Ivo Josipovic obtained his doctorate from the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb and graduated in Composition from the Zagreb Academy of Music. He took his oath of office as President of the Republic of Croatia on 18 February 2010. Prior to his election as President, he was a university professor, member of the Croatian Parliament and composer.
As a legal expert he took part in the UN PrepCom for the establishment of the International Criminal Court as well as the Rome Diplomatic Conference and represented Croatia before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He is the recipient of a number of Croatian and international artistic prizes and awards, inter alia the Grand Prix of the European Broadcasting Union and two Porin Croatian Record Awards. He was Director of the Music Biennale Zagreb and Secretary-General of the Croatian Composers’ Society.

See the PowerPoint presentation of the keynote speech here.

Enrique Baron Crespo born 1944 in Madrid, studied law, economy and business administration. From 1977 – 87 he was Minister of Transportation. In 1986 he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament, and from 1989 – 1992 was its 16^th President. From 1999 – 2004 he was the President of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament. Following the end of his parliamentarian mission he was asked to be a visiting professor at universities all over the world. The value of the arts is very important for Enrique Baron Crespo and he therefore serves as President of the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and other cultural institutions.

See the PDF version of the keynote speech here.

Christa Markwalder has served in the Swiss Parliament for more than ten years. Lawyer by profession she focuses mainly on legal issues as well as on foreign politics. She chaired during 8 years the association Mus-E® Switzerland-Liechtenstein and plays the Cello in the orchestra of her hometown.

Karel Bartak, born in 1953, is currently the Head of the Creative Europe Coordination Unit at DG Education and Culture, European Commission, where from 2006-2007 he was the Head of Unit: Youth Policy. From 1995-2006, Karel served as Chief Correspondent of the Czech News Agency in Brussels, and as correspondent for several other media.  Prior to this he worked for the Czech News Agency and various media, also as a correspondent in Moscow and Paris.

Nenad Bogdanovic is a Serbian/Cypriot musician and cultural organiser. He is Executive Director of Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation, which manages the island’s National Symphony and Youth Symphony Orchestras. He worked as CEO of Cultural Movement of Limassol EPILOGI – Jeunesses Musicales Cyprus and Dance House Limassol. He played a major role in establishing the Euro-Arab Youth Music Centre, which is a joint venture by Jeunesses Musicales International, Arab Academy of Music – League of Arab States and Cultural Movement EPILOGI. Nenad has managed various projects for youth in music funded by the EU “Culture” and "Youth in Action" Programmes, Anna Lindh Foundation, European Cultural Foundation and Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, which included the "Euro-Mediterranean Youth Music Expo", "Choral Crossroads" festivals and "Ethno Cyprus". Nenad is a Board member of Jeunesses Musicales International and the European Music Council. 

Christine Bouvard Marty studied special education, child psychology and pedagogy at the Universities of Fribourg and Berne, gaining a postgraduate degree in systemic therapy from ZAK Basel. She has operated as an independent systemic practitioner since 1997, and is an amateur musician involved in local politics. She has been on the board of the Association of Swiss Music Schools (ASMS) since 2010 and its President since 2012. She has also served as a Member of the Community of Interests „youth and music“, promoting the peoples’ initiative on music education; Charter member of the development association „Musical+“ for young talents in the region of Entlebuch, President Association for the Music Schools of Canton of Lucerne and President of the Committee Music School Schüpfheim, Lucerne.

Marc-Antoine Camp, Dr. phil. is an ethnomusicologist and amateur piano player. A music researcher at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, his research projects focus on the fields of music education, traditional music and intangible cultural heritage. He has been a Board member of the Swiss Music Council since 2010.

Lisa Catena began her artistic career 15 years ago as a guitar player in a punk band and in doing so discovered her affinity with comedy. Born in Bern, she was the first woman ever to receive the “Swiss Comedy Award” for her programme “Wäutfriede” (peace on earth), in which she, a naive hippie girl, suddenly ends up on the candidate list of a conservative party. Catena also appears on TV (“Comedy from the laboratory”) and on radio (“Spasspartout”) and is regularly on tour.

Stef studied Musicology and gained his degree at the University of Louvain. He also studied music performance as a singer, guitar and choir conductor. In early 1994, he joined Polygram as a Product Manager for Decca and Philips Classics. As the Marketing Manager for Classics and Jazz, he became Executive in the Belgian division of the Universal Music Group. In 2000, he decided to leave the record business in order to put his experience at the disposal of Flanders Music Centre, of which he became the Managing Director. Stef was elected President of the European Music Council in 2012.

Simone Dudt studied Cultural Sciences in Hildesheim, Germany and Marseille, France focusing on Fine Arts and Music. She worked for the educational programmes of several museums and music schools and as academic assistant at the University of Hildesheim.

Simone has been working for the European Music Council since 2004, where she co-ordinated the EU funded “ExTra! Exchange Traditions” project.
She is a member of the committee for “European affairs” of the German Culture Council (Deutscher Kulturrat) and Vice President of Culture Action Europe. Currently, she is Secretary General of the European Music Council.

Christine Egerszegi-Obrist studied Romance Studies and also obtained a Diploma as a vocal artist. From 1982-1990 she was Director of the music school in Mellingen. She has had a successful career as a politician at all levels of the Swiss political system, and in 2006/2007 was President of the Swiss Federal Parliament. Following this she was the first woman elected from the Canton Argovia to the Chamber of Cantons in the Swiss Parliament. Her political priorities are health and social affairs. She was extremely successful as President of the committee for the “Youth and Music” initiative, with 73% of the votes bringing musical education into the Federal constitution.

Silja was appointed Secretary General of the International Music Council in 2009. In this capacity, she is in charge of the day-to-day business, official representation, programme implementation, grant mobilisation as well as the relationship with UNESCO. She is currently involved in the global campaign calling for culture to be included in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, she oversees the implementation of a 3-year EU-ACP-funded programme which aims to contribute to the development of the music sector in Africa.

Daniel A. Kellerhals, lic. rer. pol., is an economist and amateur musician/French horn player. He has 10 years of experience in federal government services, 15 years in industry and trade services, and 15 years as a consultant and personal coach. Daniel has been a board member and the President of the Orchester Liechtenstein-Werdenberg (Buchs CH/Vaduz FL) since 1993. He is a member of the Board of the Swiss Orchestra Association and the European Association of Amateur Orchestras, and President of the European Orchestra Federation. Furthermore, Daniel is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the International Menuhin Music Academy, and project manager of workshops for amateur orchestra musicians at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad.

Mary Luehrsen, the Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations for NAMM, leads policy and government relations efforts in music education and commerce for the music industry, and serves as executive director of the NAMM Foundation that supports music research, music education advocacy efforts and service programs. Mary was a professional flutist and music educator.

Helena Maffli completed her studies in Finland (Sibelius Academy, University of Helsinki) and the United States (Smith College), gaining a virtuosity degree in piano and a university degree in Human Sciences. Since an early age, she has performed widely and at international level as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist in many different ensembles. Helena had led an extensive teaching career in piano, didactics and methodology at the Conservatoire de Lausanne, Switzerland, and was the headmaster of this institution from 1999 to 2012. She served on the board of the Swiss Association of Music Schools and the artistic committee of the Swiss Youth Music Competition for many years. Since 2011, she is the President of the European Music School Union (EMU) and board member of the European Music Council since 2010.

Ingo Petz (born 1973) studied Eastern European History and Politics in Germany and Russia. He has been travelling to Belarus for 20 years. As a freelance journalist he has worked for prestigious dailies and magazines in the German speaking world, such as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Standard, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and brand eins. One of the main topics in his work is Belarusian rock music. Moreover, Petz also actively engages in civil society work as a board member of the German-Belarusian society (dbg).

David Ramael represents a new generation of entrepreneurial conductors, who try to give renewed relevance to classical music in today’s fragmented and internationalized society. He has achieved a remarkable track record of breaking the fourth wall between audience and performer by creating new and unique programs, by concertizing in unconventional venues, embracing the transformative qualities of music. As Chairman of the World Federation of Amateur Orchestras, since September 2011, he is also an internationally recognized authority in the fields of youth and amateur music making.

Ole Reitov is Director and co-founder of Freemuse - The World Forum on Music & Censorship. He is a former broadcaster¸who has produced music and cultural programmes from all continents and served as consultant to UNESCO, the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Ole has lived in a.o Bhutan, India and Pakistan and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. He produced and initiaited the first ever world conference on artistic freedom. 

Ian’s background is as a musician, performing with the Scottish National Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and directing Scottish Brass. He moved to the UK Musician’s Union in 1993 and was appointed Head of Music at the Scottish Arts Council in 2005. He has been Portfolio Manager for Music and Intellectual Property Development at Creative Scotland since its creation in 2010. Ian is currently a member of the Executive Board of the EMC (Treasurer) and recently appointed to the Finance Committee of the board of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in New York.

Kaie Tanner (b 1975) is currently working as general secretary of the Estonian Choral Association and a conductor of Estonian Radio Children’s Choirs. She is a board member of the Estonian Choral Association and Estonian Music Development Center, and organiser of several national and international choral events. (Tallinn International Choir Festivals, International Competition for Young Choral Conductors in Tallinn in 2002, EC Singing Weeks in Tartu in 2004 and 2007, IFCM conference Voices of Origin in Tallinn in 2007, Europa Cantat junior 6 in 2011 etc).

Kaie has worked on the board of European Music Council since 2010. She is also a board member of the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat, and belongs to ECA-EC’s music commission and the Europa Cantat XIX in Pecs 2015 artistic commission. Kaie is the president of Choral Festival Network. 

Lavon Volski, born 1965 in Minsk, is an icon of Belarusian rock music. His songs are anthems of the opposition movement. He founded bands such as Mroya, N.R.M. and Krambambulya which have all made a huge impact on the development of Belarusian-speaking rock music. In March 2014 he released a solo album called "Social Studies" which is a critical take on the developments in recent years. Volski´s projects have been blacklisted several times by the current regime in Belarus.