New Town: Drumul Taberei Bucharest, Romania
Organisation: studio BASAR
Alex Axinte is an architect, researcher and educator and co-founder of studioBASAR (2006). He has a MA in Social Science at Sheffield Methods Institute (SMI), University of Sheffield (2018) and was a member in the director board of Romanian Order of Architects Prahova branch (2010-2014). He was a guest teacher at at Sociology Faculty, Bucharest (SNSPA), Landscape Faculty, Bucharest (USAMV), MA in Urban Design (MAUD) Sheffield School of Architecture (SSoA) and University of Architecture and Urban Design “Ion Mincu”, Bucharest (UAUIM). In the past years, he was involved in the studioBASAR’s projects of activation and transformation of the public and community space in Bucharest, such as CoLAB Local Coproduction Workshops (2018), Tei Community Centre (2016), City School (2015-2017) and Research and Activation Trailer (2016). In various contexts, formats and collaborations, he documents and supports informal practices for commoning in the context of collective housing in the post-socialist city. In the framework of his PhD at the University of Sheffield, Alex is the initiator and coordinator of the OPEN Garage (2020) in Drumul Taberei district of Bucharest, a space-project based on action research, applied education and community activation. Within this project, the activist research The Map of Neighbourhood Libraries (2022) was recently developed in support of the cause of local public libraries.
New Town: Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
Organisation: New Architectural Heritage Foundation
An architect, historian and architecture critic, Aneta Vasileva specializes in postwar architecture and preservation of architectural heritage and teaches at the History and Theory of Architecture Department of UACEG - Sofia. She is co-founder of WhAT Association, GRADOSCOPE and New Architectural Heritage Foundation, has contributed to the Trans-European Research “Competition Culture in Europe” and most recently, as part of New Architectural Heritage Foundation - to Buzludzha’s Conservation and Management Plan, funded and organized by Getty Foundation and Deutsches Nationalkomitee von ICOMOS. Aneta is a member of ICOMOS Bulgaria, DOCOMOMO Bulgaria and the International Scientific Committee Education & Training of DOCOMOMO International.
New Town: Kohtla Jarve, Estonia
Organisation: Municipality Kohtla-Järve
Anton Makarjev serves as the development advisor for the city of Kohtla-Järve in Estonia. He is responsible for strategic planning, developing the city’s development plan, finding financing and funding opportunities, and managing large-scale projects. His expertise is essential in guiding the city through growth and improvements, with a focus on economic development and infrastructure enhancement. Anton collaborates with various stakeholders to attract funding and ensure the successful execution of key projects. By identifying and leveraging financial resources, he supports the city’s vision for the future, aiming to create a prosperous and sustainable community. His efforts are pivotal in transforming Kohtla-Järve into a forward-looking, green city prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
New Town: Evry-Senart
(Grand Paris Sud), France
Organisation: Municipality Gran Paris Sud
Béatrix Goeneutte is Head of the Heritage and Tourism department of Grand Paris Sud and in particular responsible for leading the application of Grand Paris Sud for the label "City or Country of Art and History" and monitoring the implementation of the first tourism and leisure development plan for the agglomeration.
New Town: Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Organisation: Association of Humanists from Goriška region
Blaž is an independent researcher, editor of the quarterly journal Razpotja, tourist guide, and cultural worker. He holds a PhD in Cultural Studies and explores intellectual and social history, as well as cultural and urban geography. As the project manager of Ab Initio, an urban utopia within Nova Gorica - European Capital of Culture 2025, he investigates the town’s history and urbanism. Nova Gorica is the first town built from scratch to receive this prestigious title. That is why other European new towns are also presented in the project. He created the first urban-historical trail through Nova Gorica. In his publication ’Why the US has never had a Department of Culture’ (2022, ZRC SAZU - Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences), the author offers insights into the role of institutional culture in European nation-building processes and its absence in the American context. as published by. Blaz will also act as the bridge to the organisation of Nova Gorica European Capital of Culture 2025.
Organisation: International New Town Institute
Caterina Tioli is an Italian spatial designer and researcher currently based in the Netherlands. After graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven from the bachelor department of Public Private, she continued her studies with a master in Interior Architecture at The Royal Art Academy of The Hague. Currently she works as research and project assistant at the Independent School for the City and as project assistant at the International New Town Institute (INTI). Her practice focuses on researching how spaces, such as public or private, influence the social sphere we live in.
New Town: Dunaújváros, Hungary
Organisation: Institute of Contemporary Art of Dunaujvaros
Csaba Gyöngyössy is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Foundation for Modern Art, highschool history teacher, public education leader, school principal for 22 years and respected figure in the public life of Dunaújváros. His work was recognised with the Dunaújváros Teacher of Merit Award in 2020. From 2023, he is the Honorary Citizen of Dunaújváros. Over the past decades, he has regularly organised film clubs as a volunteer and has spoken in public with almost 80 Hungarian writers, academics and public figures. In addition, he has given numerous lectures on local history and published a book entitled Public Sculptures of Dunaújváros. From 2000 to the present, he has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Foundation for Modern Art, which runs the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA-D), without remuneration. His leadership experience, organisational skills, team management and conflict management have saved the underfunded work of the Institute of Contemporary Art on many occasions.
New Town: Ilijaš, Bosnia Herzegovina
Organisation: NK ICOMOS
Elša Turkušić Jurić is president of the National Committee of ICOMOS in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a professor at the University of Sarajevo- Faculty of Architecture, Elša has extensive knowledge of the historic and present conditions of Ilijas, Sarajevo and the region. Her work is focused on topics that are relevant to the consortium: housing in the context of cultural and social tendencies and the dialogue between modern society and architectural issues of (cultural) sustainability. Because of her connections to the Ilijas municipality, she can bridge the divide between research and policy. She is a member of the ICOMOS International Committee on 20th Century Heritage and an independent expert of the Mies van der Rohe Award EU for Architecture.
New Town: Nowa Huta, Poland
Organisation: The Norwid Culture Center
Trained gardener and landscape architect, head of the Ecological Animation Studio at the Norwid Culture Centre (part of the Nowa Huta Heritage Lab). She participates in many projects aimed at making the younger and older generations learn about the Earth. These include: ecological knowledge tournaments, education, and publications about the Nowa Huta meadows and green spaces in Kraków and in particular Nowa Huta. In her spare time, Ela enjoys walking her dog and knitting.
New Town: Dunaújváros, Hungary
Organisation: Institute of Contemporary Art of Dunaujvaros
Gabriella Zsinka is art historian, aesthete and as a career starter she accompanied the political takeover of the Műcsarnok, one of the leading exhibition institutions of the Hungarian cultural scene, and then she returned to Dunaújváros. As the Artistic Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, she has a broad knowledge of the cultural conditions in Dunaújváros and has organised many exhibitions and contemporary art projects. In the creation of cultural products, it is important to move society, the community, and the everyday person towards a more inclusive, creative and critical thinking, in contrast to the fractured, often hostile, self-important and superior nature of Hungarian public thinking. In her curatorial work, she prefers to deal with themes and phenomena that are worthy of rethinking and exploring from new perspectives for society and our immediate micro-environment (from football to sexuality to trauma). She was one of the initiators and organisers of the Yeast Local Patriotic Community and the city’s first grassroots, independent cultural festival, an important conceptual element of which was "being rooted in the city", exploring and transforming the complex set of values of belonging into (festival) experiences.
New Town: Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
Organisation: New Architectural Heritage Foundation
Georgi has a master’s degree in architecture with a specialization in the field of architectural heritage conservation. His diploma project "Center for the Dissonant Heritage" investigates the site of a contentious opposition to public memory through a destroyed monument in Sofia. Georgi is the author of a number of architectural articles and has a pronounced interest in architecture from the second half of the XX century.
New Town: San Polo, Italy
Organisation: University of Venice (IUAV)
Giulia Piacenti is a research fellow at Università Iuav di Venezia. Giulia has recently completed a PhD with a dissertation titled The Neighbourhood Unit Idea. The Reconstruction of the Small Size, studying the modernist idea of the neighbourhood unit applied worldwide, also in San Polo.
New Town: Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Organisation: Municipality Zoetermeer
Govert Buijs works as a senior advisor on public affairs for the municipality of Zoetermeer. In this role, he has worked to set up a national collaboration in the Netherlands between 8 Dutch New Towns, the ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and several research organisations. The aim of this collaboration is to get a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind several (positive and negative) trends in Dutch New Towns and to lobby for active involvement of the Dutch government in creating a sustainable future for the Dutch New Towns.
New Town: Kohtla Jarve, Estonia
Organisation: Municipality Kohtla-Järve
As the mayor of Kohtla-Järve since November 28, 2023, Henri Kaselo’s role encompasses leading the city’s administration and overseeing its governance and development. This position typically involves setting strategic directions, implementing policies, and working to improve the quality of life for the city’s residents. The mayor is responsible for a wide range of duties, including economic development, urban planning, public services management, and environmental sustainability initiatives. In the context of Kohtla-Järve, given the city’s economic and environmental challenges, particularly with the transition away from oil shale, Kaselo’s role would also likely involve leading efforts towards economic diversification, environmental rehabilitation, and ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities. This includes collaborating with local stakeholders, regional and national governments, and European Union bodies to secure funding and support for the city’s transition to a sustainable future.
New Town: Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Organisation: Municipality Zoetermeer
Senior Landscape designer
New Town: Drumul Taberei Bucharest, Romania
Organisation: University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest
Ioana Tudora is an architect with a master degree in Urban Form (Bucharest) and in Urban Socio-anthropology (Brussels) and a PhD in Sociology (Brussels-Bucharest), teaching since 1998 at the Landscape Architecture Department of University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest (USAMV). In 2016 she was counsellor of the State Secretary on Heritage – Ministry of Culture, being in charge of cultural landscape politics. She was also a member of National Heritage Commission for Bucharest Area (2016-2018) and member of the Urban and Spatial Planning Technical Commission of Bucharest (since 2017). Ioana is also working at RPR_birou de studii contemporane as architect and landscape architect, contributing to the landscape architecture practice in Romania and tackling post-industrial rehabilitation projects, landscape urbanism and urban design projects or development strategies. She was equally involved in research projects and had numerous theoretical contributions concerning the vernacular urban landscape of Bucharest, such as: In the Yard. Garden, Neighbourhood and Urban Landscape in Bucharest, ed. Curtea Veche, (2009), or Looking down on or looking up to Bucharest public spaces. Militari – Drumul Taberei in-between vernacular design and urban policies, ed. Unarte, (2011), being author or coauthor of numerous articles. Ioana is member of the Romanian Landscape Architects Association and permanent delegate at IFLA.
New Town: Ilijaš, Bosnia Herzegovina
Organisation: Municipality Ilijas
Irfan Salihagić has a masters in Architecture with experience in urban planning and designing. He is Architect Specialist at Disperse.io and as an Architect Associate at OSNAP Sarajevo, he is actively participating in the design of educational, residential, and urban projects, including award-winning projects such as the revitalization of brownfield areas in Sarajevo, and others in Bosnia and Austria. He is part of the staff at the Department of Architectural Design as a professional associate on projects related to the field. Currently, he closely collaborates with the Municipality Ilijaš on the project of the re-establishment of the postindustrial identity of the town and the development possibilities. He is an active member at the non-governmental organisation LIFT - Spatial Initiatives, organising festivals Days of Architecture and Nights of Architecture Sarajevo. He is the co-author of several publications, including "Brownfield Development in Sarajevo: Sarajevo Brownfield Urban Regeneration Project" and "Architectural Guide Sarajevo" by DOM Publishers.His expertise, experience, and engagement in urban planning projects and academic world make him a competent professional in his field.
New Town: San Polo, Italy
Organisation: University of Venice (IUAV)
Jacopo Galli is assistant professor in architecture and urban design at the University of Venice IUAV. Jacopo has researched and published on the original ideas of San Polo extensively and is an expert on the social ideas behind modern architecture. These insights are not only relevant when talking about San Polo, but for the whole consortium, because all New Towns in this project have been developed for a large part according to modernist ideals.
New Town: Nowa Huta, Poland
Organisation: The Norwid Culture Center
Passionate about life, running, and summer, I am a resident of the most beautiful district of Krakow - Nowa Huta. This is where I live and work, surrounded by friends, favourite places, corners, streets, and nature. In my daily work, I am involved in promotion and marketing. At the Norwid Culture Centre, I work in the promotion department, and I absolutely love my job. I thrive on an active, eventful life where there is always something going on. At work, I take photographs, make movies, and, with my promotion team, create media content to promote the Norwid brand! During my studies, I travelled extensively to Eastern Europe - to the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains and Belarusian towns. Why? I studied Ukrainian language, history, and art history, and it was a brilliant experience!
In general, I can’t walk - I am always running!
New Town: Nowa Huta, Poland
Organisation: The Norwid Culture Center
Jarosław Klas is a cultural expert, researcher, animator and culture manager. PhD in the field of social sciences in the discipline of management and quality science (Jagiellonian University in Kraków). Director of the Norwid Culture Centre in Kraków. Member of the Cultural Organization Research Institute - IBOK, the Kraków Forum, the Culture and Media Management Committee of the PAU and the Council of Home Army Museum in Krakow. He cooperates with various cultural institutions and non-governmental organisations. He conducts classes with postgraduate students and students at the Jagiellonian University, the AGH University of Science and Technology and the University of Economics in Wrocław (thematic scope: animation of culture, project management and project writing, protection and management of cultural heritage, research methods in management, culture and innovation, promotion of local culture). Originator and coordinator of projects such as: Nowa Huta Pageant (2016), Alternative guide to Nowa Huta (2017), Nowa Huta - architectural portrait of the city (2018), Nowa Huta in culture - culture in Nowa Huta (2019), Nowa Huta from the NATURE side (2020), Nowa Huta neons trail (2022). Main research interests: culture animation, management of cultural institutions and cultural heritage (especially Nowa Huta).
New Town: Hellersdorf (Berlin), Germany
Organisation: station urbaner kulturen/nGbK
Jochen Becker (Berlin) works as author, curator and lecturer and is co-founder of metroZones | Center for Urban Affairs and the station urbaner kulturen/nGbK. He curated f.e. Chinafrika. under construction (Graz, Leipzig, Weimar, Shenzhen, Nürnberg). Most recently, the exhibition Mapping Along (Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, 2021) with metroZones and Helle Fabrik, Dunkelkammer Produktion (Scharaun Berlin, Kunstraum München, 2023) have been shown. Becker is active in Initiative Urbane Praxis and prepared two SITUATION BERLIN congresses as well as the Glossary Urban Praxis for this purpose.
New Town: Nowa Huta, Poland
Organisation: The Norwid Culture Center
Justyna Dutka is project coordinator in The Norwid Culture Centre in Kraków | Nowa Huta
Lawyer with a lot of interest in the culture sector, diversity and accessibility subject. She has been working for almost three years in the administration department at the Norwid Culture Centre in Kraków, where she is a specialist in public procurement, accessibility of public entities and personal data protection. She has worked on several projects in a cultural environment - from the beginning (writing a project) to the end (reporting results).
New Town: Evry-Senart
(Grand Paris Sud), France
Organisation: Municipality Gran Paris Sud
Kinga Kotras is European Projects Manager at the municipality of Gran Paris Sud. As a long-term member of the network, Kinga has also been part of previous projects and is therefore well experienced with the needs and intricacies of international networking based on content exchange. She knows the municipal organisation inside out and will be able to organise the Lab with exactly the right groups of residents and she will transfer the results of the Labs to her colleagues. She can also inspire other municipal partners in the network, on how to handle bureaucratic methods and policy-making.
New Town: Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Organisation: Municipality Zoetermeer
Margriet Panman is senior advisor on cultural heritage of the municipality of Zoetermeer,the Netherlands. Next to this she is the secretary of the city architect. Educated as a historian in architecture and urban planning at the State University of Groningen she has been working at the province of Groningen and the municipality of Delft before starting in Zoetermeer in 2019. Her specialisations are modern architecture and urban planning and green cultural heritage. She is project manager of the research project on post war cultural heritage in Zoetermeer (1945-1990).
New Town: Ilijaš, Bosnia Herzegovina
Organisation: NK ICOMOS
Maja Pličanić obtained a doctoral degree in architecture from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Sarajevo in 2021. She completed her graduate studies at the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo in 2003. After a brief working experience at the Cantonal Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage, and two years of working at the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection of Sarajevo Canton, in 2006 she was hired at the Faculty of Educational Sciences in Sarajevo. As an assistant for the technical group of courses at the Department of Culture of Living and Technical Education, she participates in the teaching and scientific process through engagement in the following teaching courses: Protection and Nurturing of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Heritage of BiH. As a researcher in the field of cultural heritage with a focus on industrial heritage, she mainly presents and publishes her work at international conferences and meetings. In March 2014 she became a Teaching Assistant and in September 2021 she obtained the position of Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, for the scientific field of Cultural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has been a permanent member of the ICOMOS National Committee in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2010 and the TICCIH since 2022.
New Town: Fritz Heckert (Chemnitz), Germany
Organisation: Chemnitz 2025
Marcus Heinke is a cultural scientist and works as a cultural manager, cultural funding expert and project management lecturer.
At the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 GmbH, he works in the field of programme development with a focus on capacity building for project organisers in the Capital of Culture year 2025. This involves networking in the city, in the region and in Europe, the joint project development of project organisers in Chemnitz and from other countries in Europe and the world. He is jointly responsible for open calls for the European Workshop for Culture and Democracy, a flagship project of the Capital of Culture. This is specifically about opening up cultural projects to enrich them with democracy-building and participation-orientated content and methods.
Organisation: International New Town Institute
Michelle Provoost is partner of Crimson Historians & Urbanists and Executive Director of the International New Town Institute. Michelle is also part of the Dean Team of Independent School for the City. She is an architectural historian specialised in urban planning history, postwar architecture and contemporary urban development. Michelle teaches at various universities in the Netherlands and abroad and continues to be in great demand as a public speaker. She lectures regularly throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States, and has been involved in many municipal, national and private committees and juries.
New Town: Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Organisation: Association of Humanists from Goriška region
Miha Kosovel is an editor, publicist, curator, writer, cultural manager, and activist. He is a senior project manager and head of programs at the Goriška Humanist Association. He is the programme director of the literary festival Mesto knjige (City of Books) and editor of the quarterly journal Razpotja. He curates the program of cultural hub Carinarnica in the former border checkpoint between Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and Gorizia (Italy). He manages the residence programs for young literates Twenty and Something and is the advisor for the publishing program at the Nova Gorica 2025 - European Capital of Culture. He has done extensive work on European double towns (towns divided by borders), bringing to the first network of cultural and civil society organisations from the European border double towns Transbordering Laboratory. His texts were translated into English, Italian, and Polish, he presented his work and lectures in Nova Gorica, Gorizia, Ljubljana, Trieste, Klagenfurt, Rijeka, Frankfurt am Oder. He exhibited his work and his organisation in Nova Gorica, Gorizia, Ljubljana, Frankfurt am Oder, Słubice, and Maribor.
New Town: Spijkenisse, Netherlands
Organisation: Municipality Nissewaard
Misko Papac is a strategic management consultant at the municipality of Nissewaard. He is specialised in public affairs, international relations and change management. Since 1999, Misko has operated between residents, non-profit organisations and Nissewaard municipality. Misko represents a proactive attitude and within the diverse city, near the metropolis of Rotterdam, he remains vigilant about the equality and values of its residents. Over the years, Misko Papac has been active within the physical and social domain of the municipality. Today, Misko is also active in seeking cooperation beyond the boundaries of the municipality. This has led to activities on a national level, like being the co-creator and organiser of the Dutch Newtown Congress and the initiator of a learning network of strategic advisors of the Dutch New Towns. In addition, Misko is active in creating more awareness in the national government about the urban challenges of Dutch New Towns. He is also the driving force within the municipality of Nissewaard for programmes at international level, such as in European projects like New Town Sport Cities and New Town Arrival Cities.
New Town: Nowa Huta, Poland
Organisation: The Norwid Culture Center
Monika Kozioł is manager of the Nowa Huta Heritage Laboratory at the Norwid Culture Centre in Kraków. Art historian, curator of exhibitions and projects in the field of contemporary art, author of texts on post-1945 art. Graduate of art history and postgraduate museum studies from the Jagiellonian University, as well as cultural management at the Academy of Humanities and Economics in Łódź. PhD student at the Doctoral School of the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow. She has curated and co-curated over 40 exhibitions. Awarded scholarship by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Krakow. She is particularly interested in the contemporary art of Central and Eastern Europe and the history of the development of the artistic community of Nowa Huta in Krakow in the 1960s and 1980s.
New Town: Dunaújváros, Hungary
Organisation: Institute of Contemporary Art of Dunaujvaros
Nóra Deák is a specialist in public culture, he is the current director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, since 1988 the director of its predecessor, the creator and facilitator of numerous contemporary exhibitions, and one of the main shapers of the Institute’s current character. In the course of her work, she has always considered it important to include the associative arts alongside the exhibitions, to process and accept Socialist Realist traditions, and to cooperate with the city’s network of institutions in order to create and promote a more livable Dunaújváros. It has helped to organise several exhibitions on Socialist Realist architecture, and has also supported the Virtual City project, which has enabled local artists to explore the potential of the city. She has initiated countless community-building initiatives, with varying degrees of success. Currently, she sees cultural economic development and adaptation to changing cultural habits as her main challenges. In 2009, she was the main organiser of the Private Republic created by Andreja Kulunčić, which was shut down under external political pressure. Kulunčić invited the people of Dunaújváros to create ideas - witty ones, based on a single idea, but also more comprehensive "dreams" - about what they would like the (near) future to be like.
New Town: Visaginas, Lithuania
Organisation: Urban Stories
Oksana Beliakova represents the interests of the public of Visaginas in the field of preservation of architectural and cultural identity, heritage, as well as environmental protection.
In the 2000s, she led projects on international youth cooperation as part of the Ignalina International Youth Nuclear Association. She obtained her master’s degree in the field of EU policy and administration. For scientific purposes, Oksana carried out an analysis of non-governmental and informal youth organisations operating in Visaginas after the 2000s.
Oksana has extensive experience in working on the public interests of the local community in heritage preservation and environmental protection, also on a national level regarding regulations. Currently, Oksana is focused on the specific multidimensional influence of the industrial heritage on the local urban structure of Visaginas. Oksana has experience in dealing with the preservation of the history and identity of the local town community, in the context of modern processes of globalisation and transformations.
New Town: Visaginas, Lithuania
Organisation: Urban Stories
Oksana Denisenko is a cultural expert and, more recently, a researcher in the field of nuclear cultural heritage. She holds a master’s degree in social sciences with a specialisation in communication. Oksana is the founder of the NGO "Urban Stories" in Visaginas. The organisation operates on a project-based model, with the goal of revealing the multidimensionality of the Visaginas’ post-nuclear identity and the multi-layered nature of its history. It brings together local residents, artists, and researchers to explore, document, and artistically interpret the town’s urban environment, history, culture, aesthetics, and other aspects, with the aim of re-imagining Visaginas. Additionally, Oksana specialises in graphic design, communication, event management, and copywriting.
New Town: San Polo, Italy
Organisation: Teatro 19
Roberta Moneta, actress, director, and playwright, also leads Teatro 19, identified as a "theatre-maker". Graduated from the University of Bologna in DAMS and trained at the School of Theater directed by Alessandra Galante Garrone. Her career spans since 1992, encompassing collaborations with the Nucleo Operativo Tossicodipendenze and Children’s Theater at Fondazione Sipario Toscana. In 2004, she founded Teatro19, serving as its artistic and administrative director. With a focus on integrating theater with mental health, she directs site-specific performances and writes plays for unconventional spaces. Since 1994, she’s been a trainer in various settings, emphasizing work with marginalized communities and exploring the potential of art in social contexts.
New Town:Ilijaš, Bosnia Herzegovina
Organisation: Municipality Ilijas
Samna Durmo studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo. Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo in 2018, as Bachelor of Architecture, and in 2021 as Master of Science. As a student, she participated in exhibitions in the field of interior design and architectural composition at the Department of Architectural Design. Together with the professor and colleagues from the Faculty of Architecture, she participated in the creation of the publication "Atlas of the Cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina", which shows the history, population, morphogenesis, urban matrix and urban structure of the cities. She analysed Ilijaš. She defended her final master’s thesis on the topic "Regeneration of housing in the settlement of workers’ houses in Ilijaš", in which she chose a settlement based on the project of architect Juraj Neidhardt. She expresses her activism through work and volunteering in the local community, and close cooperation with the municipality. After graduating from college, she spent a year on professional training in the Municipality of Ilidža, where she gained knowledge of the legal regulations necessary for the construction of buildings, which she applies today.Since 2022, she has been employed at the design company FM INŽENJERING SARAJEVO as an architect and collaborator on projects.
New Town: Ilijaš, Bosnia Herzegovina
Organisation: Municipality Ilijas
Sanja Zagorac-Jozić is assistant to the Mayor of Ilijas. She works with the Service for Social Activities and can bring in her experiences with the affairs of local communities. Sanja Zagorac-Jozić holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Banja Luka. Since 2002, Sanja has been employed in the Municipality of Ilijaš, currently working as an assistant to the Mayor, overseeing social activities and affairs of local communities. She has a great experience in the work of public institutions in the field of culture and heritage protection, as well as in the field of cultural and artistic amateurism. Sanja’s professional experience includes roles at the Ilijaš-based MIK company (Metal Installations and Constructions) as the Head of operational and technological preparation from 1998 to 2002. She also served as a councilwoman in the Ilijaš Municipal Council from 2000 to 2002. She has held various leadership positions within cultural and sports institutions such as the "Cultural and Sport Centre Ilijaš’’ and the “Radio Ilijaš". Sanja expanded her knowledge and experience at the State Department - Department of Education and Culture (2008), the German Society for International Cooperation (2009), Bayrakli - Izmir Municipality and Yunus Emre Enstitusu – Istanbul (2012, 2018).
New Town: San Polo, Italy
Organisation: University of Venice (IUAV)
Serena Pappalardo is an architect and research fellow at Università Iuav di Venezia. From 2017 to 2021 she worked within the international architecture and urban planning firm Jean Paul Viguier et Associés and within the practice LineaT studio. In 2021 she obtained the PhD degree at the Iuav University of Venice, within the Emergency curriculum. The subject of her research was about the origins and spread of the Progressive Development Approach, a strategy of low-cost housing based on incremental projects and on participatory building processes developed in tropical belt countries between the 1950s and the 1980s. Since 2021, she is a member of the Urbicide Task Force, a research group set up at the Iuav University of Venice with the aim of carrying out transdisciplinary research that investigates the current conditions of war-affected cities and territories and develops solutions for architecture, urban planning, technology and management of the built environment.
New Town: Milton Keynes, England
Organisation: Municipality Milton Keynes
Shane Downer is the Heritage and International Partnerships officer at Milton Keynes City Council. As lead for the cultural heritage, museum and archives delivery of the city, he works with colleagues and partners at local, national and international level to use this significant design heritage USP for resident and public benefit in the contemporary growth, renewal and regeneration of the city. And maybe once again acting as a model for other cities.
Organisation: International New Town Institute
Simone Rots is an architectural historian and partner of Crimson Historians & Urbanists. She is the Managing Director of the International New Town Institute, based in Rotterdam (NL). She is the Network & Financial coordinator of the Independent School for the City. Next to that, she is Programme Expert Architecture at the Ammodo Architecture Awards. Simone received her PhD from Delft, University of Technology on the topic of the meeting point of modern planning and self-organisation. As the director of Hofbogen BV she was responsible for the transformation of the nineteenth century monumental train viaduct in Rotterdam. She is experienced in developing (cultural) events in the field of architecture and urbanism on an international scale and has worked on a global level, in Latin America and Africa.
New Town: Fritz Heckert (Chemnitz), Germany
Organisation: Chemnitz 2025
Education: Diploma (directing studies) at Russian Institute of Theatre Arts in Moscow
Work Experience: International experience in various artistic festivals (Wiener Festwochen, Festival theatre forms etc.), head of literary department (Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus etc.), implementation and direction of program department European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011, Program Director (Theater der Welt in Düsseldorf, Humboldt Forum Berlin)
Currently: CEO Program of Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH
New Town: San Polo, Italy
Organisation: Teatro 19
Valeria Battani is theatre director (Teatro 19), actress and social entrepreneur. Since 2004, Teatro19 has its headquarters in San Polo, where Valeria organises theatre productions and active workshops, and has established relations with numerous social and cultural groups in the area. She brings in almost two decades of working with teenagers and children, and various groups of residents, artists and creatives. The workshops include popular theatre training; the theatre productions deal with themes such as mental health, women of different generations, backgrounds and class. Teatro19 is also participating in the project Oltre la strada, with the Municipality of Brescia. Valeria is also experienced in the cooperation with social and urbanistic partners in urban redevelopment.
New Town: Fritz Heckert (Chemnitz), Germany
Organisation: Institut für Ostmoderne
Verena Pfeiffer-Kloss is researcher, urbanist, graphic designer and editor. She has the first hand experience of how to initiate a grass roots organisation and organise cultural events with the widest and most inclusive section of the population.
New Town: Evry-Senart
(Grand Paris Sud), France
Organisation: Municipality Gran Paris Sud
My name is Wilfried Pingault and I’m in the first year of a PhD in history, attached to the Comparative Analysis of Powers (ACP) laboratory at the Gustave Eiffel University. My research is focused on the hydro-history of the new town of Sénart from the late 1960s to the present day.
New Town:Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
Organisation: Municipality of Dimitrovgrad
Yasho Minkov has been the Deputy Mayor of Dimitrovgrad Municipality since June 2014. He also serves as the Vice President of the ATRIUM Association, established on the basis of the ATRIUM Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. Yasho holds a master’s degree in Economics and Industrial Management from Varna University of Economics and a master’s in Law from South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad. Additionally, he serves as the Director of Directorate European Programmes and Projects at "Bulgarcontrola" AD in Sofia. Yasho Minkov is also an influential figure in legislative matters, having served as a Member of Parliament in both the 37th and 38th National Assembly. He has actively contributed to the development of programs such as Operational Program (OP) "Regional Development 2007-2014" and OP "Transboundary Cooperation" from 2004 to 2009 at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
New Town: Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
Organisation: Municipality of Dimitrovgrad
Yoana Mitvichina, born in Haskovo, Bulgaria, spent much of her childhood in Dimitrovgrad. She earned her master’s degree in architecture from UACEG, Sofia, in 2022. Since then, she has been actively engaged as an architect, working on various projects in both Haskovo and Dimitrovgrad. Yoana’s professional interests include urban planning, architectural heritage, conservation, and restoration. She has also played a role in organising events in these areas, collaborating with the Dimitrovgrad Municipality.-
