Speakers
Clare Sands
A sixth-generation fiddle player and bilingual singer
From Cork, Ireland. Clare draws deeply from the music of her ancestors, weaving Traditional Irish roots with Contemporary sounds and influences. Her songs are deeply connected to places where folklore, language, and activism rise in song. Known for her raw and infectious energy, she embodies a fearless warrior-like spirit that unites audiences around the world.
Louise Allen
Director of the Creative Futures Academy
Creative Futures Academy is a partnership between the National College of Art & Design (NCAD), Institute of Art, Design + Technology (IADT) and University College Dublin (UCD). Louise has held numerous roles in the cultural sector as CEO and Head of Innovation and Research at the Design & Crafts Council Ireland; President of World Crafts Council Europe, and Head of the International Programme for Irish Design 2015.
Jennie Moran
Visual Artist
Jennie Moran is a visual artist whose work explores hospitality as a creative and connective philosophy. Blending sculpture and food, she founded Luncheonette, an art/hospitality project at National College of Art and Design in 2013. She lectures widely, mentors in organisational hospitality and curates discursive events. She is chair of the Oxford Food Symposium and the Dublin Gastronomy Symposium and is the recipient of the Getty Research scholarship. Jennie is the author of ‘How to Soften Corners’ and was named Best Emerging Voice at the Irish Food Writing Awards.
Martin McGinn
Design Researcher, Service Designer and Healthcare Innovation Lead
Martin McGinn is a design academic, service designer and lecturer at Ulster University with over 20 years’ experience at the intersection of healthcare, design and education. He co-founded the innovative out-of-hours end-of-life care service, Life and Time, and has led major initiatives in palliative care education and healthcare innovation. Martin co-developed Clinical Creativity, a pioneering programme delivered through NCAD, UCD School of Medicine and the Creative Futures Academy, using design thinking and creative practice to transform clinical education. His work champions human-centred design to improve healthcare services, learning and patient experiences
Shane Casey
Creative Lead at Accenture and Speculative Design Futures Graduate, CFA at IADT
Shane Casey designs rehearsals of the future: structured encounters that let institutions test their strategies before reality does. He builds serious games and design-fiction experiences that take intangible questions and make them real. His recent work includes Raise Your Voice, a wargame on AI adoption in the humanitarian sector, and a design-fiction escape room on decentralised digital identity at SXSW.
He is a creative fellow at King’s College London, working with the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Slavery in War and on the future of slavery in conflict. Shane leads applied futures work at Accenture’s innovation hub, The Dock, in Dublin.
Charlotte Barker
Chief Executive, Institute of Designers in Ireland
Charlotte Barker is the Chief Executive of the representative body, The Institute of Designers in Ireland. Charlotte is a member of the Government Forum for Digital Creative Industries and a member of An Bord for the National College of Art and Design. In 2023 Charlotte instigated the sustainability platform Design Declares and recently led Design 2035, a vision of where Irish design will be in 10 years. The IDI will be leading a National Design Policy Lab programme through to 2027.
Alex Milton
Head of The School of Design, NCAD and CFA Institutional Lead
Professor Alex Milton is Head of the School of Design at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Ireland. His work focuses on participatory design, creative pedagogy and design for policy – developing national design strategies and running national design initiatives. He has authored 8 books. His creative work has been exhibited at numerous international venues including MUDAC Lausanne, Designers Block Milan, Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Scotland and 100% Design London. He has taught at Edinburgh College of Art, Heriot-Watt University, University of Dundee, Edinburgh Napier University, Central Saint Martins and the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing.
Robert Power
Irish artist working in various mediums
His music has been described by Hotpress Magazine as “powerful, heartfelt and thought-provoking”. He has previously been selected for the RTÉ Radio 1 playlist and music industry magazine Record Of The Day and has performed at music, arts and theatre festivals in Ireland and the UK.
Robert is currently in development with A Version of Life, a multidisciplinary show created in the Trapdoor Theatre at University College Dublin with support from Creative Futures Academy. Directed by Olivier Award Winner Donnacadh O’Briain, the piece first showcased at Dublin Fringe Festival in 2024 and will make its international debut at Edinburgh Fringe 2027.
PJ Mathews
Director of CFA at UCD
P.J. Mathews is Director of the CFA at University College Dublin, where he is a Professor of Irish Literature, Drama and Culture. He has written widely on Irish literature, theatre, music and cultural history. He is co-editor (with Declan Kiberd) of Handbook of the Irish Revival (2015), editor of The Cambridge Companion to J. M. Synge (2009), and author of Revival (2003).
Film and television credits include Executive Producer (with Philip King and Adam Clayton), In Time: Dónal Lunny (South Wind Blows, 2025); Creator, The Flourishing (Tyrone Productions/ RTÉ, 2021); Script Writer and Literary Advisor, Voices of Ireland (Sky Arts / Red Shoe Productions, 2021).
Vivienne Patterson
Head of Skills and Engagement, Higher Education Authority, Ireland
Dr. Vivienne Patterson is Head of Skills, Engagement and Statistics at the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Since joining the HEA in 2006 as Head of Statistics, she has transformed the communication of education data through key national reports. Appointed to her current role in 2016, Vivienne oversees Springboard+, national apprenticeships in higher education, and the €300 million Human Capital Initiative driving agility and innovation across Ireland’s higher education system. She plays a key role in strategic engagement with enterprise to align education with future skills needs and serves on both the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the High-Level Skills Implementation Group.
Sarah Glennie
Director, National College of Art & Design, Dublin
Professor Sarah Glennie is Director of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to NCAD, she was Director of The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2012-2015) and previously as Director of the Irish Film Institute (IFI) (2008-2012). She was Artistic Director of the Model Arts and Niland Gallery in Sligo (2005-2008), and Commissioner of Ireland’s participation in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005.
David Smith
President, Institute of Art, Design + Technology, Dun Laoghaire
David Smith was appointed President of IADT in 2020. He is the former Head of Faculty of Film, Art and Creative Technologies at IADT. He has extensive experience in higher education and professional practice. He is principal of the widely acclaimed design studio Atelier and was Programme Chair and Senior Lecturer in Visual Communications Design at IADT until 2015.
Regina Uí Chollatáin
Principal UCD College of Arts and Humanities
Regina Uí Chollatáin is the Principal / Dean of UCD College of Arts and Humanities. She is the Chair of Modern Irish and Literature in University College Dublin and was appointed the Director of the UCD Ad Astra Academy in 2025. She is the Chair of Foras na Gaeilge, one of the six North-South implementation bodies of the Good Friday Agreement, responsible for the promotion of Irish on the island of Ireland, and she is a member of the board of the Fulbright Commission.
Haude Blanc
Rural Development Expert
Haude Blanc is a rural development expert currently working as Networking and Project Officer at the Rural Pact Support Office, where she supports stakeholder engagement, networking activities and the implementation of the Rural Pact across EU Member States. She works closely with national and regional partners to organise policy dialogues, peer-learning activities and Rural Pact events, with a particular focus on strengthening integrated approaches to rural development. Before joining the Rural Pact Support Office, she worked in European rural policy and territorial development.
Klaus Ehrlich
General Secretary at Ruraltour – European Federation of Rural Tourism
Klaus Ehrlich studied Economics – Business Administration at the Universities of Siegen (DE) and Sevilla (ES). Co-founder manager of the rural tourism associations in Andalusia until 2006. Leading positions in Ruraltour – European Federation of Rural Tourism since 2002, currently Secretary General. Coordinator of the Pact for Skills in Tourism LSP and of the Community Group Rural Tourism of the Rural Pact. Member of expert groups and consultative bodies at the European Commission related with tourism and rural development. Independent work in consultancy and training at vocational and academic institutions.
Albert Meijer
Advisor Creative Europe Culture
Albert Meijer advises Dutch organisations on the Creative Europe Culture programme. He previously worked for the Brussels-based international network for performing arts IETM, and combines his work for DutchCulture with his own artistic practice as a theatre maker and comedian.
Anna Ochmann
Visual Artist, Interior Designer, Researcher, and Expert in the cultural and creative sectors
Anna Ochmann graduated the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and is currently pursuing her doctoral research at a university in Koblenz, Germany. Her interdisciplinary practice brings together art, design, and research, with a focus on the relationships between environment, memory, multisensory experience, and well-being. Alongside her artistic work, she has over 20 years of experience leading research and development projects in culture, education, and the creative industries, fostering international collaboration and social innovation.
Merje Laiapea
In Relation Lab, Lanka.pro
Through her consultancy In Relation Lab, Merje shapes research insights, practices, encounters and programmes that contribute to systemic transformation processes. She works collaboratively across borders, connecting culture, heritage and creative economy development with social and civic innovation. Merje is also a member of Lanka.pro collective where she develops solutions that help communities, places and organisations sense, lead and build from the emerging future. She is particularly interested in how artistic intelligence cultivates ecosystem awareness and helps us operate in more relational and regenerative ways. Merje has an MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries from SOAS University of London.
Anna Spechtenhauser
Deputy Head of the Stuttgart Region European Office in Brussels
Anna Spechtenhauser is Deputy Head of the Stuttgart Region European Office in Brussels. She specialises in EU affairs, EU project management and skills development, with a particular focus on the automotive ecosystem and the cultural and creative industries (CCSI).
She leads the Regional Implementation Working Group and the Regional Pact for Skills within the Automotive Skills Alliance and co-leads the Creativity and New European Bauhaus (NEB) Working Group at ERRIN, where she also co-organises the annual EU Design Days. Anna studied Political Science in Austria and Denmark and is passionate about building European partnerships and translating EU policies into regional impact.
Koenraad Hinnekint
Performing Artist, Art Educator, and Posthuman Researcher, LUCA School of Arts
Koenraad Hinnekint is a performing artist, art educator, and posthuman researcher working at the intersection of the arts and educational sciences, with a keen interest in utopianism, futures thinking, and posthumanism. Based in Brussels at LUCA School of Arts and in Leuven at KU Leuven’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Koenraad holds an MA in Music Pedagogy, an MA in Conducting, and is a PhD researcher in Educational Sciences. His research interests lie in the future of school design in higher arts education, with a particular focus on ecologies of justice through posthuman and post-digital lenses. Koenraad has extensive experience as a project coordinator for numerous initiatives, funded by institutions such as the Association KU Leuven, the Flemish Government, and Erasmus+.
Chiara Lipari
Project Officer at Social Economy Europe
Chiara Lipari is a Project Officer at Social Economy Europe, where she is responsible for SEE’s activities within the Large-Scale Skills Partnership for the Proximity and Social Economy ecosystem, co-coordinated by Social Economy Europe and EURICSE. She also coordinates SEE´s EU funded projects activities including project proposals, work packages, multi-stakeholder partnerships, reporting and events.
Anna Chiara Carlet
Research Fellow and Project Manager specialising in sustainability and cultural
innovation
Her practice explores how culture, territories, and production systems can co-design
regenerative futures, fostering dialogue between creative industries, communities, and
ecological transition processes.
At aiku, she contributes to the development of strategies and projects that reimagine
culture as an infrastructure for innovation. Her work challenges the cultural and
creative sector to actively engage with the green transition, enabling circularity
pathways and forms of industrial symbiosis between industry and craftsmanship, while
promoting sustainable practices, material experimentation, and new collaborative
models. She has been collaborating with aiku since 2023.
