José António Bandeirinha
(Coimbra, 1958)

Associate lecturer of the CEARC at the University of Coimbra. From 1978 to 1983 he attended the Architecture Course of the Superior School of Fine Arts, Porto. He practises as a teacher of project disciplines at the Architecture Department of the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra. Taking architecture and space organization as a basic reference, he has written about the most diverse issues –city, theatre, culture–, and, besides the book Quinas Vivas, he has published more than thirty articles in magazines and collections. He obtained his PhD from the University of Coimbra in 2002, with a thesis called "The SAAL Process and Architecture on April 25, 1974"

Some of his works are: Quinas Vivas. Memória Descritiva de alguns episódios significativos do conflito entre fazer moderno e fazer nacional na Arquitectura Portuguesa dos anos 40 (Porto, FAUP Publicações, 1996); «Edifícios da Associação Académica de Coimbra», in Arquitectura do Século XX. Portugal (Frankfurt am Main, Deutsches Architektur-Museum Prestel, 1998); «Arquitectura Moderna. O Grau Zero da Memória», in Arquitectura Moderna Portuguesa 1920-1970 (Lisboa, IPPAR, 2004); e «Portugal do Estado Novo. Arquitectura e Política do Espírito», in El GATCPAC y su tiempo. Política, cultura y arquitectura en los años treinta (Barcelona, Fundación DOCOMOMO Ibérico, 2005).

In 2003 he was a member of the Scientific Commission of the International Seminar "Insertions", on Urban Design. The seminar was organised by the Centre of  Architecture Sudies of the FCTUC, in collaboration with the Municipal House of Coimbra, Metro Mondego S.A. and Coimbra Capital Nacional da Cultura 2003. In 2005, he coordinated the Região Centro staff of the Project IAP XX (Enquiry about the 20th Century Architecture in Porugal, promoted by the Ordem dos Arquitectos. In 2006 he participated in the exhibition as a commissioner "Habitar Portogallo 2003-2005", integrated in the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale.

In 1987, he was given a Honourable Mention from the Instituto Nacional de Habitação in the Public National Contest "Anteprojecto de Habitação Evolutiva", collaborating with architect Carlos Figueiredo. In 1994 he was awarded ex aequo the Prize of Support for the Recovery and Revaluation of the Artistic heritage from the Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian, thanks to his project of restoration of the Esther de Carvalho Theatre, in Montemor–o–Velho.

Paulo Castro Seixas
(Angola)

Sociology Master's, Doctor of Anthropology and  Associate Lecturer at the Fernando Pessoas University and vice-president of the NGO "Medicos do Mundo-Portugal" (in which he is responsible for one of the projects of this organisation in Timor). He is the coordinator of the postgraduate courses on humanitary Interventions and Urban Public Policies. Since 2001 he has been doing anthropological investigation in Timor, at the same time he has been involved in cooperation projects.

As a researcher he was responsible for the project "Dili: Ethnography of the Social and Spatial Codes of Reconsrtuction in a Post-Colonial Capital" (2000-2003); researcer in Portugal for an international research between 1995 and 1997 on "The Post-Graduate Studies in Europe", financed by the EU and carried out in 8 countries. He was a specialist adviser for the anthropology section in a project of the Angolan Ministry of Culture & Education and the World Bank on curricular development (1999 - 2000). He also woked in the anthropology section of the project "Gender-Auditing as a Mainstreaming tool: An Innovative Gender equal Opportunities Strategy in Portugal".

His books are Timor-Leste. Viagens, Transições, Mediações (Porto, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 2006); Relações e Situações Críticas na Enfermagem (in collaboration with Pedro Pereira; Porto, Univ. Fernando Pessoa, 2005); O Figurado: Uma visão do Mundo (with Paulo Providência; Barcelos, Museu de Olaria, 2002); O Futuro do Passado — Timor Lorosae (with Ana Gomes & José Manuel Garcia; Lisboa, Centro Nacional de Cultura/APAD, 2002 [portuguese & english edition]) and A Carreira dos Professores — Constrangimentos, Oportunidades e Estratégias (Porto: Universidade Fernando Pessoa, 1997).

He has collaborated in numerous scientific magazines and congresses and he has directed several film documentaries, such as Cris: Uma História de Timor (with Susana Gaspar, 2003) and Umane Mane Foun – O Regresso dos Rituais (2004).

Hamma Mohamed Cori Emhamed

Major of the Farsia "daira", within the Smara camp for Saharan refugees.

Juan Luis Dalda

Town Planner and Architecture PhD Graduate. He is a senior lecturer at the University of A Coruña, teaching Town Planning and Zoning. He created the Zoning Office of A Coruña together with Ánxel Viña in 1978. He developed Town Planning works for several boroughs and municipalities, among them Ferrol, Oleiros, Santiago de Compostela, Madrid and the Atlantic Axis Towns Association.

He was awarded with the European Town Planning Prize [1997-98] for his Special Plan of Protection and Rehabilitation of the Santiago de Compostela Historic Part of Town. In 2006 he published the book Cidade Difusa en Galicia in collaboration with Manuel G. Docampo & Javier G. Harguindey.

He has participated in collective publications such as Voces en Compostela (directed by Xosé A. Perozo; Santiago de Compostela: Consorcio da Cidade, 1993), Estudios del Plan estratégico de Vigo y su área de influencia (dirixido por Xosé María Mella Márquez; Vigo: Consorcio de la Zona Franca, 1994), Estrategias para Galicia (coordinated by J. Álvarez Corbacho; A Coruña: La Voz de Galicia, 1994), Santiago de Compostela, la ciudad histórica como presente (published by Carlos Martí Arís; Santiago de Compostela: Consorcio de Santiago, 1995), Infraestructuras y desarrollo regional: efectos económicos de la Autopista del Atlántico (directed by E. Pérez Touriño; Madrid: Civitas, 1997), Liber: de libros y liberdades (homenaje al librero Enrique Molist) (published by Sergio Vences Fernández; A Coruña: Universidade da Coruña, 1999), Santiago de Compostela: arquitecturas del siglo XX (coordinated by Xosé Allegue; Santiago de Compostela: Colexio Oficial de Arquitectos de Galicia, 2001) and Las infraestructuras de comunicaciones y transportes en el desarrollo territorial de Galicia (dirixido por José Antonio Díaz Fernández e Rubén C. Lois González; Pontevedra: Deputación, 2004) and he also coordinated other projects such as Parque do río Cádavo, Fene: ideas para o seu acondicionamiento urbanístico (Pontedeume: López Torre, 1989), O Sistema Urbano do Eixo Atlántico (Porto: Cámara Municipal, 1996). He was also one of the coordinators of the Project Earth, a set of didactic activities for secondary schools promted by the Galician Architects Association.

He has often contributed to magazines such as Grial, Cadernos A Nosa Terra, Obradoiro, Ruptura, Tempos Novos and the Revista Galega de Ciencias Sociais.

Francisco José Lopes de Sousa Diniz

Associated lecturer at the University of Trás-os-Montes/Alto Douro (UTAD) in the department of Economics and Sociology. He is an economic and regional development specialist.

Francisco José Lopes de Sousa Diniz was born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique in 1954. Doctor of economics. His main research area is economic development and growth and regional development.

He has participated in and organised several congresses and international scientific meetings, such as Seminario Agro -Industry : Distribution - Strategies to face the Single Market, 1993. The Portuguese economy at the Turn of the Century, sobordinated to the topic "Euro and Globalisation — the Uncertainties of a Process", (1999). VIII APDR National Meeting, Vila Real, UTAD. Subtitled "Developmenta and Ruralities within the European Space", (2001); and the 5th International Meeting of the Markettowns Research Project, in which thwy were representing the UTAD, 2003.

He contributed to the books Compêndio Economia Regional published by APDR (coordinated by Professor José Silva Costa, Coimbra, (2002); Colectividades Territoriais, Financiamento e Cooperação Transfronteiriça. (2002). He has also written, without collaborators, the book Crescimento e Desenvolvimento Económico: Modelos e Agentes do Processo, 2006.

He has contributed to several magazines, such as Interações ˆ Revista Internacional de Desenvolvimento Local, Gestão e Desenvolvimento, Episteme e a Revista Portuguesa de Estudos Regionais.

Manuel García Docampo

Senior Lecutrer at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of A Coruña. He is the author of the books A construcción social do territorio galego (Santa Comba: TresCtres, 2003) and El concepto y la medida de las desigualdades sociales (A Coruña: Universidade da Coruña, 2000), as well as diverse contributions to specialised magazines, for instance, his article "As novas áreas de expansión urbana na Galicia contemporánea", signed together with Juan Luis Dalda, in the magazine Revista Galega de Ciencias Sociais (n.º 1, 2003).

He has also participated in various congresses and collective works, such as the 2nd volume of Expectativas de la Sociedad del Bienestar (Oviedo: Asociación Asturiana de Sociología, 1993) or Homo peregrinus (directed by Antón Alvarez Sousa; Vigo: Xerais,  1999).

He has also written articles for other publications such as Encrucillada, Crítica, Empiria and Sistema.

Plácido Lizancos
(Caracas, Venezuela, 1962)

Architecture PhD Graduate from the University of A Coruña, in which he also studied for his degree. His doctoral thesis «As migracións na conformación da casa labrega contemporánea» was recognised with the Extraordinary Prize. Working as sub-director of the Superior Technical School of Architecture of A Coruña. He has focused his studies towards the research of popular architecture as well as architecture "d'auteur".

Author of the books Migracións, sociedade e arquitectura, o caso galego (A Coruña: Universidade da Coruña, 2003) and A casa contemporánea en Galicia (A Nosa Terra, 2005), he coordinated the essay and exhibition Le Corbusier, viaxe ó mundo dun creador a través de vintecinco arquitecturas (A Coruña: Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, 1997). He has also participated in collective works such as Identidades multiculturais, revisión dos discursos teóricos (edited by Ana Bringas López & Belén Martín Lucas; Vigo: Universidade de Vigo, 2000), 25 anos de medio ambiente e ecoloxismo na Galiza (coordinated by Manuel Soto Castiñeira; Santiago de Compostela: ADEGA, 2001) and 25 casas de Galicia: arquitecturas da urbanización difusa (coordinated by Antonio García Fernández; A Coruña: Edicións Espontáneas, 2005), and in congresses such as Galicia-Cuba, un patrimonio cultural de referencias y confluencias (Santiago de Compostela, 1999; Congress Book published by Concha Fontenla San Juan & Manuel Silva; Sada: Ediciós do Castro, 2000).

He worked as an editor for the architecture magazine Obradoiro for ten years, and contributed to A Nosa Terra and El Ideal Gallego as a columnist. In 1986 he was granted a consolation prize in the National Town Planning Awards in the category of popularizing.

Meir Margalit

Israeli History PhD Graduate. He was born into a Zionist family in Buenos Aires, Argentina, though he has lived in Israel since 1972. At 18 he enlisted the infantry section of the army to defend the creaation of the State of Israel. He was wounded in October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, and after a period of reflection he decided to start collaborating with the Arab population to seek coexistence and peace. Later, he registered in the University of Jerusalem where he obtained his PhD Degree in Israeli History. In his studies he found a key date: June 5, 1967. "The Israeli intervention in the Palestinian Territories is the fruit of a political, social and ethical degeneration starting that very day with the beginning of the Six Days War", he asserts.

After this time as student, Margalit founded the organization Peace Now, with the goal of reaching a democratic Jewish State including the participation of the Palestinian citizens. He also created a leftit political party called Meretz and he managed to be part of the Jerusalem. After this period he founded the Israeli Commitee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). This organization tries to reconstruct the Arab  population buildings destroyed by the Israeli Forces, aldo defending the cause in the Israel Law Court and they have succeeded in stopping some demolitions.

When they are not able to paralyse this process of demolition of hundreds of Palestinian buildings every year, they get on with it and try to build some of the houses up again. They consider this reconstruction an action of civil disobedience and a political gesture. For a Palestinian, his house is much more than an addition of bricks: Everything evolves around his home and land and if their houses are destroyed, they lose one of the bases of their existence.

Currently, Margalit is the coordinator of the Israeli Movement for the Human Rights and an adviser of the UN for Jerusalem Affairs.

Maria Aparecida Perez

Secretary of Education at the São Paulo City Council during Marta Suplicy's term of office and the establishmente of the Unified Educational Centres (CEU), educational centres with high capacity and several services and special activities (theatre, swimming-pool, sports centre) located in diverse areas of the city and planned to be used by all the population.

Among other posts, she has been an adviser for the School Quarter of the Prefecture of Nova Iguaçu and the Integral School of Belo Horizonte, both projects based on the CEU concept. Director of Evaluation and indicators of the Secretaria de Educação Continuada, Alfabetização e Diversidade of the Brazilian Ministry of Cuture and Education. Adviser of the Presidency of the Republic for the project Casa Brasil, born form the CEU concept; director of the Departament of Administration of FUNDESP, of the Secretaria Estadual da Educação de São Paulo; ahe has also coodinated the project "Salário Educação"; technical adviser of the Secretaria Estadual da Cultura do Estado de São Paulo; and adviser of the Environmental Planning of the Secretaria Estadual do Meio Ambiente.

Alessandro Petti / Sandi Hilal

Sandi Hilal
(Bethlehem, Palestina, 1973)

Architecture PhD Degree from the University of Trieste, Italy; her thesis dealt with the issue "Transfrontier Politics in Everyday Life" He also studied in the IUAV University of Venice, where he studied a Master's on Town Planning and then moved to the Universit of Sapienza, in Rome, to make a course on "Control and administration of intervention, regulation and requalification of urban areas in the Third World". Between 2001 and 2005 he worked as an assistant professor in Hans Ulrich Obrist and Stefano Boeri's courses in the Faculty of Art and Design at the IUAV University of Venice.

Alessandro Petti
(Pescara, Italy)

Architect. He graduated with the work "The Venice Biennale: the exposition as a metaphor of city and society". From 2001 to 2005 he was an Visual Arts an Town Planning Assistant Professor at the IUAV University. In 2006 he obtained the title of Town Planning Doctoral Researcher from the IUAv University of Venice, with the thesis "Archipelagos and Enclaves. The transformation of the contemporary spatial order". In 2001 he was invited to take part in the Orientation Commitee of the 9th Venice Architecture Biennale. He coordinated the project "Venice Utopia Seminar", with Stefano Boeri and Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Together, they have developed projects such as the exhibition "Stateless Nation" (subtitled "Contemporary relations among territory, state and population") within the Venice Biennale (2002-2005) and "Borderdevices (with Multiplicity)" (subtitled "Proliferation of boundaries in contemporary cities and territories" in the IUAV University of Venice.

They have also published the book Senza Stato una Nazione (Venecia: Marsilio, 2003) and have contributed to magazines such as Domus, Archis, Una Città.

Ignacio Ramonet
(Redondela, 1943)

Journalist specialised in international relations and globalisation, settled in France. He would spend his childhood in Tangiers. He studied engineering in Bordeaux, Rabat and Paris, and sociology at the School of High Social Studies of Paris. Being interested in cinema, he was inspired by Roland Barthes and Christian Metz. He used to write in Cahiers du Cinéma and film reviews in  Libération.  He has a PhD in Semiology and Culture History, and a chair of Communication Theory. Specialist in geopolitics and international strategies and UN adviser. He currently is a lecturer at the Sorbonne in Paris. Lecturer of Communication Theory at the Denis-Diderot University (Paris VII). He was an Invited Professor at the universities Carlos III (Madrid), University of Buenos Aires, Valencia, Saint Petersburg, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, etc. Professor Honoris Causa from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Since 1999 he directs Le Monde Diplomatique and Manière de Voir.

He is an important "member" of the group of thinkers positioned against the way the globalisation process is taking place.

He is the co-founder of "Attac", international movement for the democratic control of the trade markets and their institutions (created within an international meeting in Paris, 1998) and also the co-founder of Media Watch Global (2002), result of the conclusions reached in the II Porto Alegre World Social Forum, of which he was a promoter.

He has been awarded several times and he is author of several books, most of them translated into various languages, among which, some stand out:: La golosina visual (1985 & 2000), Cómo nos venden la moto (in collaboration with Noam Chomsky, 1995), Il Pensiero Unico (with Fabio Giovannini & Giovanna Ricoveri, 1996), Nouveaux pouvoirs, nouveaux maîtres du monde (1996), Un mundo sin rumbo (1997), Rebeldes, dioses y excluidos (with Mariano Aguirre, 1998), La tiranía de la comunicación (1999), Propagandas silenciosas (2002), Guerras del siglo xxi(2002), Irak, historia de un desastre (2004), ¿Qué es la globalización? (WITH Jean Ziegler, Joseph Stiglitz, Ha-Joon Chang, René Passet & Serge Halimi, 2004), and Fidel Castro: biografía a dos voces (2006).

Francesco Tonucci
(Fano, Italia, 1940)

Graduate in Teaching in 1958; in 1963 he graduated in Pedagogy at the catholic University of Milan. At 28 he received his first honours in that field and started to satirise the rality of the school through cartoons, using "Frato" as his pen name. From then on, he has been drawing cartoons regularly, and his works have been already compiled in six volumes, translated into Spanish, Catalonian, Galician, Portuguese and French.

He worked as a primary school teacher and in 1966 he became a researcher at the CNR (National Research Council) Psychology Institute, in which he presided the department of Educational Psychology in 1982, carrying out a project  for environmental education, whose objective is to create an environmental database made by children for children.

His researches are focused in the cognitive development of children, children's thinking and behavior and the relation between the children's cognition and educational methodology.

In 1991 he started developing the project "City of Children" in his natal village, Fano, considering a new form of understanding the city, with children as a referential element. The project was a great sucess and it spreaded to diverse places all around the world, in cities in Spain, Italia and Argentina, where he worked as a UNICEF adviser for the project. Since 2001 he is the in charge of the scientific advisory for the workshop "Roma, la città dei bambini".

From 1992 to 1998 we was in charge of the Project Andrea, promoted by the Italan Environment and Education Ministeries. In 1997 we was named president of the TV-Bambini (Italian Commitee of Television and Juveniles), from which he resigned "in despair" in 1999. In 2003 he was named Doctor of Education Studies Honoris Causa at the Pontifice University of Lima (Peru).

He is a member of the editorial commitee of the magazines European Journal of Psychology of Education, Investigación en la Escuela, Cooperazione Educativa and Conflitti.

Among his works, we can underline, among others: Por una escuela alternativa (Guix, 1978), Con ojos de niño (Barcanova, 1983), Niño se nace (Barcanova, 1988), Cómo ser niño (Barcanova, 1989), ¿Enseñar o aprender? La escuela como investigación, quince años después (Graó, 1990), La soledad del niño (Barcanova, 1994), La ciudad de los niños: un modo nuevo de pensar la ciudad (Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez, 1998) and Cuando los niños dicen ¡basta!  (Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez, 2003).