
2004 Appointed by the government, Chairman of the National Arts Equality
Committee and in 2007 member of National Arts Policy committee.
2014 Senior Adviser Global Utmaning (Global Challenge) a think tank.
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Rod FISHER
Rod Fisher is the Director of International Intelligence on Culture, the consultancy
he founded, and an Associate Lecturer on European cultural policies at Goldsmiths,
University of London. He was the Director of the European Cultural Foundation UK
Committee (2002-2012), a Visiting Lecturer on European /international cultural
policies at City University, London (1984-2007) and worked for the Arts Council of
Great Britain for a number of years, as well as in cultural programming and
management in city governments. Fisher co-founded the cultural research network
CIRCLE (Chairman 1985-1994) and chaired the European Task Force that produced
In From the Margins, a report for the Council of Europe on the state of cultural
development in Europe (1995-96) and the expert group evaluating cultural policy in Finland (1994). He has
undertaken research, lectured and addressed conferences in more than 30 countries worldwide. Aside
from comparative cultural policies, his research interests include cultural diplomacy/relations, e.g. whether
there has been a paradigm shift in the cultural relations policies of EU Member States (2009 and since
updated), programmes supporting the international mobility of artists (ERICarts 2008) and the
skills/training needed for managing transnational cultural projects (Fondation Marcel Hicter 2007). His
report A Cultural Dimension to the EU’s External Policies for ECF was published by Boekmanstichting (2007).
A book on the EU and culture is underway. He has enjoyed a lifelong fascination with the culture, religions
and history of Asia.
Rod considers that working as an independent expert on the Preparatory Action on Culture in External
Relations has been stimulating, even if it has aged him considerably!
Naomi BLOCH FORTIS
Naomi Bloch Fortis who now serves as the Executive Director of the Jerusalem
Season of Culture (JSOC), has played a leading role in its success since its
inception in 2010. She joined JSOC after completing a twenty-year tenure with
the Bathsheba Dance Company, the last decade of which she served as
Executive Director and Co-Artistic Director. Prior to this, Naomi was a dancer
and dance teacher. She also served as an advisor to the Israel Festival-
Jerusalem, and is currently a board member of the Sam Spiegel Film School,
the National Sal Tarbut Advisory Board (which allocates cultural funding
nationally), as well as other organizations and artistic initiatives throughout
Israel. In addition, for the last four years she has served as the Professional
Director (together with Prof. Orly Yehezkel), of Tel Aviv University’s Lahav Art and Culture Management
Program.
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Manuela GOYA
Manuela Goya is Secretary-General of the Montreal, Cultural Metropolis Steering
Committee, a unique alliance of business and cultural communities and public
authorities, which places art and culture at the heart of Montreal’s development
and international standing. The goal of the Steering Committee’s work is to
promote and support continuous research, exchanges and projects and to enable
the culture and art of Montreal to achieve its full potential, to evolve and to play a
key role in furthering Montreal’s international reach and influence.
Convinced that the cultural community must increase its alliances with all the major
forces of society, she is building bridges between a variety of partners, such as
universities, consular staff and international organisations in Montreal, in order to make culture a vehicle
and a driver for multi-faceted development. Her concerns and commitment reflect the major
transformations going on worldwide at a time when more than half of the world’s population lives in urban
areas and when cities have a strategic role to play on the cultural front as well as on the social and
economic front.
Using her experience gained with the Ministry of Finance of Quebec and her work with disadvantaged
communities in Africa, she is influencing policies that aim to foster the community-building potential of arts
and culture, throughout the world, with the conviction that culture has a critical role to play in relations
between cities.
Damien HELLY
Damien Helly has been a specialist on the cultural dimensions of the
external action of the European Union since 2006, which saw his first
collaboration with Robert Palmer. He is currently policy officer for EU's
external action at the European Centre for Development Policy
Management (ECDPM) and visiting professor at the College of Europe,
Bruges on EU's diplomacy, security and defence. In 2012, while he was
Senior Research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security
Studies (EUISS), he published More Cutlural Europe in the World, a
groundbreaking monograph linking policy analysis and practical recommendations on EU's external cultural
relations, with the support of More Europe. He also called for the creation of a European worldwide
cultural radio service. Damien holds a PhD in political science from Sciences Po, Paris and has published
extensively on the EU's external action.
Péter INKEI
Péter Inkei is the Director of the Budapest Observatory: Regional Observatory
on Financing Culture in East-Central Europe. He has done consultancy in
various fields of cultural policy, among others for the Council of Europe and
the European Commission, is author of the Hungarian entry of the
Compendium of cultural policies, and has been a speaker at various
international conferences. Previously, he held various positions in the civil
service, including deputy state secretary for culture. Péter Inkei has also
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worked in publishing – with Central European University Press – and was Founding Director of the Budapest
International Book Festival in 1994.
Yudhishthir RAJ ISAR
Yudhishthir Raj Isar is an analyst, public speaker and consultant who straddles
different worlds of cultural theory, experience and practice. Professor of Cultural
Policy Studies at The American University of Paris (in 2003-2008 he was a Jean
Monnet Professor) and Eminent Research Visitor with the Institute for Culture
and Society at the University of Western Sydney, Australia (2011-2013). With
Helmut Anheier, he was the founding co-editor of the Cultures and Globalization
Series (SAGE). He is a past President of the European arts and culture advocacy
platform Culture Action Europe. He recently served as the coordinating editor of
the forthcoming UN Creative Economy Report 2013: Widening Local
Development Pathways. Earlier, at UNESCO he was Executive Secretary of the
World Commission on Culture and Development and Director of the
International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. In 1986-87, he was executive
director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, the Sorbonne and the Ecole des Hautes
Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris.
Andre LE ROUX
Andre Le Roux is the Managing Director of the Southern African Music Rights
Organization (SAMRO) Foundation; Chairman of the Arterial Network of South Africa
and Deputy Chairman of Music in Africa. Currently he serves as a board member of
the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival and Business & Arts South Africa. In the past
he was among others chairman of the Moshito Music Conference & Exhibition 2009-
2011 and the South African Coalition for Cultural Diversity and served on the board
of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. Andre worked as
an arts administrator for more than 20 years at local, national and international
level. His experience ranges from grassroots level on the Cape Flats in the Western
Cape, to provincial level for the Eastern Cape Government, National and
International level for the National Department of Arts & Culture and the National Arts Council. He has a
passion for the arts, influencing cultural policy and growing strong cultural institutions.
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Morten LØKKEGAARD
Morten Løkkegaard, born December 20th 1964, is a MEP representing Denmark in
the Group of the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).
In 2009 Morten Lokkegaard was first time elected for the European Parliament,
representing the Danish Liberal party, (Venstre). In the European Parliament,
Morten Løkkegaard is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education
(CULT) as well as a substitute in the Committee on the Internal Market and
Consumer Protection (IMCO).
In 2005, Morten Løkkegaard founded a communication consultancy firm where
he, as the owner, provides communication advisory tasks and performs the task
as moderator at political debates and conferences.
In the Danish public Morten Løkkegaard is known as Mr. News from 12 years of experience working as a
Journalist and anchorman on national TV in Denmark.
Frédéric MARTEL
Frédéric Martel is a senior researcher and journalist. He has a PhD in Sociology and
four master degrees in law, political science, philosophy, and sociology. He has been
visiting scholar at Harvard and taught at Sciences Po Paris and at the HEC's MBA.
He is the author of seven books, including On Culture in America (Gallimard, 2006)
and the best-seller Mainstream : On the Global War on Culture and Medias
(Flammarion, 2010, translated in twenty countries).
As a journalist, Frédéric Martel is the anchor of the weekly radio program « Soft
Power » on French National Public Radio (France Culture/Radio France). He has a
weekly segment on “ideas & debates” on France Info (24 h. info channel of Radio France). And he is the
editor of the book review site nonfiction.fr. He is currently a senior researcher at IRIS, the Institute of
International Relations (Paris).
Mary McCARTHY
Mary McCarthy is Director of the National Sculpture Factory in Cork, Ireland.
Previously, Mary held the roles of Executive Arts Manager for Dublin Docklands
Development Authority, Deputy Director and Programme Director at Cork 2005:
European Capital of Culture as well as Programme Manager of the Artist Work
Programme at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. She has also worked in
commercial galleries in New York and Dublin.
Mary currently sits on the Boards of The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)
and the Cork International Film Festival as well as being an expert advisor for Culture Ireland, Ireland‟s
state agency to promote Irish arts abroad. She has also acted as an expert panel member for the selection
of European Capitals of Culture for the European Commission and has acted as an advisor to bidding Capital
of Culture cities, and she has acted as a conference moderator at various international events.
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Nina OBULJEN KORŽINEK
Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Ph.D. works as a researcher at the Institute for
Development and International Relations in Zagreb. Former State Secretary
(2008-2011) and former Assistant Minister (2006-2008) at the Croatian
Ministry of Culture, graduated from the Academy of Music and Faculty of
Arts of the University of Zagreb. She holds a master’s degree and a
doctorate in Political Science from the University of Zagreb. Before joining
the Institute for Development and International Relations she worked at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and UNESCO, Paris. As
State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, she was responsible for the sectors of arts, culture and media.
She was a member of the negotiating team for the Croatian accession to the EU responsible for the fields of
culture and education as well as information society and media.
In 2004 she received the European Cultural Policy Research Award for her research on the impact of the EU
enlargement on cultural policies which was published in the book Why we need European Cultural Policies:
impact of EU enlargement on countries in transition, Amsterdam, 2006.
Since November 2012 Nina Obuljen Koržinek has been appointed the chairperson of the Programme
Council of the Croatian Radio and Television. She was head of the Croatian delegation for negotiations on
the UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions (2004-
2005) and Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention (2010). Former member of
the Steering Committee of the International Network for Cultural Diversity Nina Obuljen cooperates with a
number of Croatian and European networks and NGOs.
Sana OUCHTATI
Sana Ouchtati graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven,
Belgium with a Master Degree in European Union policies. She also
has a Master degree in International Relations and business
administration from the High Institute of Commercial Studies in
Brussels. Since 2001, she worked at the European Institutions in
Brussels mainly on trade multilateral and bilateral agreements with
third countries. She has also been responsible for the cultural
dimension of the EU external relations mainly with ACP countries,
Neighborhood countries and Emerging countries. She has a thorough knowledge of the culture field,
international relations as well as EU processes, policies and instruments dedicated to external relations,
culture and intercultural dialogue. She has a 3 years field experience and thorough knowledge of EU
Neighborhood countries, mainly Southern Mediterranean. As an independent consultant, she is steering
two important initiatives dedicated to external culture relations. She is the Director of More Europe-
external culture relations- since 2011. She is also the project manager of the Preparatory Action-Culture in
EU External Relations.
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Paweł POTOROCZYN
Diplomat and culture manager, film and music producer, publisher. Director of
the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw since 2008. Holds an MA in
philosophy from the University of Warsaw, where he also read history. He
began his career in public service in 1992 as President of the Polish Information
Agency. Started his diplomatic service in 1995 as Cultural Consul at the
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles. Founding director
of the Polish Cultural Institute in New York in 2000, then director of the Polish
Cultural Institute in London from 2005. Published extensively in periodicals
including Rzeczpospolita, Poland’s second-largest daily newspaper, and the
magazines Tygodnik Powszechny and Brief. In 2013 he published a novel Ludzka
rzecz (To Err Is Human).
Miguel Ángel MARTÍN RAMOS
Miguel Ángel Martín Ramos is counsellor in European, cultural and social affairs
for the European Academy of Yuste Foundation and its Delegate in Brussels
before the EU. He is also responsible for cultural, education, youth, equal
opportunities and social policies in the Office of Extremadura in Brussels since
2000. Since 2006 he is a member of the Administration Board of the
International Jean Monnet Association. Since 2009 he chairs the Working Group
on Language Diversity and Social Inclusion at the European Platform of the Civil
Society to Promote Multilingualism. Since July 2011 he is the spokesperson of
the European Access to Culture Platform. Since May 2012 he is Honour Founder
Member of the European Institute Jean Monnet in México and since November 2012 a member of the
Strategic Group of the Initiative ‘A Soul for Europe’.
Ferdinand RICHARD
Ferdinand Richard is the current foundator and director of A.M.I, the National Centre
for the Development of Contemporary Musics. As a development platform, A.M.I
offers various training workshops, artist residences, and serves as an incubator for
cultural micro-business.
In 1992 he founded the Friche-Belle-de-Mai, a former industrial site that hosts today
about 70 different cultural structures, and is now a board member. In 2005 he joined
the Roberto Cimetta Fund supporting mobility for artists and cultural operators in the
Euro-Arab dimension, and became its chairman in 2009. From 1996 to 1999 he was
President of the “European Forum for the Arts and Heritage” (now Culture Action
Europe) and became one of its board member. He participated to the Anna Lindh Foundation French
network as a steering comitee member (2006-2008), was President of Gondwana, a regional federation for
an african arts biennale in Marseilles, and President of “Medinma”, the first Mediterranean music market
held in Marseilles, now called “Bab-el-Med” (1998-1999).
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Oussama RIFAHI
Oussama Rifahi joined the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture as Executive Director in
July 2010. Previously, he was Managing Director for Museum Development in New
York with Global Cultural Asset Management, and provided cultural consultancy
services to governments, cities, foundations and private collectors in Europe, the
Middle East and Central Asia. As Director of Special Projects for the Guggenheim
Foundation, Rifahi led feasibility studies of modern and contemporary museums in
Lithuania and France in 2007. From 2003 to 2006, he was project manager at
Mubadala in Abu Dhabi and an advisor to the chairman of TDIC. Rifahi directed the
market analysis, strategy definition and development of the business model for
tourism and culture in Abu Dhabi and supported the first architectural
developments on the cultural district of Saadiyat Island, as well as the initial negotiations between Abu
Dhabi and the Louvre and Guggenheim museums.
François RIVASSEAU
Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to
the United States
François Rivasseau was appointed Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the
United States in April 2011. Prior to joining the Delegation, he served from 2007
until 2011 as the Deputy Head of the French Embassy to the United States.
Mr. Rivasseau has spent much of his career working on disarmament, security,
and multilateral affairs. Following an early tour at the French Embassy in
Colombia (1986-1989), he served as the head of the NATO desk in the Strategic Affairs and Disarmament
department at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1993, Mr. Rivasseau became the head of political affairs at the Ministry's United Nations Directorate.
Two years later, he moved to Geneva to serve as the Deputy Permanent Representative at the French
Mission to the Conference on Disarmament. During his time in Switzerland, he took part in negotiations
over the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Ottawa Convention banning land mines.
In 1998, Mr. Rivasseau was appointed the Deputy Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary for Information
and Communication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; he was promoted to Spokesperson two years later.
In 2003, Mr. Rivasseau returned to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva as the Ambassador and
Permanent Representative of France, where he chaired the Geneva Forum. In 2006, he was elected for a
year president of the Third Review Conference on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which
restricts the use of inhumane armaments such as mines, lasers, and incendiary weapons. He also served for
five years (2009-2013) as a Member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament of the UN Secretary-General.
A native of Bordeaux (1954), Mr. Rivasseau holds degrees from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Bordeaux
and University of Bordeaux III, as well as a Ph.D. in law from the University of Bordeaux I. He studied at the
prestigious École Nationale d’Administration in Paris, France (1979-1981) and served as a as an
administrative court counsellor in Poitiers and Bordeaux (1981-1986).
Mr. Rivasseau has been honoured with the Chevalier of the French Order of the Legion of Honour, the
Officer of the French Order of Merit and the Chevalier of the German Order of Merit (2nd degree).
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Patricia FERNÁNDEZ ROBINSON
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico on May 31, 1980. After graduating with a bachelor's
degree in International Relations from ITESM in 2003, she enrolled in a graduate
program specializing in the integration of the European Union offered jointly by
ITAM in Mexico and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She has studied
more than fifteen Institutional certificate courses in specialized topics related to
different fields such as: arts and cultural management, cultural promotion,
cultural heritage, public policy, cultural economics and cultural industries. She
has thirteen years of experience in the field of International Relations and ten in
the cultural sector. More specifically, her areas of expertise are cultural
diplomacy, international cultural cooperation, arts and cultural management.
Since 2010, she is the Director of International Cultural Cooperation in the National Council for Culture and
the Arts.
Alain RUCHE
Bor A. Ruche studied economics, pedagogy and international relations. He
started his professional career in Latin America and Africa with the UN and the
World Bank, and then worked on research at various universities. In the late
80's he joined the EU as the Representative in Haiti and Dominican Republic,
followed by postings in several EU delegations : Morocco, Bangladesh,
Argentina and Nicaragua, being in charge alternatively of development, trade,
economic, information and political files. Coming back to EU headquarters in
2005, he focused on Asia. Since 2010 A. Ruche has been working directly for
the Secretary General of the EU External Service, tasked to think out of the box
for strategic and policy making purpose. He recently joined the Office of the SG
as a senior adviser on cultural matters. A. Ruche is a fellow and also the connector in Brussels of the UK
Royal Society of Arts. He is also a fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar and a Global Ambassador of the Kosmos
Journal. He is an active practitioner of participatory leadership techniques using collective intelligence.
Zaza RUSADZE
Zaza Rusadze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1977. Rusadze worked for the
Georgian State TV for several years. In 1996 he was accepted at the film school
HFF "Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam in directing class and moved to Germany. During
his study Zaza has worked as News Cutter for German TV Channels and as a
translator for the Film Festivals in Berlin, Leipzig and Cottbus. In 2003 Zaza
Rusadze received his degree in directing. Zaza worked as assistant director on film
sets of Ineke Smits, Dito Tsintsadze and Otar Ioseliani. In 2007 Rusadze founded
the Film Production and Distribution Company Zazarfilm in Tbilisi and splits his
time between Europe and Georgia since. Rusadze’s feature length directorial
debut A Fold in My Blanket world--‐premiered at Berlin International Film Festival
as Panorama Opening Film in 2013.
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Ihor SAVCHAK
Founder and Head of the Board of the Centre for Cultural Management (Lviv,
Ukraine), Coordinator of the Subgroup Culture of the Eastern Partnership Civil
Society Forum.
He explores and initiates projects that can catalyze positive cultural changes in
Ukraine on the individual, organizational and societal levels.
Marietje SCHAAKE
Marietje Schaake (Twitter: @MarietjeD66) is a Member of the European
Parliament with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political
group. She serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she focuses on
neighbourhood policy, Turkey in particular; human rights, with a specific focus on
freedom of expression, internet freedom, press freedom; and Iran. In the
Committee on Culture, Media, Education, Youth and Sports she works on Europe’s
Digital Agenda and the role of culture and new media in the EU’s external actions.
In the Committee on International Trade she focuses on intellectual property
rights, the free flow of information and the relation between trade and foreign
affairs.
Marietje is a member of the delegation for relations with the United States and a substitute member on the
delegations with Iran and the Western Balkan countries. She is also a founder of the European Parliament
Intergroup on New Media and Technology. Marietje is a Member of the European Council on Foreign
Relations and vice-president of the supervisory board of Free Press Unlimited.
Before joining the European Parliament, she worked as an independent advisor to governments, diplomats,
businesses and NGO’s, on issues of transatlantic relations, diversity and pluralism, civil and human rights.
H.E. Ambassador Cynthia P. SCHNEIDER, PhD
Cynthia P. Schneider, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of
Diplomacy at Georgetown University, teaches, publishes, and
organizes initiatives in the field of cultural diplomacy, with a focus on
relations with the Muslim world.
She co-directs Los Angeles-based MOST Resource (Muslims on Screen
and Television), which provides valuable resources and accurate
information on Islam and Muslims for the U.S. entertainment
community, and brings together policy leaders with their counterparts in media and entertainment.
For the Brookings Institution, where she is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Dr. Schneider leads the Arts and
Culture Dialogue Initiative within the Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
Professor Schneider teaches courses in Diplomacy and Culture in the School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown University, where, from1984-2005, she was a member of the art history faculty, and published
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on Rembrandt and seventeenth century Dutch art. Together with Derek Goldman, Artistic Director of the
Davis Performing Arts Center and Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Georgetown, she co-
directs the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics.
Ambassador Schneider also teaches Diplomacy and Diplomacy and Culture at Dubrovnik International
University; and the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin.
Dr. Schneider publishes and speaks frequently on topics related to arts, culture, and media and
international affairs, particularly the Muslim world. Her writings range from blogs for the Huffington Post
and CNN.com to policy papers for the Brookings Institution. Her talks include a TED presentation on the
global impact of American Idol, as well as speeches on the role of arts and culture in the U.S.–Islamic world
relationship in venues from Lahore to Los Angeles.
From 1998-2001 she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, during which time she led initiatives in
cultural diplomacy, biotechnology, cyber security, and education.
Dr. Schneider has a PhD and BA from Harvard University. She serves on multiple Boards of Directors and
Advisory Boards, including Wesley Theological Seminary, PRE (American Board of the Peace Research
Institute of Oslo), and the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Berlin).
MirjamSCHNEIDER
Dr. Mirjam Schneider is a free-lance journalist, editor and writer with a focus on
German foreign cultural policies and international cultural relations. She was a
research and teaching assistant in comparative literature at the University of
Tübingen, Germany, and coordinator of the research program 'culture and foreign
policy' at ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Stuttgart, related to Germany’s
foreign cultural and educational policy. She cooperated at the ‚Preparatory Action:
Culture in EU’s external relations’ as a junior expert.
Isabelle SCHWARZ
Isabelle Schwarz is Head of Advocacy, Research and Development at the
European Cultural Foundation (ECF) in Amsterdam, Europe’s only
independent, pan-European cultural foundation. Previously, she worked
with the World Commission on Culture and Development (UN/UNESCO)
that published “Our Creative Diversity” (1995), Council of Europe, Ministry
of Culture of France, and several NGOs in Brussels, London, Paris, and
Copenhagen. Her special interests lie with international cultural relations
and cooperation, as well as EU cultural policy development.
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Andrew Senior
Andrew Senior established the Creative Industries Unit (CIU) at the British Council in
1999. Working with a small team, he began to build the Unit’s profile within the
British Council (as part of Arts Group) and within the context of the Department for
Culture, Media & Sports Creative Industries Export Promotion Advisory Group
(CIEPAG). Over the next decade, working closely with colleagues in the art form
departments and internationally, Andrew drove the strategic development of the
creative economy agenda within the British Council. In 2008 it became one of the
three principal platforms of the British Council activity.
Andrew left the British Council in 2010 to set up Andrew Senior Associates Ltd (ASA).
Yolanda SMITS
Yolanda Smits is the Director of International Affairs of KEA, a an international
strategic consultancy and research center providing advice, support and research in
relation to creative industries, culture, entertainment, media and sport sectors. She
has more than 25 years of experience in dealing with European affairs and
international trade. She is specialized in IP legislation and international trade.
Yolanda has an extensive expertise in running public affairs campaigns as well as
carrying out EU wide research projects and cooperation programmes funded by the
EU.
At KEA she has been involved in various international projects dealing with the cultural sector such as: 1)
mapping the EU and Chinese culture and creative industries to foster business cooperation and the use of
IP licensing agreements); 2) implementation of the cultural provisions of the EU-Cariforum EPA; and 3) EU-
South Africa trade in culture and creative industries. She is also one of the authors of the study that was
recently prepared for the EP on “Contractual Arrangements applicable to Creators”.
Currently Yolanda is a member and expert of the consortium lead By Goethe of the EC Preparatory Action
for Culture in External Relations as well as the European partner of an ACP project in Jamaica and Trinidad
& Tobago on improving business skills and the internationalization of creative entrepreneurs.
She worked over eleven years for the music industry (IFPI) in Brussels. She was the senior trade advisor
and represented the interests of the four major sound recording companies (Universal Music, EMI,
SonyBMG, Warner Music) in front of the EU institutions. She was responsible among others for lobbying
the European Commission to ensure it puts political pressure on third countries such as China and Russia
to improve their copyright legislation and introduce measures to fight piracy. Prior to that she worked for
the Spanish Employers' Confederation (CEOE) in Madrid and set up the Open Line project to identify
obstacles Spanish companies were facing in the Internal Market and ran a number of Al-Invest projects in
Brazil. Yolanda started her career as the Deputy Secretary General of the European retail trade association
in Brussels (now called Eurocommerce). She graduated in law from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, has
a Master in European Law from the College of Europe in Bruges as well as a Master in copyright from
King´s College in London.
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Pooja SOOD
Pooja Sood is the founding member and Director of Khoj International Artists’
Association, an autonomous, artists’ led registered society aimed at promoting
intercultural understanding through experimentation and exchange. As a founding
member of Khoj she coordinated the KHOJ International artist’s workshop in Delhi
from 1998-2001, facilitated the workshops in Bangalore 2002-2003, in Mumbai 2005,
Kolkata 2006 and Srinagar 2007, Patna 2009 and Dharmashala 2012. In New Delhi,
she has developed a radical space for alternative art practice at the KHOJ studios,
which runs workshops, international residency programmes and diverse projects. She
has raised funding for the development of a pilot national network for the arts based
on the KHOJ model.
Pooja Sood was the Regional Coordinator (2000-2011) of the international artists’ network facilitated by
the Triangle Arts Trust, UK. Starting in 2000, she has researched and facilitated the establishment of
organizsations in the region (Vasl Arts Trust in Pakistan, Britto Arts Trust in Bangladesh, Sutra in Nepal,
Teertha in Sri Lanka) thereby developing a south Asian network for the arts. She has raised funding from
the Ford Foundation to develop a communications network and a presence of south Asian art on the
internet. She organised the first ever seminar-workshop on contemporary art from South Asia in New Delhi
in 2001.
As an independent curator, her recent works included the opening exhibition Connecting Unfolding for the
new Korean National Museum of Modern and Contemporary art, Seoul (2013), along with 5 other curators.
Pooja Sood has spoken and participated in various forums on Indian contemporary art, art management
and South Asian art in India and abroad. Recently, she has made presentations at the World Art Summit for
art and culture in Melbourne (October 2011), The Summer World Art Forum in Tianjin (2010 ), the ASEM
workshop on enhancing ASEM visibility through cultural activities , Vietnam (April 2010) and at the Tate
Britain ( Feb09).
She is the editor of The KHOJ BOOK: 1997-2007 contemporary art practice in India, published by Harper
Collins in 2010. She is currently working on editing a book on the 48c. Public Art. Ecology project and one
on the South Asian Network for the Arts ( SANA) due to be released in Dhaka in Feb 2014.
Sood has an MA in Art History( 1990-92) From Punjab University, Chandigarh; an MBA in Marketing (1984-
86) from the Symbiosis Institute Of Business Management, Pune.
Corina ŞUTEU
Corina Şuteu is president of FilmETC ( New York-Bucharest) and Making
Waves Film Festival NY and former Director of the Romanian Cultural
Institute in New York.
Prior to this, she worked in France, as head of the Masters Degree in
European Cultural Management of the Dijon Business School. She initiated in
1995 the first regional (Eastern European) MA in cultural management – the
ECUMEST program.
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She acted for four years as President of the European Forum of Cultural Networks and was a board member
of IETM and ENCATC. She was president of the EUNIC cluster in New York and initiated , developed and
coordinated more than 100 events each year for six consecutive years in the US on behalf or RCINY. Corina
Suteu is also a founder of the ECUMEST Association and was co-initiator, together with the European
Cultural Foundation(Amsterdam), of the Policies for Culture program. In Romania, she served as Director of
UNITER – the Theatre Union of Romania and of Theatrum Mundi in Bucharest.
She has worked internationally extensively, as a diplomat, trainer, independent consultant and researcher
in the fields of cultural cooperation and cultural management and comparative cultural policies in Europe.
She has been involved in many international activities as cultural mediator and senior expert ( for the
Council of Europe, UNESCO, various EU programmes , The European Cultural Foundation, Boekman
Foundation, Soros Foundation network, Interarts Observatory, etc).
She lectured, among others, for the IEP Lyon (DRECI), Observatoire des Politiques Culturelles et IEP
Grenoble, Paris VIII, College of Europe in Bruges, Salzburg Seminar, MA of Cultural management and
cultural policy in the Balkans of the University of Arts in Belgrade and various European networks.
Shima TAL
Shima Tal is a consultant at Greater Amman Municipality, in charge of cultural and
artistic events among GAM and embassies and foreign cultural centers. She
strongly believes that culture and arts are the fundamental basis of development
of any nation, besides exposures to different cultures enrich the local ones.
Sana TAMZINI
Sana Tamzini lives and works in Tunis. She is an artist, and has taught at the Tunis
École Supérieure des Sciences et Technologies du Design (School of design science
and technology) since 2003. She has been Director of the Ministry of Culture’s
Centre National d’Art Vivant (National centre for the performing arts) in Tunis since
2011. She also works as an exhibition curator and designer and is an activist in the
Tunisian cultural scene. She is the elected President of FACT 2014-2015 (Forum des
Associations Culturelles en Tunisie; Forum of cultural associations in Tunisia) under
the aegis of UNESCO.
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Jan TRUSZCZYŃSKI
Director General for Education, Training, Culture and Youth.
Jan Truszczyński has been Director-General of the European Commission's
Directorate-General for Education and Culture since May 2010, when he
came from the position as Deputy Director-General in the same Directorate-
General.
He joined the European Commission in January 2007, when he was
appointed Deputy Director-General for Enlargement, with responsibility for enlargement strategy and
communication.
From 2001 to 2005 Mr Truszczyński worked in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first Undersecretary of
State, then Secretary of State. In this capacity, he was Poland's chief negotiator during its EU accession
negotiations.
Prior to that, Mr Truszczyński was Ambassador of Poland to the EU in Brussels from 1996 to 2001.
Androulla VASSILIOU
Androulla Vassiliou is currently European Commissioner for Education,
Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
Previously, she served as Commissioner for Health, from February 2008 to
end 2009.
Ms Vassiliou studied law and international affairs in London and practiced
law in Cyprus for 20 years (1968-1988). During this period she acted as legal
advisor to The Standard Chartered Bank and, later, to the Bank of Cyprus.
Before her appointment to the European Commission, Ms Vassiliou was actively involved in politics in her
home country, Cyprus. She was twice elected to the Cypriot House of Representatives: in 1996 and 2001 –
representing the Movement of United Democrats (affiliated to the European Liberal Democrats and Reform
Party ELDR).
As a Cypriot parliamentarian, she was an active member of the European Affairs Committee and
represented the Cyprus Parliament to the Convention for the future of Europe as an alternate member.
Androulla Vassiliou was active in the field of international affairs and human rights as a President of the UN
Association of Cyprus from 1978 until 1992 and as President of the World Federation of UN Associations
from 1991 until 1995. She was unanimously elected Honorary President of the World Federation at the end
of her term. Ms Vassiliou was also President of the Cyprus Federation of Business and Professional Women
from 1996 until 2000, Vice-President of the ELDR and chairperson of the European Liberal Women's
Network (2001-2006). From 2002 to 2008 she chaired the Board of Trustees of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology
centre in Cyprus.
Commissioner Vassiliou is married to Dr George Vassiliou, former Cypriot President and Chief Negotiator
for Cyprus' accession to the EU.
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Pierre VIMONT
Pierre Vimont is the Executive Secretary General of the European External Action
Service (EEAS), since December 2010, when the EEAS began operation.
Prior to that, Mr. Vimont was the Ambassador of France to the United States from
August 1, 2007. Between 2002 and 2007, Pierre Vimont was chief of staff to the
minister of Foreign Affairs. He was previously Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of France to the European Union from 1999 to 2002.
Mr. Vimont joined the French Foreign Service in 1977. He was first posted to
London where he was first secretary from 1978 to 1981. He then spent the next
four years with the Press and Information Office at the Quai d’Orsay. From 1985 to 1986 he was seconded
to the Institute for East-West Security in New York. Returning to Europe, he served as second counselor
with the Permanent Representation of France to the European Communities in Brussels (1986-1990), and
was subsequently chief of staff to the minister delegate for European affairs from 1990 to 1993. He went
on to serve as director for development and scientific, technical and educational cooperation and then for
cultural, scientific and technical relations. He was deputy director general of the entire Cultural, Scientific
and Technical Relations Department from 1996 to 1997 and then director of European Cooperation from
1997 to 1999.
Born in 1949, Pierre Vimont holds a degree in law and is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies
(Paris) and the National School of Administration (ENA).
Gottfried WAGNER
Gottfried Wagner works as an ad hoc expert to the Preparatory Action “Culture in EU
External Relations”, and in his main occupation as civil servant for the Austrian Federal
Ministry of Education and Woman’s Affairs as special envoy in the international
department.
Gottfried Wagner has worked for the private non-profit sector and the public sector, in
national and transnational organisations and institutions, in education and culture. He
was director of the European Cultural Foundation from 2002 until 2009. Formerly he
was director of KulturKontakt Austria, a non-profit association for educational and
cultural cooperation with Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe. He has been a member of selection
committees for the European Capital of Culture scheme and various European expert groups.
As director of the European Cultural Foundation he initiated a research and action programme on Culture
in European External Relations that led to a series of conferences, publications and policy gatherings in
cooperation with a long range of partners.
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Ting XU
Since 2010, Ting Xu is the Director for Communication and Cooperation at the
Shenzhen Creative Culture Center (Guangdong, China). He maintains the daily
communication with UNESCO and other members of Creative Cities Network;
manages cooperative cultural projects between Shenzhen and other cities; explores
for cultural cooperation and partnership; and promotes Shenzhen creative industries
internationally. Prior to this, Ting Xu was and editor for international and national
news at the Shenzhen Press Group. Since 2013, he is the Chair for the Statute and
Regulation Drafting Group of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (CCN) since 2013. He was the Chair of
the Working Group of CCN from 2012 to 2013 and a member of a sub-committee between 2011 and 2012.
Ting Xu holds an MBA and a Master of Management of Information System from Georgia College & State
University (USA).
Karsten XUEREB
Dr Karsten Xuereb (1978, Malta) is Executive Director for the Valletta 2018 Foundation
which is responsible for Valletta’s preparations as European Capital of Culture in 2018.
He was previously responsible for culture at the Permanent Representation of Malta to
the EU in Brussels. He holds a Doctorate in cultural relations in the Mediterranean from
the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona and a Master’s degree in European Cultural
Policy & Management from the University of Warwick where he studied as a Chevening
Scholar. He is a member of the Maltese cultural organisation Inizjamed, whom he
represents on the Board of the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the
Mediterranean, a fellow of the U40 Network “Cultural Diversity 2030” established by the German
Commission for UNESCO, and part of the Diplomatic Cultures Research Network.