KATHRIN DEVENTER is the Secretary General of the European Festivals Association (EFA). She is a Co-founder
and Board member of the European House for Culture, an initiative of EFA, a member of the Strategy Group of “A Soul for Europe”, co-initiator and board member of The Festival Academy (TFA), and launched with EFA the new programme for arts festivals EFFE – Europe for Festivals, Festivals for
Europe, including its FestivalFinder.eu, EFFEA – the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists, as well as Perform Europe, with a consortium of partners under the lead of IETM. She served as a member of the Culture Committee of the EU’s “New Narrative for Europe” project. She has a special interest in culture and its role in civil society engagement and issues connected to the recognition of the importance of culture in society. She believes in a cultural Europe that emerges from responsibilities and interactions between people and organisations from all sectors in society.

GIULIA POLTRONIERI has been a cultural manager since 2008; she has worked on numerous cultural projects in the field of performing arts and music. Currently, she is in charge of the artistic coordination of Dansa Metropolitana festival and of the technical coordination of the Network of Art Factories of Barcelona. She has been the Director of theater programs in Terrassa Performing Arts for the Culture Service of the City
Council of Terrassa. She was previously responsible for the programming of the Atrium de Viladecans theater and the Al Carrer festival and has managed La Central del Circ (one of the Art Factories of the Institute of Culture of Barcelona City Council). Throughout her career, she has developed very diverse tasks that cover almost all areas of cultural management: from production to management, through coordination and artistic programming, the distribution of national and international performing arts companies, and the creation of cultural festivals and projects, such as the Píndoles Festival for Short Theater in unconventional spaces or the Bonsai Festival in Italy. She teaches the Postgraduate Program in Production and Management of Shows and Festivals at the University of Barcelona and carries out consultancy work for different cultural projects, companies, and artists. She is a member of different organizations in the cultural field, such as the Association of Circus Professionals of Catalonia, the Association of Professionals of Cultural Management, and the IETM – International network for contemporary performing arts.

MAGNUS NORDBERG is the CEO and founder of Nordberg Movement, a production and development agency for the
performing arts, with a focus on dance in Stockholm, Sweden. Nordberg Movement supports the ongoing development of
new and established voices in dance and choreography. Undertakings include overseeing more than 40 original productions with various choreographers, a series of cross-genre international co-productions, and festival management. Recently, Nordberg Movement finalized an 18-month post- Covid recovery project entitled Music and Movement Management.

MARIJA POPOVIĆ (ZMAJA) holds a Master’s degree in Economics and is a Board Member and Programme Director
at Magnet Association. She is employed at the Student Cultural Centre Novi Sad as a producer and international cooperation manager, where she currently manages two mid- scale Creative Europe projects coordinating two large-scale Creative Europe projects in a partner role as a grant expert within a European Union Delegation grant scheme in the social sector and as a Senior Expert for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supporting capacity building for the Creative Europe Programme. Since 2000, she has worked as a project and organisational manager, trainer, external evaluator, fundraiser, and consultant, managing EU projects in the fields of human rights, social inclusion, youth, and culture. She assessed Erasmus+ project applications for the British Council and Ecorys (UK). She currently serves as an evaluator for Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps projects for multiple institutions, including: Anefore asbl (Luxembourg), Tempus Foundation (Serbia), EACEA – European Education and Culture Executive Agency (European Commission), Léargas – National Agency for Ireland, EACEA (Belgium).

ATANAS MAEV is an arts manager based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since 2002, he has been working in the field of cultural management and contemporary dance. He is a co-founder of Derida Dance Center, the first center for contemporary dance in Bulgaria, as well as Derida Dance Company and Derida Stage. Under his leadership, Derida has developed into an active international partner and has built a strong production profile, including international co- productions, participation in various projects, and was recognized by experts of the European Commission in Brussels as a best practice for artistic exchange in Europe, in addition to the organization of Derida Dance Fest – an international festival for contemporary dance. Since June 2022, he has been a board member of the European Dance Development Network, and since January 2024, a founding manager of the regional contemporary dance platform Moving Balkans. He is also Vice-Chair of the Bulgarian Association “Independent Cultural Sector,” which brings together organizations and professionals from various artistic fields working on a project-based basis outside
state and municipal institutions.