Keynote Speakers
 Alessandro AnnoniJoint Research Centre (JRC), Italy Since 1997 Alessandro Annoni has been working at European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). He is the Head of the Digital Earth and Reference Data Unit working to develop Information Infrastructures and advancing research on multidisciplinary-interoperability. His Unit ensures the Technical Coordination of the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) that lays down general rules for the establishment of a European Spatial Data Infrastructure.
Alessandro graduated in Physics from the University of Milan. Before joining the European Commission, he had been working for several years in the private sector (1979-1996) and had been managing companies specialising in advanced studies in Remote Sensing, Earth Observation, Geomatics and Information Systems development. Since 2006 Alessandro has served as co-chair of the Architecture and Data Committee of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and is now co-chairing the GEO Infrastructure Implementation Board. He is a visionary member of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) and has been awarded the 2013 Ian McHarg Medal of the European Geosciences Union reserved for distinguished research in Information Technology applied to Earth and space sciences. |
 Mark DohertyExploitation and Services Division, ESA, Italy Mark Doherty is head of ESA's Earth Observation exploitation division, based at ESRIN Frascati, Italy. He manages ESA activities aiming to enlarge the use and benefits of EO data. These include research, applications and service developments, and involve user communities from Earth Science, public and private sectors in Europe and worldwide.
Mark joined ESA in 1986 and worked on the ERS-1, ERS-2 and ENVISAT missions, before taking charge of exploitation elements of ESA's EO Envelope Programme. His team manages the "Data User", "Value-Adding" and "Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions" elements. Mark lead ESA's first programme dedicated to GMES – the GMES Service Element (GSE) - and more recently, the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) which delivers consistent long-term, satellite-based observation records of "Essential Climate Variables". |
 Thomas Esch, Ph.D.Urban Areas and Land Management, DLR, Germany Dr. Thomas Esch received the Diploma degree in Applied Physical Geography from the University of Trier, Germany, in 2003, and the Ph.D. degree in Physical Geography and Remote Sensing from the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Germany, in 2006. From 2006 to 2008, he was a scientific employee at the Department of Remote Sensing of the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, where he was leading research projects on urban remote sensing. Since 2008, he is with the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and became leader of the team “Urban Areas and Land Management” in 2009. The research activities of this team focus on the development, implementation and application of remote sensing-based methodologies and information products to support the sustainable management of urban areas and cultivated landscapes. Dr. Esch has participated in more than 15 national and international research projects in the context of Earth observation and sustainable urban development, land management, land use transformation, urban climate, and renewable energies and energy efficiency. Moreover, he has published or contributed to more than 20 peer-reviewed papers in high ranking scientific journals, 15 scientific book chapters and more than 50 conference contributions.
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 Alexander Ferstl, Ph.D.European Commission, DG Climate Action, Belgium European Commission, Policy Officer in the Directorate-General for Climate Action, responsible for urban adaptation and insurance sector activities.
Born in Austria. Studies in Graz (A) and Berlin (D), PhD in urban geography. 1999-2005 Official at Graz City Council, in charge of EU funding in the urban development department. 2005-2011 Programme Manager at the European Commission, DG Regional and Urban Policy, responsible for the urban dimension of EU cohesion policy. |
 Luc Hens, Ph.D.Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO), Belgium Luc Hens graduated as a biologist and received his Ph. D. in Biology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium. Until 2010 He was a professor and Chair of the human ecology department. He also lectures at the Technican University in Sofia (Bulgaria), at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), and at Lisbon University (Portugal). He is currently a senior scientific adviser at the "Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek" (VITO), which is Belgium’s biggest environmental research organization. Professor Hens' specific area of research concerns the elucidation of interdisciplinary instruments for sustainable development. In this framework, he acted as the promoter of over 10 research projects on environmental management in ports in Vietnam and Cambodia. Luc Hens acts as an expert in environmental policy on several councils in Belgium. He is the European editor for the "International Journal of Environment, Development and Sustainability".
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 José Manuel Moreno Rodríguez, Ph.D.University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain I am Professor of Ecology and Director of the Department of Environmental Sciences at University of Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain. My scientific interest has focussed in knowing the structure and functioning of Mediterranean-type ecosystems in relation to fire. The relationship of forest fires with climate and climate change also interest me. My expertise covers from plant eco-physiology to ecosystem and landscape dynamics. My works have received over 3300 citations, and my H index is 31 (data based on google scholar). I have founded the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and the Institute of Environmental Studies of Castilla-La Mancha, both at University of Castilla-La Mancha. I have participated in numerous scientific and R&D management committees, including the STEP, EPOCH, and ENVIRONMENT EC programmes. I was Vice-Chairman of the ENRICH initiative of the EC. I founded and chaired the IGBP committee of Spain. I was a member of the steering committee of the ACACIA report, the first comprehensive assessment of the impacts of climate change in Europe. I directed the ECCE report, the first comprehensive assessment of the impacts of climate change in Spain. I was Coordinating Lead Author in the 4th assessment report of the IPCC. Currently, I am Vice-Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC and member of the IPCC Bureau. I have received the National Prize “El Batefuegos de Oro” (The Golden Fire Swatter), as well as the Silver Medal of Castilla-La Mancha. Being a member of the IPCC Bureau, this institution was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
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 Paolo Michele Ruti, Ph.D.ENEA Research Agency, Italy Paolo Michele Ruti was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1967. He received its degree in Physics at the University of Bologna in 1992 and its Ph.D in Geophysics at the University of Torino in 1995. His research interests includes large-scale variability of the atmospheric flow and regional climate variability and change. He was involved in many European projects on climate change prediction (RACCS, 1993-1995) and African Monsoon analysis (AMMA, 2005-2010). He is now head of the laboratory on Climate Modeling and Impacts at ENEA research agency, Italy, and he is coordinating a EU project on Climate Services over the Mediterranean region (CLIMRUN). He published more than 50 papers and book chapters.
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 Ismail Serageldin, Ph.D.Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt Ismail Serageldin is the Founding Director of The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in 2002. He also chairs the Boards of Directors for each of the BA's affiliated research institutes and museums. He serves as Chair or Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts, including the Advisory Committee of the World Social Science Report for 2013, as well as the UNESCO-supported World Water Scenarios (2013-) and Chairs the Executive Council of the World Digital Library (2010-) and the executive council of the Encyclopedia of Life (2010-) and the ICANN Panel for the review of the internet future (2013-). He also and co-chaired the African Union’s high level panel for Biotechnology (2006) and again for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in 2012-2013. Before that he notably co-chaired the Inter-Academy Panel on Capacity Building for Science in (2003-2004) and was a member of the High Level group for the Alliance of Civilizations convened by the Secretary General of the United Nations (2006-2007). He has held many important international positions, including Vice President of the World Bank (1992-2000), and Chairman Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, 1994-2000), founder and former chairman of the Global Water Partnership (GWP, 1996-2000) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), a microfinance program (1995-2000) and was professor of the International Savoirs Contre Pauvreté (Knowledge Against Poverty), at Collège de France, Paris, and distinguished professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
He is a member of many academies, including the US National Academy of Sciences (Public Welfare Medalist), the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the World Academy of Arts and Sciences (WAAS), the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the African Academy of Sciences, Institut d'Egypte (Egyptian Academy of Science), the Royal Belgian Academy, The Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and He lectures widely, and has delivered the Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg (2011) and the nexus Lecture in Tilburg, the Netherlands (2011) as well as the opening Keynote address to the first International summit of the Book at the Library of Congress in Washington DC (2012). He has received the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan and the Legion d’Honneur from France and is a Commandeur of Arts and Letters of the French Republic. In 2013, Serageldin and the BA received the Calouste Gulbenkian International Prize for thoughts and actions that make a decisive contribution to, and have significant impact on understanding, defending and fostering the universal values of respect for diversity and difference, a culture of tolerance and the conservation of the environment. He has also received the Pablo Neruda Medal from Chile, India’s Bajaj Prize for upholding Gandhian values outside India, and was the first recipient of the Grameen Prize for lifelong efforts to fight poverty, and received the “Champion of Youth” award by the World Youth Congress in Canada. Serageldin has published over 60 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He has hosted a cultural program on television in Egypt (over 130 episodes) and developed a TV Science series in Arabic and English. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cairo University and a Master's degree and a PhD from Harvard University and has received over 30 honorary doctorates. |
 Thomas Stocker, Ph.D.University of Bern, Switzerland Thomas Stocker was born in Zürich and obtained a PhD in Natural Sciences of ETH Zürich in 1987. He held research positions at University College London, McGill University (Montreal), Columbia University (New York) and University of Hawai'i (Honolulu). Since 1993 he is Professor of Climate and Environmental Physics at the University of Bern. His research encompasses the development of climate models of intermediate complexity, modelling past and future climate change, and the reconstruction of the chemical composition of precipitation and greenhouse gas concentrations based on ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica.
Thomas Stocker has authored or co-authored 180 peer-reviewed papers in the area of climate dynamics and paleoclimate modeling and reconstruction. After more than 10 years of service in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) he has been elected Co-Chair of Working Group I of the IPCC in 2008. The comprehensive assessment report Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis was approved by the governments on September 27, 2013. Thomas Stocker was awarded a Dr. Honoris Causa of the University of Versailles (France) in 2006 and the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union in 2009. In 2012 he was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. |
 Deon Terblanche, Ph.D.Atmospheric Research and Environment Branch, WMO, Switzerland Deon Terblanche is Co-Director of the Research Department at the World Meteorological Organization since 2011 and he is overall responsible for the activities of the Commission for Atmospheric Sciences, the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) and the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme. Deon has a PhD in radar signal processing from the engineering faculty of the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He has worked as forecaster, researcher, Chief Scientist and Research Director at the South African Weather Service over a period of 30 years before joining WMO. In 2006 he and his research team received an international research award for ground-breaking research done in the field of radar storm tracking and microphysical studies.
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 Wolfgang TeubnerICLEI European Secretariat, Germany Wolfgang Teubner is the ICLEI Regional Director for Europe and also the Managing Director (CEO) of the ICLEI European Secretariat, which he was already leading since 2002 in the function of Executive Director based on power of attorney. He is responsible for the strategic and economic development of ICLEI in Europe.
He has more than 20 years professional experience working with local governments on sustainable urban development, climate adaptation and mitigation, Local Agenda 21, waste management, as well as sustainable urban transport policies. During his career he has been involved in more than 100 European an international projects, including several research activities. In the period between 1994 and 1999 he has coordinated ICLEI‘s European Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and ICLEI‘s European Local Agenda 21 Guidance and Training Programme. From the start in 1994 he has been involved in the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign and has participated in the drafting of the Aalborg Charta as well as the Aalborg Commitments. Between 1999 and 2004 he has represented the Local Government sector on the European Environment and Health Committee and has been a speaker at many high level international events including the European Council of Ministers. |
 Agis TsourosWΗΟ, Regional Office for Europe, Denmark He is Director of the Division of Policy and Governance for Health and Wellbeing at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The Division is responsible for the implementation of the new European Health Policy - Health 2020; national and sub-national health policies; governance for health; social determinants of health and mainstreaming equity, gender and human rights; vulnerability and health including migrants and Roma health; the Healthy Cities and Regions for Health networks; mainstreaming health promotion and coordination of the healthy settings networks. Since he joined the WHO Regional Office for Europe in 1988 he has had programmatic and managerial responsibility for several areas including urban health policies and healthy cities; healthy ageing, public health, NCD and risk factors, environmental health and health policies at national and sub-national levels. During the period 2004 to 2006 he was seconded to the Greek Ministry of Health and assumed the position of Chairman of the National Board of Public Health and President of the Greek CDC. He played a central role in the public health preparedness for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
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 Kurt VandenbergheEC RTD.I, Climate Action and Resource Efficiency, Belgium Kurt Vandenberghe is Director for Environment at the European Commission's DG Research and Innovation since July 2013.
He previously worked as head of the cabinet of European Commissioner Janez Potočnik, first in charge of science and research (2008-2009) and subsequently in charge of environment policy (from 2010). Kurt was deputy head of Janez Potočnik’s cabinet between 2004 and 2008, where he was in charge of coordinating the research area and the research framework programmes. Between 1999 and 2004, he was a member of the cabinet of European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, where he was in charge of life sciences, biotechnology, public health, space policy, transport, science and society issues, ethical questions and press and communication. Kurt joined the European Commission in 1996 as co-ordinator of the Commission’s Intermodal Transport Task Force and of the Transport Research Programme. He subsequently was co-ordinator of DG Transport’s relations with the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions. Before entering the Commission, Kurt worked for 4 years as a manager at Ernst & Young Association Management, where he set up, managed and represented international trade associations. Assignments included FreightForward Europe, a lobby group of the world’s nine largest freight forwarding companies, and the US automotive components industry. After reading French and Italian literature at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) and obtaining a degree in Public and International Affairs at the University Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL), Kurt gained a Master of Arts degree in International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (S.A.I.S.) in Bologna, Italy and Washington D.C., US. Kurt is co-founder and board member of Journalismfund.eu and the VZW Scriptieprijs. He is married and has three children. |
| Upon confirmation the list of keynote speakers will be updated. |
