Congress
European Creative Rooftop Network

ADJE VAN OEKELEN

As a farmer's daughter, Adje has been working in the organic sector for her whole career; working on the field, as a community builder, as a teacher and as a social entrepreneur. As the director of Volle Grond she runs the rooftop farm at PAKT. This unique ecosystem of 2000 square metres in the heart of Antwerp hosts a community of 200 rooftop farmers, 3000 yearly visitors, a local foodhub, event spaces, cultural events, workshops. By building communities, local food chains and innovative urban farms (on roofs) Adje wants to contribute to liveable cities and sustainable food systems.

EYTAN LEVI

Eytan Levi works on the adaptation of existing buildings to ongoing climate and societal changes. 

Eytan grew up under a zinc roof in Paris, which he first climbed over when he was 14. While he was quickly enamoured with the spatial freedom of roofs, he also experienced firsthand the thermal discomfort they can cause in buildings.

As a co-founder of Roofscapes, a venture launched at MIT and headquartered in Paris, Eytan focuses on mitigating urban heat through the installation of planted and accessible platforms over pitched roofs. At Roofscapes, he is responsible for driving the company's growth, engaging with public and private building owners, and advocating for climate change adaptation. He also co-founded the Paris Rooftop Days festival, which connects various industries related to roofing and promotes public access to rooftops.

Eytan studied architecture and real estate development at MIT, EPFL and Tokyo University. While at MIT, he conducted Still Standing, a design research project that explored the renovation of Soviet-era mass housing using mass timber prefabrication.

MATTIJS MAUSSEN

Mattijs Maussen (1970) holds a Dutch passport (still) and is based in Prague, Czechia. He currently works as a Strategic Advisor to the European Capitals of Culture. In his 20 year career he has experience initiating, managing, keeping the finger on the pulse and solving crisis of European scale projects, programmes and partnerships. His work has brought him to 65 countries where he learned the value of engagement to find that urgencies that shape impactful interventions. Listening to issues you don’t want to hear is not easy and therefore provides meaning. In his ongoing work with European Capitals of Culture he has worked with 15 cities that competed all together with more than 100 candidate cities for 14 titles – 11 teams were successful.

He was part of the team that prepared Faro's candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2027.

RUI MOREIRA

Rui Moreira (Porto, 1956) has been the Mayor of Porto since 2013. He holds a degree in Business Management from the University of Greenwich (London, England) and has spent most of his professional life as an entrepreneur, working in diverse sectors such as maritime shipping and the canning industry. 

In 2001, he was elected President of the Porto Commercial Association, a position he held until 2013. Simultaneously, he served in various advisory roles in the fields of commerce, culture, and higher education, notably at the University of Porto and the Portuguese Catholic University.

In 2013, Rui Moreira ran as an independent candidate for Mayor of Porto and won. He has since secured two more election victories, one in 2017 and another in 2021.

He is the author of several books, including "Rumo ao Abismo" ("Heading Toward the Abyss"), "Uma Questão de Carácter" ("A Matter of Character"), and "Ultimato" ("Ultimatum"), in which he provides political and socio-economic analyses of Portuguese society. 

Rui Moreira has received numerous national and international honours and decorations. To promote the city and discuss its future, he has participated in numerous international forums, including the Urban Forum (Helsingborg, Sweden); Green Cities – Ciudades de Futuro: Por un modelo de vida más sostenible (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain); the Annual OECD Conference (Cork, Ireland); the Conference on the Future of Europe, promoted by the European Commission (Porto, Portugal); MIPIM – Marché International des Professionnels de L’Immobilier (Cannes, France); the UNWTO Mayors Forum for Sustainable Urban Tourism (Porto, Portugal); and the Cities Forum 2020 (Porto, Portugal).

LÉON VAN GEEST

Léon van Geest is the founder and co-director of Rotterdamse Dakendagen (Rotterdam Rooftop Days), an NGO which promotes sustainable rooftop use through events. 
For ten years Rotterdamse Dakendagen opens up and programs over 60 rooftops every year in June.
Besides that festival they have organised special projects like the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk in 2022, with stairs to, and bridges connecting several buildings in inner city Rotterdam, which attracted over 200.000 visitors. In 2023 they made a kilometre long art trail on the rooftop of a shopping mall with over 50 local artists. And this year they laid a 2 kilometre long carpet on an old elevated railway track where people could experience a walking concert.

ANAMARIA VRABIE

Anamaria is a behavioural-informed economist and leader of urban innovation practices with over 15 years of international experience. In her work she strongly combines her experiences as social innovator and researcher to both create and support knowledge formation and exchange around future-oriented topics such as: (1) new governance frameworks and public sector innovation labs, (2) future of work and skills, (3) role of arts and culture, as well as wellbeing norms and standards for strengthening social connection, purpose and a growth model beyond GDP, (4) climate adaptation.  

She currently supports European cities in developing strategic action plans and transferring good practices, acting as URBACT lead expert and European Urban Initiative knowledge and capacity building expert.  Between 2017- 2021 she has co-designed and managed Cluj-Napoca Urban Innovation Unit, the first municipal public innovation lab in Eastern Europe. She is also co-founder of the Urban Insights Center- Urban INC, a think-tank advancing the practice of sustainable urban development since 2010.

ISAIAS FANLO

Isaias Fanlo teaches Modern and Contemporary Iberian Cultures at the University of Cambridge. His work on Iberian cultures, scenic arts and queer theory has been published in scholarly magazines, as well as in books like De vidas y virus (2019), Entre el cuarto oscuro y la utopía queer (2023) and Daring Adaptations, Creative Failures, and Experimental Performances in Iberian Theater (2023). His monograph El llibre rosa (2004) was a pioneer work on gender and sexuality in Catalonia. He is currently working on a new monograph, which will be titled The Erratic and the Obscene.

 

Parallel to his academic trajectory, Isaias Fanlo has developed a career as a cultural manager in the scenic arts. He has been editor, dramaturgist and creator of contents for Barcelona’s Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, artistic advisor for Barcelona’s Teatre Lliure, and literary advisor for different projects in Barcelona and Chicago. In 2013 he co founded Terrats en Cultura, Barcelona’s awarded rooftop scenic arts festival and an active member of the European Creative Rooftop Network.

 

Isaias Fanlo also contributes to generalist media in Catalonia and Spain, where he writes about scenic arts, culture and activism. His first novel, El pes de la boira (“The Weight of the Mist”) will be published in February 2025.

www.isaiasfanlo.me

PAUL VAN ROOSMALEN

Paul van Roosmalen works as programme manager for the municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. He studied Construction Technology at the University of Applied Sciences in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NL) and afterwards received a master’s degree in construction management & urban development at the Technical University in Eindhoven (NL). After working in Quito (EC) as an English teacher he continued his professional career at the city of Rotterdam. Working in various roles ranging from project manager, advisor to programme manager, he has always had an interest in sustainability and innovations.

Since 2011 Paul has been working on rooftops as additional space in the city to accommodate a wide variety of urban challenges. Paul followed the diversification of rooftop functions up close: after starting with green roofs, soon water storage was introduced (blue). Later sustainable energy production (yellow) and social functions (red) joined in. Currently living on rooftops (purple) is coming up fast.

Paul works to combine these different functions to create multifunctional rooftop use.

SOPHIE STRAVENS

Sophie Stravens (she/her) is a Dutch performer and presenter/moderator in the field of spatial development and cultural arts. She has a background in Architecture, Management in the Built Environment (TU Delft), and Music Theatre (FHK Tilburg). 

Her performance lecture Once Upon a Roof transformes urban rooftops into captivating performance stages, using city skylines as breathtaking backdrops. Once Upon a Roof was earlier performed in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Antwerp, inviting audiences to transcend the urban hustle and reflect on the possibilities of rooftop spaces.

ROGÉRIO BACALHAU

Rogério Bacalhau has been the Mayor of Faro since 2013 and is currently serving his third term in office. He holds a degree in Mathematics, with a specialization in Education, from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Before entering politics, he worked in the field of education and school administration. He is currently a member of the National Education Council and serves as a board member of the ANMP – National Association of Portuguese Municipalities.

HELEEN VANDEN BERGH

Heleen Vanden Bergh is a program leader of DAKkan for the city of Antwerp, a member of ECRN. Since 2020, Heleen coordinates the bi-annual city festival DAKkan, on 50 rooftops in the city. The festival and many other public interventions aim to inspire every citizen of Antwerp about the spatial and climate-robust potential of rooftops. As a political and social scientist, Heleen loves setting up interdisciplinary collaborations between culture and urban development, employment, or education. Working 25 years for the city of Antwerp, Heleen worked mainly as a manager for cultural centres and libraries. Before that, she coordinated a social-cultural program for a new park on a former railway yard, Park Spoor Noord.

CAROLINA CANTINHO

Carolina Cantinho is a choreographer, performer, and contemporary dance teacher who has collaborated with various creators and institutions for over 15 years. Alongside Margarida Cantinho, she is the co-founder of CAMADA – Centro Coreográfico, in Faro, where she is the artistic director since 2020. Carolina develops pedagogical and choreographic work with diverse age groups in both national and international dance institutions and projects such as Opus Ballet (IT), Companhia de Dança de Almada (PT), Escola Artística de Dança do Conservatório Nacional (PT), Escola Superior de Dança de Lisboa (PT), Projecto Quorum / Quorum Academy (PT), AZul – Rede de Teatros do Algarve (PT), among others. As a performer she collaborates with various national entities and creators in multidisciplinary artistic projects. She has received international choreography awards, including Best Choreography and Innovation Award (VIBE, Vienna, 2019), 1st place in the Netherlands Choreography Competition (Harlem, 2017), and Most Innovative Choreography (DWC Bucharest, 2015). She holds a Master’s degree in Contemporary Choreographic Creation (ESD, Lisbon, 2012) and develops her own creations and co-creations, including: iD (2022), as the result of an artistic residency in Antwerp within the initiative of the ECRN – European Creative Rooftop Network.

LARSEN BERVOETS

Larsen Bervoets (Antwerp, 1979) is a multi-disciplinary and experimental artist. He creates paintings, sculptures, collages, assemblages, installations, and scenography. He is fascinated by the interaction of colour and space, combined with perspective, the human point of view, and the natural play of light and shadow. Interdisciplinary work allows him to adopt a broader perspective, enabling diverse approaches and solutions to emerge for each unique challenge. 

As part of the ECRN initiative, Larsen painted over 6,000 square meters of rooftops across six cities in 2023: Faro, Rotterdam, Nicosia, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Gothenburg. This project was developed in a participatory manner, actively involving residents and local communities in each city. According to Larsen, connection was not just the starting point for the design but also influenced the overall approach and execution.

PIER LUIGI SACCO

Sacco is a Professor of Economy of Culture at IULM University in Milan, Scientific Director at the Campus Foundation in Lucca and Visiting Professor in Applied Humanities at Harvard University.

He has published more than 200 papers in international journals regarding topics such as culture-based development, cultural policies, cultural and creative industries and game theory applied to cultural evolution.

He has provided consulting services to public administration offices, institutions and private companies at international level, as well as being invited on a regular basis as keynote speaker to major international conferences on topics including cultural policies and the economy of culture. He is a member of the Commission for the Economy of Culture and Museums at the ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, of the European Expert Network on Culture (EENC), of the European House of Culture and of the Advisory Group at the European Foundation.

He writes articles for Il Sole 24 Ore, Flash Art, Artribune and Domus.

Sacco studies and describes the value of culture in various industries, starting from the business sector, focusing on the relevance it has in contemporary corporate processes and in terms of social accountability. He addresses public administration offices on topics such as enhancing and managing artistic-cultural assets and museums, large cultural events and territorial development, territorial planning, culture and urban transformation.

Thanks to his international experiences, he is also knowledgeable about topics including European cultural policies and programmes, the global scenarios of cultural and creative production and the emerging cultural scenarios in the Middle and Far East, more specifically as regards intercultural dialogue and social inclusion. He is also an expert on the contemporary art market.

TIAGO PRATA

Tiago Prata (Lisbon, 1989) is a cultural manager, entrepreneur and journalist. Working at the transdisciplinary intersections of cultural production, placemaking and international diplomacy, Tiago develops and supports innovative, international creative projects such as international rooftop festival networks, training programmes for night culture producers, or sunlight art festivals. Founder and director at Transversal Project, a transnational agency providing strategic advice to cities, cultural agents and creative industries, on European fundraising and cultural cooperation.