CV speakers
- Aibar, Eduard
- Ballarín, Montserrat
- Bargalló, Josep
- Bosch, Jordi
- Bilbao, Joseba Koldo
- Brugué, Joaquim
- Canal, Ramon
- Castells, Manuel
- Continente, Marta
- Contractor, Noshir
- Drechsler, Wolfgang
- García-Bragado, Ramón
- Laborda, Domingo
- Liikanen, Erkki
- Maragall, Ernest
- Olivares, Joan
- Riley, Patricia
- Urgell, Ferran
- Valls, Jordi
- Welp Yanina
>>Eduard Aibar
Professor at the Humanities Department of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). He is also a researcher with the Project Internet-Catalonia (PIC) and member of the academic board of the UOC Summer University. He received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Barcelona (UB) and has been visiting researcher at the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology and at the Science Policy Assessment group at the University of Salamanca. He has published several works in the field of Science & Technology Studies. He is co-author, with Miguel A. Quintanilla, of the book Cultura tecnológica: estudios de ciencia, tecnología y sociedad (Barcelona: Horsori; 2002).
>>Montserrat Ballarín
She Graduated in Law by the University of Barcelona. Doctorate in Law (Apto Cum Laude) in 1995 with the thesis: El ingreso de las declaraciones-liquidaciones fuera de plazo sin requerimiento previo. In 1991, she postgraduates on “Ejecutivos De Sociedades y Expertos Tributarios”, at the University College Abat Oliba. At the moment she is University Titular Professor (Department of Law) in situation of "special services" since June 2003, when she became town councilor of Barcelona City Council.
Montserrat Ballarín on the web
>>Josep Bargalló
He graduated in Catalan Philology at the University of Barcelona in Tarragona. He is a member of the Catalan Language and Literature Society, which forms part of the Institute of Catalan Studies. He has worked in public-sector teaching and in publishing. Professor of secondary education since 1981, he was head teacher of Pons d’Icart Secondary School in Tarragona from 1985 to 1987, and has taught a number of postgraduate courses. He has worked as literary director for several collections and publishing houses.
He has published numerous essays and studies on literary criticism, history and theory, and various studies on history and folk culture, with particular attention to festivities and the world of castells or human towers. He wrote Handbook of Catalan Metrics and Versification in 1991, he has written commentaries on literary texts, and has worked as a critic for newspapers and specialist journals. He has also been involved in script-writing for cinema and video, and has produced drama.
Founder member of the Assembly of Catalonia in Torredembarra, he represented the town at the Assembly’s national plenary sessions. He was a militant of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC), the Socialist National Liberation Party (PSAN) and Left Nationalists (NE). He has been a member of Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) since 1995.
Member of the Catalan Parliament for ERC from 1992 to 2003. In the last legislature he was assistant spokesperson for the ERC parliamentary group. Councillor in Torredembarra Town Council for ERC (1995-2003). From 1999 to 2003 he was Deputy Mayor.
For the second half of 2003, he was Vice-President of Tarragonès County Council.
Minister of Education in the Generalitat (Catalan Government) from December 2003 to February 2004, when he was appointed First Minister and Minister for the Presidency. On April 2005 he was appointed "conseller primer" (First Minister).
>>Joseba Koldo Bilbao Gaubeka
Licensed on Psychology by University of Deusto.
He has several degrees on Human Resources and Business Management (EADA,
Barcelona; ESTE, Donosti), as well as degrees on Quality.
Since 1987 he develops his professional career both in the business sector
and especially in consulting enterprises in Organization, Quality and
Human Resources, developing new projects both in the private and public
sector until his incorporation to the Basque Government. In March 1995
he enrolled the Basque Government as Director, to create and start the
Office for the Modernization of the Administration, appointed to the Vice-presidency
of the Government, post he occupies since then.
He has taught several seminars and courses in Human Resources, Modernization
of the Administration, Service Quality and Organization.
At the present period of government he is responsible for the development
of projects belonging to e-Government and e-Administration areas, and
president of the executive commission of IZENPE, digital certification
authority of the Basque institutions.
>>Jordi Bosch
Head manager of CTTI (Center of Telecommunications and Information Technologies of the Generalitat de Catalunya).
Telecommunications engineer, licensed by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). He has developed his entire professional career at General Electric, where he has developed responsibility posts in several areas. His work has brought him to live large periods in different countries. Specialized always on the field of management, his last post has been technological director of a P&L (Industrial Controls) within the division of GE Consumer&Industrial.
Jordi Bosch is member of the Advisor Council of the Official College of Technical Engineers of Telecommunications of Catalonia, the Advisor Council and the Administration Council of Al-Pi, the Administration Council of Torre de Collserola, the Administration Council of Electronic Public Services, and the Administration Council of Catcert.
>>Joaquim Brugué i Torruella
Born in Barcelona in 1963, he is licensed in Economic Sciences and Doctor in Politic Sciences by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). He has a degree in data analyse for social sciences by Essex University, Great Britain, country where he has stayed to attend several Universities. At the moment, Joaquim Brugué is General Director of Citizen Participation in the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Professor of Political Science, his teaching activity also includes courses and congresses related to Public Policy, Local Administration, Social Services and Citizen Participation. His research projects talk about immigration, Social Policy, Political Models and Public Services. He has published several books on public policy and written articles for magazines on politic studies, politic and social sciences, social work, labour relations, etc. Brugué has developed academic tasks in several universities: as Head of Studies, as Coordinator Responsible of programmes and as vice-dean of academic arrangement.
>>Manuel Castells
Since 2001 he is teacher at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), President
of the IN3's Scientific Commission and President of the Advisory Council
of the UOC's PhD Programme.
He got degree in Law and Economics in the University of Barcelona, Master
in Law and Political Economy and Doctorate in Sociology and Human Sciences
of Paris-Sorbonne University.
He’s been Professor in Sociology and Professor of City and Regional
Planning in the University of California (Berkeley). He’s also been
visitant professor in 15 universities of Europe, Asia, South America and
the United States.
His main work is the trilogy Information era: economy, society and culture,
originally published in English by Blackwell.
His lasts works are Internet Galaxy, published in 2001 by Oxford University
Press and Information society and welfare state: The Finland model, co-author,
(Oxford University Press, 2002).
In 2003, Manuel Castells co-directs with Imma Tubella the Internet Catalonia
Project (PIC). It analyzes, empirically, interaction between information
technologies and communication, and society, enterprises and Catalan Institutions.
Based on the sociologic survey made, they published the book The network
society in Catalonia (La Rosa dels Vents/Mondadori, 2003).
>>Marta Continente
Graduate of Economics Sciences and Business Studies of Barcelona University
(UB). She has, moreover, studies in Physical Sciences.
Continente is nowadays the General Director of Citizen Attention of the
Secretariat-General of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
From 1993 to 2003 she was Head of Communication and Customer Service and
Head of Internet Management at Barcelona City Council. Also in Barcelona
City Council she was Assistant Manager of the Barcelona Institute of Culture,
and Head of economic promotion and co-ordination of the Strategic Plan
for Poble Sec, in the Sants Montjuic district of Barcelona City Council.
From 1987 to 1993 she has been on the State Administration as Executive
Advisor of the Ministry of Culture and Technical Director of the Youth
Institute. Continente started working on the Public Administration in
1983, when she was Head of Youth departament at Santa Coloma de Gramenet
City Council.
>>Noshir Contractor
Noshir Contractor is a Professor in the Department of Speech Communication, Department of Psychology, and the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a Research Affiliate of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Director of the Science of Networks in Communities (SONIC) Group at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and Co-Director of the Age of Networks Initiative at the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.His research program, funded continuously for the past decade by major grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, is investigating factors that lead to the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of dynamically linked knowledge networks in profit, non-profit, government as well as non-government agencies, involved in enabling emergency response networks, transnational immigrant networks, food safety networks, public health networks, environmental engineering networks, community networks, and other networks in the public interest.
His book titled “Theories of Communication Networks” (co-authored with Professor Peter Monge and published by Oxford University Press) received the 2003 Book of the Year award from the Organizational Communication Division of the National Communication Association.He is the lead developer of IKNOW (Inquiring Knowledge Networks On the Web), a community-ware web-based software and Blanche, a software program to simulate the dynamics of social networks.
>>Wolfgang Drechsler
Professor of Technology Governance and Public Management at the Technical
University of Tallinn and Professor and Chair of Public Administration
and Government at the University of Tartu, both in Estonia.
He previously taught at the Universities of Marburg, Gießen, and
Frankfurt/Main, Germany, and as Visiting Professor in Lund, Sweden and
now in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has served as Advisor to the President
of Estonia, as Executive Secretary with the German Wissenschaftsrat during
German Reunification, and, as an APSA Congressional Fellow, a Senior Legislative
Analyst in the United States Congress. He is currently the Vice Chairman
of the executive board of PRAXIS, Estonia’s pre-eminent public policy
think-tank, where he is in charge of the Innovation Policy unit, a member
of the Steering Committee of the Central and Eastern European Public Administration
Society, NISPAcee, and a former member of the Innovation Policy Council
of the Estonian Ministry of Economics.
Drechsler has been a consultant to several international agencies, he
has worked on the national development plans of such countries as Estonia,
Peru, Mongolia, and now Kazakhstan, Norway and Brazil. He directs or co-directs
several large-scale research projects funded by the European Union, the
Volkswagen Foundation, the Estonian Government, the Soros foundations,
and others. He received the 1997 Estonian National Science Award, Social
Science category, and the 2001 Alena Brunovskà Award for Teaching
Excellence in Central and Eastern Europe.
>>Ramón García-Bragado
Ramón García-Bragado Acín is responsible for Secretariat
of the Presidential Department of the Government of Catalonia. In addition,
he is associated professor in Administrative Law area in the Faculty of
Law, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona.
He has been Manager of Urbanism of the Barcelona City Council and Delegated
Advisor of the 22@ project.
Previously, García-Bragado was General Manager of Localret and
in this position he codirected the Catalan Information Society Strategic
Plan, Catalunya en Xarxa.
Ramón García-Bragado on the web
>>Domingo Laborda Carrión
Licensed in Economics and degree in Operative Investigation. Graduated in
Public Management by ESADE.
From 1969 to1977 he worked as programmer, annalist and systems engineer.
In 1979 he enrolled the “Gabinete Informático Contable” in charge of the design of information systems and application software
for the clients.
In 1981, functional annalist, Head of Studies and then Director of the Municipal
Informatics Center (C.I.M.), of Valencia City Council. From 1976 to 1982,
also teaches Informatics at the Operative Investigation School of Valencia.
In 1984 he enrolled the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces of Valencia
to computerize and advice the City Councils of Valencia Community.
In 1987, he is Technician of Informatics Systems of the General Direction
of Organization and Information Systems.
In 1994, Head of the Informatics Coordination Service of the General Direction
for the Modernization of the Administrations.
In 1998 he becomes Head of InfoCentre, General Direction of Telecommunications
and Modernization.
In 2003, he enrolls the Valencia Agency of Science and Technology as Technician
of Logic Systems.
In January 2004, he accepts same post in the Ministry of Culture, Education
and Science, General Direction of Universities. From 1999 to 2004, he’s
also teacher at the Department of Business Administration of the Universidad
Politécnica de Valencia.
Nowadays he’s General Director of Administrative Modernization at
the Ministry of Public Administrations.
Domingo Laborda on the web
>>Erkki Liikanen
Born in Mikkeli, Finland, 19 September 1950.
Hes has a Masters Degree in Political Science (Economics) by University
of Helsinki. Since 12 July 2004 he is Chairman of the Board of the Bank
of Finland. During 2004 he was Member of the Governing Council of the
European Central Bank and Governor of the International Monetary Fund
for Finland.
From 1999 to 2004, Member of the European Commission for Enterprise and
Information Society.
From 1995 to 1999, Member of the European Commission for Budget; Personnel
and administration, Brussels.
From 1990 to 1994, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head
of Finnish Mission to the European Union, Brussels.
From 1987 to 1990, Minister of Finance for Finland, 1972-90 Member of
Parliament.
From 1981 to 1987, Secretary-General of the Social Democratic Party of
Finland.
>>Ernest Maragall
Born in Barcelona in 1943. Economist and informatics analyst, he is
at the moment the Secretary of the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
On 1970 he started working at Barcelona City Council as informatics analyst.
Since then, he had developed his professional activity on private sector
companies concerning publicity and marketing. He has been Head of the
Instituto Cartográfico de Barcelona (ICB), General Director of
the Instituto Municipal de Informática (IMI) of Barcelona City
Council, Head of the Department of Basic and Organisational Information
and Delegate Councillor of the IMI and Delegate Councillor of the ICB.
Between 1995 and 1997 he was Speaking Councillor of the Public and Quality
Function of Barcelona City Council. He’s been Councillor of Public
Finance and Function and President of the District Council of Sant Andreu.
Since July 1999 Councillor of the Presidency of Public Finance. President
of the Municipal Institute of Information Technology. President of the
Municipal Institute of Public Finance. Vice-president of the Public Function
Committee of the Spanish Federation of Municipal Districts and Provinces.
Vice-president Localret Board of Administration. Barcelona City Council
Representative at the Federation of Municipal Districts of Catalonia.
Vice-president of the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Education.
Since July 2001 he was Spokesperson of the Municipal Government of Barcelona
City Council.
>>Joan A. Olivares
Joan A. Olivares (47 years old) lives in Montcada i Reixac (Vallès Occidental). He was until now the general sub-director for Local Cooperation of the General Direction of Local Administration, Department of Governance and Public Administration of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Graduated engineer by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, he is public official of the Generalitat de Catalunya and has a diploma on management function of Public Administration by ESADE.
Public official since 1983, he has occupied several posts at the Administration of the Generalitat, all of them on the field of the relations with local administrations. Since 1993 he has been in charge of several general sub-directions from the General Direction of Local Administration.
Joan A. Olivares enrolled the Consortium AOC (Open Administration of Catalonia) as general manager last 1st April to continue the projects already defined and budgeted at the strategic plan of the AOC.
>>Patricia Riley
Specialist in organizational communication and internationally known for her work on institutional politics and organizational culture change. Her most recent research focuses on the role of communication infrastructure in knowledge management processes and on the role of communication and information technologies in organizational change and transformation. She has a new grant funded by the DOD to help develop and evaluate virtual training. Her work has appeared in many books and journals, and she is presently working on a book with Warren Bennis called Organizational Redevelopment.
Dr. Riley teaches undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on power and politics in organizations, organizational culture, and organizational communication theory. She also teaches graduate seminars in field research methodology and multivariate statistics. In addition, she is an associate member of the USC Leadership Institute, teaches in the Executive Program in the Marshall School of Business, is an adjunct member of the East Asian Studies Center and directs both the undergraduate and graduate internship programs.
An experienced organizational consultant, Dr. Riley conducts workshops and seminars for top executives in areas such as reengineering, leadership, advocacy, strategic communication, knowledge management, organizational learning, and managing change. She has facilitated structural reorganizations, developed transformation programs, trained Total Quality Management and programs in empowered work teams, and designed numerous attitude and marketing surveys.
>>Ferran Urgell
Graduate (2000) and doctoral candidate in Sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).. At the moment he is member of the group of investigation Project Internet Catalonia PIC (IN3 - UOC) and DHIGES (University of Barcelona) and has worked as investigator for the Department of Sociology of the University of Barcelona. He has worked until now on the sociology of religion and education. At the moment and since 2002, he investigates on e-governance and especially on the interaction between technological innovation and the organizational change on public administration. On this field he has published several articles and works among which highlights the study "e-governance and public services: a case study about the inter-administrative website CAT365"(2002-2003).
>>Jordi Valls
Born in Manresa, 1960, he is the Mayor of Manresa since 1995. At the
moment is also president of LOCALRET, local consortium for telecommunication
networks and new technologies development. He is member of the Social
Council of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and member
of the Socialist Party in Catalonia (PSC).
On 1982 he got master’s degree in law at Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona (UAB) and lately he has attended courses on law (communitarian,
fiscal, environmental, etc.) in Edinburgh University and the California
State University, Long Beach.
Within other activities he has participated as speaker on the Conference
<Cities role towards Global Sustainable Development>, organized
by the Diputació of Barcelona, 1995.
>>Yanina Welp
Graduate in Social Communication Sciences (1997) and in Political Science (1998) from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2003 she received her Diploma de Estudios Avanzados (DEA, Advanced Studies Diploma) on the PhD programme in Politics and Social Sciences from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). She is currently working on her PhD thesis. She is a researcher at both the Project Internet Catalonia (PIC) at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, the Telecommuniations and Information Society group of the UPF and the e-Democracy Centre (centre associated to the Centre de documentation sur la democratie directe, Oxford Internet Institute and European University Institute of Florence).
