Norman Foster

Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners

Norman Foster is Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners, a global studio for architecture, urbanism and design, rooted in sustainability. Over the past five decades, the practice has pioneered a sustainable approach to architecture and urbanism through a wide range of work, from masterplans to offices, cultural buildings, airports and industrial design. He has been awarded architecture’s highest accolades, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture in Japan, the RIBA Royal Gold medal and the AIA Gold medal. He is President of the Norman Foster Foundation, based in Madrid. In 1999 he was honoured with a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank. 

https://www.instagram.com/officialnormanfoster/?hl=en 

Yasmeen Lari

Co-Founder and CEO, Heritage Foundation of Pakistan

Yasmeen Lari, the first female architect in Pakistan, is one of the best-known architects in the country, as well as an architectural historian, heritage and environmental conservationist, humanitarian worker and philanthropist. She graduated from Oxford Brookes University and was elected to Royal Institute of British Architects in 1969. She served as president of Institute of Architects Pakistan (1980-1983), and as first chairperson of the regulatory Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (1983-1986).

After building several landmark buildings and social housing, and the largest urban redevelopment project in Asia at the time, she retired from architectural practice in 2000. As CEO and co-founder of Heritage Foundation of Pakistan since 1980, she has helped conserve several historic monuments in World Heritage Sites and landmark buildings in various cities. She has served as UNESCO National Advisor and was included among 60 Women who have contributed the most towards UNESCO’s objectives.

Since the 2005 earthquake, she has developed a number of methodologies for low-cost affordable housing which are climate resilient and provide social and ecological justice to those at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). By building over 40,000 one-room houses in disaster-affected areas, she has helped place Pakistan in the lead with the largest zero carbon shelter programme in the World. 

She is the recipient of many national and international awards including Sitara-i-Imtiaz (2006) and Hilal-e-Imtiaz (2014) conferred by the President of Pakistan; the Asia-focused Fukuoka Prize for Asian Arts and Culture (2016) in Japan; and the international Jane Drew Prize (2020) in London. She has also received the UNESCO Recognition Award (2002), Islamic Development Bank Prize for Women’s Empowerment (2013), and World Habitat Award (2018). Addressed as “Architect for the Poorest of the Poor”, when conferred an honorary degree Laurea Magistrale ad honorem (2021) by the prestigious Politecnico di Milano in Italy, becoming the first woman recipient in 158 years.

She has authored and co-authored several books and publications including The Dual City (1996), and Traditional Architecture of Thatta (1989), among others. She has lectured widely in universities and architectural institutions in Asia, Europe, Australia and US. Her architectural works have been exhibited in various countries around the world including the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago (2015), the Vienna Biennale, Vienna (2019) and the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2022).

Saskia Sassen

Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University

Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and former Chair, Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University.

She is the recipient of diverse awards and mentions, multiple doctor honoris causa, named lectures, selected for various honors lists. She was awarded the Principe de Asturias 2013 Prize in the Social Sciences, selected as one of the top 100 women in the Sciences in 2018, and awarded the Geneva Picciotto Prize in 2020.

Her books include Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy (Harvard University Press, 2014; translated into 12 languages); Cities in a World Economy, 5th fully updated edition (Sage); Losing Control: Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization, The Schoff Memorial Lectures, Columbia University Press 1995; New updated edition 2016; Territory, Authority, Rights : From Medieval to Global Assemblages (Princeton University Press, 2008); A Sociology of Globalization (W.W. Norton, 2007); The Global City, (Princeton University Press 1991); The Mobility of Labor and Capital (Cambridge University Press 1988). Her books have been translated into over 20 languages.

Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez

Co-founder and Co-CEO, Notpla

Notpla is a London-based start-up and recipient of the Earthshot Prize 2022, the most prestigious global prize for the environment in history. Their aim is to eliminate single-use plastic with a biodegradable material. Their edible ‘Ooho’ packaging has already been used for water and sauce sachets at the London Marathon and Glastonbury Festival. The key ingredient is seaweed which they say is a sustainable as it is abundant, grows fast, doesn’t need fertilizer, and actively sequesters carbon dioxide.

Samir Bantal

Director, AMO

Samir Bantal is an architect, curator, and designer. He is Director of AMO, the think-tank and design studio of OMA, the Rotterdam-based architecture practice co-founded by Rem Koolhaas. With intuitive research at its core, AMO’s work spans art, culture, media, and technology shaping auras for brands and institutions.

In 2019, Samir collaborated with Virgil Abloh on the 1rst edition of ‘Figures of Speech’; a retrospective of Virgil Abloh’s work exhibited at the MCA Chicago, which later travelled to High Museum of Art Atlanta, ICA Boston and Fire Station Doha. 

In 2020, Samir Bantal, together with Rem Koolhaas presented their research project ‘Countryside: The Future’ at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The project investigated the immense transformations that have occurred in the countryside, an unfathomable large area overlooked by society for a long time, but fundamental in our quest for sustainable future existence on earth.

Delton Chen

Project Director and Founder, Global Carbon Reward

Delton Chen founded the Global Carbon Reward initiative. Delton is a qualified civil engineer and geo-hydrologist, and he holds a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Queensland, Australia. Delton did his doctoral research on the hydrology of a coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef, and he has 20 years of combined experience in groundwater management, environmental impact assessment, geothermal energy and climate mitigation. Delton is a thought-leader in the development of public policies based on Central Bank Digital Currencies, and is a member of the Blockchain Climate Institute. Delton developed the “Global Carbon Reward” policy to help reduce and remove carbon at the speed and scale that are needed to stabilize the climate and meet the 2015 Paris Agreement. Delton believes that the Global Carbon Reward can fill the funding gap for climate mitigation and help protect communities and ecosystems from the ravages of climate change and over-consumption.

Anna Scavuzzo

Vice Mayor of Milan and Lead for Food Policy Milano

Anna Scavuzzo is Vice Mayor of the City of Milan and Deputy Mayor for Education since 2016. She is also in charge of the Milan Food Policy which was awarded the Earthshot Prize 2021. 

Within an innovative framework of the food system governance, she is developing actions in several fields: reducing food waste, healthy diets, local public procurement, and agriculture. As Deputy Mayor for Education, she works closely with the municipal agency for school canteens and she promotes policies for more organic local procurement and healthier diets. 

She received a Master's degree in Physics from the University of Milan and worked on applied info technologies, data analytics and public administration learning tools for a leading editorial group. 

www.foodpolicymilano.org

@FoodPolicyMi

@FoodPolicyMi

@foodpolicymi

Food Policy Milano on YouTube

Omar Degan

Principal, Do Architecture Group, and Obama Foundation Africa Leader

Omar Degan is Principal of Do Architecture Group, an architecture firm based between Somalia, Italy and the USA specialising in emergency architecture, post-conflict reconstruction and fragile contexts. His firm's principle lies in designing culturally, historically and climatically relevant solutions to social problems worldwide, with a particular focus on the most fragile contexts and communities.

Omar is an Assistant Professor at Auburn University School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, and in 2022 he became an Africa Leader for the Obama Foundation. He obtained his Master's in Architecture for Sustainability and Built environment from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, where he also earned his Post-graduate degree in Emergency contexts and developing countries.

In 2023 co-founded FragilityLab, a research and non-profit organization that aims to support the process of peace and development through architecture in the most distressed areas of the world.

Claudia Hernández Fernández

General Director of Coordination of Policies and Environmental Culture, Mexico City

She is a biologist by the Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, and Master in Public Management for Good Administration by the EAP-GCDMX. Claudia is member of the Academia Nacional de Educación Ambiental and member of Cohort 18 of the Program of Advanced Studies in Sustainable Development and Environment by the Colegio de México (LEAD-Mexico).

She has extensive experience in research, consulting and project coordination. She has worked within the academic (UNAM), public (Government of Mexico City) and private (CEGAM SC) sectors.

As a biologist and amateur photographer, Claudia has directed her professional development and personal commitment towards environmental education and research. Since January 2019, she has been working at the Mexico City Ministry of the Environment and she is currently the General Director of Coordination of Policies and Environmental Culture.

Indy Johar

Director of 00 and Dark Matter Laboratories

Indy Johar is a co-founder of Dark Matter Labs and of the RIBA award-winning architecture and urban practice Architecture00. He is also a Founding Director of Open Systems Lab, WikiHouse, and Open Desk. His work is focused on the strategic design of new super-scale civic assets for transition, specifically at the intersection of financing, contracting and governance for deeply democratic futures.

Indy is a Non-Executive International Director of the BloxHub the Nordic Hub for sustainable urbanization in Denmark, Copenhagen. Previously, he was Graham Willis Visiting Professor at Sheffield University (2016-17), Studio Master at the Architectural Association (2019-2020), UNDP Innovation Facility Advisory Board Member (2016-20) and a RIBA Trustee (2017-20). He has taught and lectured at various international institutions including the University of Bath, TU-Berlin, University College London, Princeton University, Harvard University, MIT and the New School. 

Most recently, he was awarded the London Design Medal for Innovation in 2022.

Social media handles:

Twitter: @indy_johar

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/indy-johar-b440b010

Kim Stanley Robinson

Science Fiction Writer and Author, The Ministry for the Future

Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science-fiction writer. He is the author of about twenty books, including the internationally bestselling Mars trilogy, and more recently Red Moon, New York 2140, and The Ministry for the Future.  He was part of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers’ Program in 1995 and 2016, and a featured speaker at COP26 in Glasgow, as a guest of the UK government and the UN. His work has been translated into 26 languages and won awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.  In 2016, asteroid 72432 was named “Kimrobinson.”  

Iñaqui Carnicero

General Director of Urban Agenda, Housing and Architecture, Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Spain

Secretary General of Urban Agenda, Housing and Architecture, Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Government of Spain.

PhD (cum laude) Architect Polytechnic University of Madrid, fellow of the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome.

Golden Lion 2016 Venice Biennale for Best National Pavilion, FAD Award for Architecture and Opinion 2012, COAM Award 2012, AIA New York Housing Award 2015, Emerging Architecture Award 2011, Hauser Award 2011 and Design Vanguard 2011.

Associate Professor at the University of Madrid, visiting professor at Cornell University, Columbia University, California College of the Arts, Cooper Union, Yale University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT.

Alisa Andrasek

Director, AIARCH and Biothing, and Professor of Design Innovation Technologies, RMIT University

Alisa Andrasek is an award-winning design leader bridging design, technology and ecology. She is
a founder of Biothing, Bloom Games, and AIARCH - design synthesis platforms at the intersection
of the physical and digital, for integrative solutions in the built environment as an ecology of
complex systems. Her work introduced discretisation and open synthesis between data, AI and
human intent in design processes.

Professor at RMIT School of Architecture, prior to which she directed an award-winning program
in advanced architecture and Wonderlab research at University College London, and has taught at
Architectural Association, Columbia University and European Graduate School. Featured in
numerous publications and exhibitions, including Centre Pompidou Paris, ZKM Karlsruhe, NGV
Melbourne, New Museum New York and Venice Biennale.

Martha Thorne

Senior Advisor, The Obel Award and Distinguished Professor at IE School of Architecture & Design

Martha Thorne is Senior Advisor to the Danish foundation that grants the Obel Award, an international prize for outstanding and impactful contributions to our built environment to further human development and the common good.  She is passionate about equitable and sustainable ideas for the future of cities and making education more relevant to the major challenges we are facing. 

She is s Distinguished Professor at IE School of Architecture & Design after having served as Dean for seven years. She stepped down as Executive Director for the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2021 after collaborating with the award for 15 years. Prior to that, she was a Curator of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago, which involved developing exhibitions, research, and the permanent collection especially related to international, contemporary architecture and design. 

Reflecting her longstanding passion for livable cities, Thorne received a Master of City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Affairs from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She undertook additional studies at the London School of Economics.

Prof. Catalina Turcu

Professor of Sustainable Built Environment, Bartlett School of Planning, UCL

Catalina Turcu is Professor of Sustainable Built Environment at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL). Her work contributes to the understanding and measurement of urban sustainability at the local level. Theoretically, her research adds the institutional dimension to the traditional three-pillar (economic, social, environmental) understanding of sustainability.   

Empirically, Catalina examines sustainable urban transformations at the local level by integrating social, institutional, and physical aspects of the built environment. More specifically, Catalina’s core expertise spans across three areas: the role of institutions in shaping urban sustainability; the social context of urban sustainability; and material narratives of urban sustainability.   

She has published widely, contributed advisory roles to many national and international organisations, and fulfilled scientific appointments with the World Bank (WB), United Nations (UN), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organisation (WHO). Catalina is a trained architect and worked in architecture and planning consultancy for 10 years before joining Academia.  

“Any sustainable city model remains largely a social and political challenge not a technical fix.”  

Kobie Brand

Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI and Regional Director, ICLEI Africa

Kobie Brand is the Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Regional Director of ICLEI Africa and Global Director of ICLEI’s Cities Biodiversity Centre.

Kobie has more than 25 years of practical and managerial experience in Environmental Management and Urban Development. Her expertise ranges from biodiversity, climate change, coastal management to urban sustainability and planning.

She is responsible for the strategic direction, growth, partnerships, programmes and scope of work for ICLEI in Africa, as well as for ICLEI’s global biodiversity and nature-based solutions work and related agendas. This includes the global CitiesWithNature partnership initiative and ICLEI’s One Health, and water and sanitation initiatives.