Biographies
Maria Berrini
Chairperson of Ambiente Italia Research Institute
Maria Berrini has been a consultant and researcher in the field of environmental and territorial planning for over 20 years. She is President of Ambiente Italia since its foundation, and has developed over 100 projects for the organisation.
She has been member of the Order of Architects of the Province of Milan since 1996. She was part of the Working Group "Experts on Urban Environment" onset up by the European Commission, for the last 10 years. Additionally, she has coordinated or been part of several working groups and European projects on urban indicators, integrated environmental management, and local sustainability, on behalf of DG Research and DG Environment and under the initiatives of the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign.
Jean-Louis Borloo
Minister of the Environment, Energy, Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning, France
Jean-Louis Borloo began his career as a lawyer in the 1980s. He was a founding member of Ecology Generation in 1990, but went on to join different political parities, before becoming President of the Radical Party in 2007.
He was Minister of the City and Urban Renewal between 2002 and 2004, Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Cohesion under Raffarin between 2004 and 2005 and finally Minister for Employment, Social Cohesion and Housing in the government between 2005 and 2007. Since 19 June 2007, he has been the French Minister of State for Energy, Ecology and Sustainable Development. In this capacity, he was a major player in the 2007-2008 Grenelle de l'environnement.
Mercedes Bresso
President of the Committee of the Regions; President of the Piemont Region, Italy
President of the Piedmont Region, Mercedes Bresso is the first woman to serve in this capacity. Between 1995 and 2004, she was the Chairperson of the Turin Province Council, and, a Member of Regional Council (1985–1995) and of the Regional Executive (1994–1995) with responsibility for regional planning in Piedmont.
She was both Chairperson of the World Federation of United Cities between and President of the Network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas (METREX) between 2000 and 2004, and was founding Chairperson of the Organisation des Cités et Gouvernements locaux Unis in 2004-2005.
She was a member of the Committee of the Regions and its Bureau 1998–2004, and in February 2010, Mercedes Bresso was elected President of the EU Committee of the Regions.
Jeb Brugmann
Urban Strategy Expert; Innovation Consultant; author
Jeb Brugmann is a leading practitioner and thinker on strategy and the process of innovation. For 25 years he has been devising solutions to help local communities access the benefits of globalization, and to help global organizations engage in local communities and markets. His work focuses particularly on the critical contribution of innovation at the micro-level of the locality, business model, or consumer cluster to achieve macro-level strategy objectives.
As the founder and chief executive of major international organizations and programs (including founding ICLEI secretary general from 1990-2000), as a social entrepreneur and for-profit private sector entrepreneur, and as founding partner of the innovation consulting firm, The Next Practice, he has worked on the ground in scores of cities and rural regions in 28 countries.
Michel Delebarre
Former Minister of State; Mayor of Dunkerque; President of the Metropolitan Council of Dunkerque; First Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions
Michel Delebarre was born in 1946 and graduated with a degree in Geography. In 1982 he was appointed Head of Private Office for Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy. During François Mitterrand's Presidency he held several ministerial posts between 1984 and 1986 and between 1988 and 1993. His portfolios included: Labour, Social Affairs, Transport, and the Public Service. He was also appointed the first Minister for urban planning.
In 1989 Mr Delebarre was elected Mayor of Dunkirk (re-elected in 1995, 2001, 2008) and in 2002 member of the French National Assembly on behalf of the Parti Socialiste (re-elected in 2007). From 1998 to 2001 he was President of the Regional Council of "Nord-Pas-de Calais". In February 2006 he was elected President of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union (CoR). Since February 2008, he is First Vice-President of the CoR.
Bob Evans
Professor at the Sustainable Cities Research Institute and the School of the Built Environment; Former Director of the Sustainable Cities Research Institute
Bob Evans was Director of the Sustainable Cities Research Institute until January, 2008, and is now a Professor working with colleagues in SCRI and the School of the Built Environment on a number of research projects. He is author of many books, book chapters and articles on land use planning, sustainability, environmental policy, environmental justice and local governance. He is co-founder and co-editor of the international journal Local Environment and he has worked as a town planner in the public, private and community sectors. He was the UK Chair of the of the European Union’s Working Group on Urban Environmental Management and a member of the Award Panel for the 2003 European Sustainable Cities and Towns Award.
Jean - Marc Fleury
Executive Director of the World Federation of Science Journalists
Professor at the Information and Communication Department of Laval University, Jean-Marc Fleury, is Executive Director of the World Federation of Science Journalists. A pioneer of science journalism at Québec City’s newspaper Le Soleil and then Editor-in-Chief at the monthly Québec Science, Jean-Marc Fleury then worked at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). From 1976 to 2006, he was science writer, editor-in-chief, trainer in science journalism, liaison officer (Senegal), and eventually Director of Communications.
Throughout his career, he was recipient of numerous prizes for magazine articles on health, agriculture and the environment. Always an active player within the science journalism community, he was also a founding member of the Québec Association of Science Communicators. The Association awarded him its 2007 Recognition Award for his overall contribution to science journalism.
Johannes Hahn
Commissioner for Regional Policy, European Commission
Johannes Hahn has held various management functions in the different sectors of the Austrian economy and industry, including as CEO of Novomatic AG for 5 years.
Johannes Hahn was Chairman of the Viennese group of the Youth Austrian People’s Party (JVP) from 1980 to 1985, and later became involved with the Austrian People's Party Vienna (ÖVP Wien). Between 1992 to 1997, he was Executive Director of the Austrian People's Party Vienna. Starting in 2002, he was Deputy Chairman of the Party and was elected Chairman in 2005 . A Member of the Regional Parliament of Vienna from 1996 to 2003, he became Federal Minister for Science and Research in 2007.
He has been designated Member of the European Commission in charge of Regional Policy.
Bruno Lanvin
Executive Director, eLAB, INSEAD, France; Chair, Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government
Bruno Lanvin has worked in more than 60 countries, and has taught at numerous universities worldwide. An expert on trade, IT, and knowledge he has published a significant number of articles on international aspects of e-commerce, e-government, the new economy and efforts to bridge the so-called ‘digital divide’, and national knowledge/IT strategies.
During his more than twenty years with the United Nations, he’s worked in a number of capacities with UNCTAD, the UN ICT Task Force, the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs (DIESA) and others. In September 2007, Lanvin was appointed as Executive Director at the INSEAD graduate business school, One of the world's largest graduate business schools, and is responsible for heading and managing INSEAD’s eLab. He is currently Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government.
Ken Livingston
Urban adviser
Ken Livingstone has twice held the leading political role in London local government, firstly as Leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and then as the first Mayor of London, a post he held from its creation in 2000 until 2008. During his 8 year tenure as Mayor, Ken Livingstone introduced many initiatives that were designed to improve the living conditions and mobility of the London population, including the revolutionary congestion charge and a smartcard ticketing system for the transport network.
Since May 2008 when his tenure as Mayor came to an end, Ken has started to write his memoirs and is a phone-in host on the radio station LBC 97.3. Ken Livingstone is currently acting as adviser on urban planning to Caracas, Venezuela. He will act as a consultant on the capital's policing, transport and other municipal issues, advising officials and mayoral candidates in Caracas, in order to help transform the city.
Ian Micallef
President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Ian Micallef is the President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress of the Council of Europe. He was first elected to that position in May 2006 and re-elected on 27 May 2008 for a two-year mandate. He is currently Acting President of the Congress.
Micaleff is also a former Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union. He has been a municipal councillor for Gzira, Malta since 1994, and has also chaired the association of local councils of Malta since 1996. He has taken part in the organisation and planning of several key international conferences at the Council of Europe . He also chairs the institutional committee of COPPEM. (Euro Mediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities).
Katherine Richardson
Chairperson of the Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy; Vice Dean at the Faculty of Science
Katherine Richardson serves as Vice Dean at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen. Katherine Richardson is professor in biological oceanography. Her research focuses on the importance of biological processes in the ocean for the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere. She has been active both as member and chair of several national and international Research Committees and Advisory Boards. She is currently chairman of the Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy.
Jeremy Rikfin
President of the Foundation on Economic Trends; best-selling author
Jeremy Rifkin is the founder and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of seventeen bestselling books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. Jeremy Rifkin has been an advisor the European Union for the past decade. Mr. Rifkin is advising the government of Spain during its presidency of the European Union (January 1st – June 30, 2010). Mr. Rifkin also served as an adviser to former European Council Presidencies, on issues related to the economy, climate change, and energy security. He currently advises the European Commission, the European Parliament, and several EU heads of state.
Mr. Rifkin is the principle architect of the European Union’s Third Industrial Revolution long-term economic sustainability plan to address the triple challenge of the global economic crisis, energy security, and climate change.
Rifkin has been influential in shaping public policy in the United States and around the world. He has been a frequent guest on numerous television programs, including Face the Nation, The Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King Live, Today, and Good Morning America. The National Journal named Rifkin as one of 150 people in the U.S. that have the most influence in shaping federal government policy.
Dubravka Šuica
Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Dubravka Šuica is the former mayor of Dubrovnik, Croatia. She served two terms between 2001 and 2009, and was the first female mayor in Dubrovnik's history. In 2006 she was elected one of the Top 10 World Mayors at the competition organized by World Mayor. She has acted as Councilor of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Assembly, and as Board member of the Union of the Association of Towns and the Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Croatia.
She is currently the president of the Croatian delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and also in her second term as vice-president of the Congress itself. She is currently a Member of the Croatian Parliament.