THOMAS UGO ERMACORA
Is a creative director and social entrepreneur whose work focuses on urban regeneration and participatory design practices. He is the founder and curator of LimeWharf, an artistic community and innovation hub in East London, and curator of the RECODE Talks, a series of interactive social events on topics in urbanism. Thomas previously ran the transition consultancy Etikstudio, which promoted sustainable lifestyles through experiential events like Dreams on Wheels, a travelling exhibition on cycling culture run in collaboration with Gehl Architects and Biomega. He has worked on Zero Carbon projects throughout Europe and acted as a strategic partner, creative director and business advisor to green start-ups such as Ethical Economy Ltd, which makes value-based performance tools, and Inhabitat.com, the largest weblog devoted to sustainable design. Part urbanist and part futurist, he is currently writing a book on innovation in urban regeneration with Urbanista publisher Lucy Bullivant and restlessly searching out new opportunities to improve cities through creativity. Thomas is the founder of Clear Village.
WOUTER STEINER
Wouter is a business consultant and lawyer for companies specialising in green energy and mobile communication. He is a partner at HEG Consult, a multidisciplinary consultancy offering organisations expertise in finance, marketing, operations and general management. Prior to joining HEG, Wouter was CEO of Teleholding International B.V., a platform for multimedia solutions for a variety of services, such as software and hardware applications and data-mining solutions.
PAUL HUGHES
Paul is a leading European authority on design thinking who specialises in fostering co-creation and emergent dynamics among individuals, communities and governments. He has been lecturing on and facilitating participatory design practice for ten years, and works to find the right balance between theory and practice within the field of design. Prior to pursuing his career as a lecturer and design catalyst, he was a partner and strategic director at Lava Design Agency in Amsterdam.
SIMON PARKINSON
Simon has over 30 years experience of working in the Culture and Leisure Sector, including 20 years in senior local government positions; plus experience of working in the voluntary sector, for a leisure trust as Managing Director and for the Sports Council. The more senior jobs have typically involved working in a complex political environment; the delivery of service transformation programmes, cultural change and significant revenue savings; the development of relevant strategies, policies and procedures and contributing to the corporate life of the employing body. Simon has extensive experience of leading community development projects and encouraging volunteers to help manage services in conjunction with paid staff.