María Eugenia Cordero is a curator, founder, and director of the Museo Barda del Desierto (mBDD) in Argentine North Patagonia. Her practice brings together contemporary art, architecture, territory, and digital technologies, developing projects connected to collaborative practices, experimental pedagogies, and socio-environmental approaches. Since 2014, she has led residency programs, exhibitions, and exchange networks among artists, communities, universities, and museums in North Patagonia. Her research focuses on architectures of diffuse boundaries and new forms of cultural institutionality situated in peripheral territories. She has participated in international conferences, publications, and meetings focused on museums, territory, and contemporary practices.

Ciaron is Head of Partnerships and Engagement at Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, one of the UK’s largest university museums and proud winner of European Museum of the Year 2025. His work spans communications, data, community engagement, and fundraising, all with a focus on building meaningful connections. Before joining the museum, Ciaron worked in local government, at Manchester’s tourist board, and with the city’s international arts festival, MIF. He also contributes to the UK culture sector more widely as a member of Arts Council England’s North Board.

ALISSANDRA CUMMINS, GCM, FMA is a recognised authority on Caribbean heritage, museum development and art, with a 40-year career spanning leadership roles at ICOM, UNESCO, and beyond. As former President of ICOM, Chairperson of UNESCO's ICPRCP, and founder President of the Museums Association of the Caribbean, she has shaped ethical and capacity-building frameworks at national, regional and international levels. KAYE R.N. HALLis Education and Community Outreach Officer at the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, specialising in Intangible Cultural Heritage, youth engagement, and community outreach. She coordinates the Museum's Youth Climate Action Hub and contributes to the ERC-funded Shared Island Stories research project, supported by UK Research and Innovation.

GERLINDE ANDRASCHEK is a historian and curator specialising in interactive museum work and knowledge mediation. Since joining KIMUS, she has curated exhibitions at FRida & freD Children's Museum, CoSA – Centre of Science Activities, and Salon Stolz. Her practice focuses on accessibility, inclusive design, and the development of exhibition narratives. JöRG EHTREIBER studied physics, chemistry and museum education at the University of Graz before holding curatorial roles at the Technical Museum in Vienna. In 2003, he became Director and CEO of KIMUS, and in 2019 co-opened the CoSA Science Centre. Since 2015, he has served as President of Hands On! International Association of Children in Museums.

After several years in private practice, Yasmina Lacasse is a senior architect who has been working for over nine years within the City of Québec’s Major Building and Parks Construction Projects Division. With more than 25 years of experience, she led the major renovation and expansion of the Gabrielle-Roy Library throughout this period. A landmark building from the 1980s that had contributed to revitalizing a former working-class neighbourhood, this new project—valued at over $43.3 million—was designed and built to establish the library as a “third place,” a democratic space dedicated to knowledge, learning, and shared experience. Today, its spatial components welcome thousands of visitors who come to connect with others and with themselves

ANTONIO URQUIZAR-HERRERA is Full Professor in the History of Art Department at UNED, Madrid. His research focuses on Early Modern Art in Spain, with key publications including Admiration and Awe: Morisco Buildings and Identity Negotiations in Early Modern Spanish Historiography (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Coleccionismo y nobleza (Marcial Pons, 2007). He chaired the COST Action CA18129 Islamic Legacy: Narratives East, West, South, North of the Mediterranean (1350–1750). ELENA PAULINO MONTERO is a tenured lecturer in Art History at UNED. PI of the MARCAM2 project on women and the arts in Medieval Castile, her research explores Iberian late medieval art, noble patronage, and Castile–al-Andalus artistic exchange. Recent publications include Architecture and the Nobility in Late Medieval Castile: The Artistic Patronage of the Velasco Family (2020).

Tao Yuan is a bilingual guide at the Imperial Examination Museum of China in Nanjing, specializing in cultural heritage interpretation and cross-cultural communication. Since 2017, she has provided thousands of Chinese and English guided tours for official, public and international audiences. She has won multiple awards in English interpretation, joined international live broadcasts and academic conferences, and published research on museum services. Dedicated to promoting imperial examination culture and Jinling heritage, she strives to build bridges between Chinese tradition and the world.

Dr. Sven Keller is head of Obersalzberg Documentation Center and a department head at the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History Munich-Berlin. As a historian, he did extensive research on National Socialist society, violence and war. He has a special interest in the culture of remembrance, sites of troubled heritage, and the tourism associated with it. In 2015 he became a member of the Documentation Center's curatorial team. He enjoys the diversity of museum work and the challenge of translating historical research into accessible and comprehensible exhibitions at a complex site like Obersalzberg.

Amer Shomali is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artist, using painting, films, digital media, installations and comics as tools to explore and interact with the sociopolitical scene in Palestine. Shomali co -directed an award winning animated documentary, T he Wanted 18, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. The film was awarded the best documentary award in Abu Dhabi, Carthage, Traverse City, and Al -Jazeera Film Festivals. Shomali holds a BSc in Architecture from Birzeit Univers ity, and a Master’s degree in Animation from Bournemouth University. He currently serves as the Director General of The Palestinian Museum.

SARA SOPIĆ is an art historian, museologist, and cultural manager at the Museum of Yugoslavia, where she has worked as a Curator and Educator since 2015. Her work focuses on inclusive and participatory museum practices that engage diverse audiences and expand access to heritage. She co-authored the exhibition Hedgehog’s Home – Inventing a Better World with Mirjana Slavković. MIRJANA SLAVKOVIĆ holds degrees in ethnology, anthropology, and cultural management. A curator at the Museum of Yugoslavia, she has worked in public relations, international cooperation, and curating. Her work focuses on critical approaches to heritage and on positioning the museum as a space of dialogue and exchange.

SARAH HOLLOWAY is Heritage Open Days Programme Manager at the National Trust, co-leading the coordination of the national festival. She oversees the operational team and supports the community network that powers it. She sits on The Heritage Alliance's Skills, Education & Engagement Advocacy Group and the Wellbeing & Heritage Working Group run by Historic England, NASP, and the Council for British Archaeology. LIAM MONTGOMERY is Heritage Open Days Marketing & Projects Manager at the National Trust, co-leading the national festival with a focus on marketing strategy, profile-raising, and impact measurement. He leads New Wave, the festival's youth engagement project supporting 18–25-year-olds to co-create events with local heritage sites, and is co-chair of the European Heritage Open Days Coordinators Group.

​Julian Post-Melbye is an archaeologist at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway. There he has worked with the Secrets of the Ice alongside mountain fieldwork, excavations and museum exhibitions the past 15 years. Specializing in themes such as hunting, extraction of outfield resources and alpine trade networks he has published on a wide range of topics from prehistoric skiing to medieval iron production. The work on artefacts frozen in ice has led to an unprecedented new source material becoming available archaeologists. He is curator of the glacial archaeology collection.

Jill Carruthers is Showtown’s Head of Heritage, and Trustee for The Atkinson, Southport. She has many years’ experience creating exhibitions, interpretation, and interactive visitor content. A qualified project manager, she has delivered over 30 temporary exhibitions, two international festivals, and Showtown’s museum displays. She oversees Blackpool’s public collections, championing access, preservation, and celebration of local heritage. Jill leads her team to develop engaging programmes, including school activities, and represents Showtown nationally and internationally. Passionate about co-creating with communities, she uncovers hidden stories. Her expertise includes circus, variety, magic, and contemporary photography, shaped by roles across Northern cultural institutions.

Director of MUZOO XAVIER HUTHER holds a Master’s degree in Economics. After careers in high-tech, Swiss National Exhibition and LVMH, he became Director of MUZOO in 2016. Reopened in 2022, the institution has since received several international awards, including the Meyvaert Prize. An evolutionary biologist and amateur ornithologist, NICOLAS MARGRAF studied birds for several years through field observation, laboratory work, and statistical analysis. This experience later shaped his commitment to museums, where he promotes the communication of scientific and natural history knowledge

Jane was appointed Head of Museums and Collections in November 2024. Jane has worked at Glasgow Museums since 2000, contributing to major projects including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museum Resource Centre, Riverside Museum, Kelvin Hall and Burrell Collection. Jane has led research projects that delivered public programmes across nine city venues, supported collection governance, future exhibitions and international touring exhibitions. Jane also played a key role in the redevelopment of The Burrell Collection, winner of 2023 Art Fund Museum of the Year and currently leads the People’s Palace refurbishment.

Since 1992, Executive Director/Curator, Tracey Leavitt, has mentored over 100 staff & countless museum professionals. Major projects include the World Wars Veterans’ Wall & Pioneer Women display. Tracey has received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal. Under her leadership, the Museum has won numerous local, provincial and national awards, including the Alberta Museums Association’s Dr. Robert Janes award and the Communities in Bloom National Award for Heritage. Tracey believes it takes a team to succeed; hundreds of volunteers, many summer staff and interns, and former Programmer, Maggie Peterson (2017-2026).

A curator, producer and strategic leader with more than 20 years’ experience in Ireland’s cultural sector, Sheena Barrett is recognised for championing emerging artists, socially engaged practice, and art and ecology initiatives. Previously founding Curator of The LAB Gallery for Dublin City Council, she shaped it into a leading platform for contemporary art in Ireland. Her work spans major cultural institutions, research, education and public engagement, connecting artistic innovation, health, audience development, and collaborative learning across diverse communities.

Iurdana Acasuso Atutxa holds a double degree in Sociology and Humanities, and throughout her professional career she has always been involved in projects aimed at promoting the Basque language. Since 2013, she has been director of Euskararen Etxea, the only permanent exhibition space dedicated to the Basque language. In 2023, he led the transformation of the exhibition, resulting in the Council of Europe awarding it the prize for the best museum in Europe in 2025. Her greatest hope is that Euskararen Etxea will become a benchmark for other minority languages in Europe.