Jury & Selection Committee

Riin Alatalu is the Vice-President of ICOMOS, an Associate Professor of Cultural Heritage and Conservation at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies at the same institution. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Estonian Heritage Conservation Council and is an active member of various ICOMOS groups, including the Rights-Based Approaches Working Group, CIVVIH, ICLAFI, ISC20C, and the European Heritage Label Panel.
Alatalu has held leadership roles in the Estonian National Heritage Board, the Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department, and the Ministry of Culture. She earned her PhD in 2012 with a dissertation on “Heritage in Transitional Society: From Nation’s Conscience in the Estonian SSR to the Harasser of the Private Owner in the Republic of Estonia.”
She has been deeply involved in initiatives like the Urban Agenda Dissonant Heritage Working Group and has been a strong advocate for preserving and contextualizing dissonant heritage in Estonia. Alatalu has organized numerous courses and lectures on the topic.
Her campaigns include the Estonian National Cultural Heritage Year 2013, European Cultural Heritage Days, Visit Baltic Manors, and other awareness-raising activities. She has successfully fostered collaboration between decision-makers and the wider public to promote cultural heritage preservation.

Antoine Doucet has been a Professor of Computer Science at the Laboratoire Informatique, Image et Interaction (L3i) of La Rochelle Université since 2014. Since January 2021, he has also served as Vice-Rector for the European University alliance EU-CONEXUS.
He leads the research group focused on document analysis, digital content, and image processing. His main research interests include natural language processing and artificial intelligence.
His work primarily involves developing methods applicable to various types of documents, whether written in any language, including news articles, social media content, digitised manuscripts, or digitally born documents.

Prof. Dr. Christian Hanus, born in 1974, is the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Arts, and Architecture at Danube University Krems (DUK), where he also leads the Department of Building and Environment. After completing his studies and doctoral work at ETH Zürich, specialising in monument preservation and sustainable architecture, he joined DUK in 2007 and became a professor in 2013.
At DUK, Prof. Hanus developed the “Refurbishment and Revitalization” program, focusing on restoring historical buildings with a sustainable and multifaceted approach. He has organised annual summer schools on heritage conservation and led various national and international research projects, including the European Heritage Awards Archive. He is actively involved with Europa Nostra Austria, contributing to its conferences and publications, and serves on the Industrial and Engineering Heritage Committee.
His expertise extends to advising UNESCO and the Austrian government on World Heritage properties, including assessments for sites like the Historic Centre of Salzburg. He also founded the “Center for Architectural Heritage and Infrastructure” and the “Center for Cultural Property Protection,” emphasising heritage conservation, reconstruction of earthquake-damaged historical towns, and international collaboration on cultural property protection.

Professor Alex Torpiano is currently Dean of the Faculty for the Built Environment of the University of Malta, a position he has held for the last 16 years; he has served as Head of the Department of Building and Civil Engineering, 1988-1999, 2007-2011, as Head of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, 2011-2016, as Head of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design, 2016-2020, and Acting Head of the Department of Visual Arts, 2021-2022. Het set up and served as Director of the Institute for Masonry and Construction Research between 1994 – 2009. He is currently a member of the University Senate, (since 2008), and has served as a member of the Council of the University between 2009-2021. He is a member of the Board of the Institute of Sustainable Energy and of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development. He has served as Chairperson of San Anton School, between 2000 and 2009; as President of the Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers, 1994-1996, 2017-2019, as Chairman of the Valletta Rehabilitation Committee 1995-1996, 2000-2001, as member of the Periti Warranting Board between 1999-2001 and since 2009. He has also served on the Eurocodes National Implementation Committee since 2002. He is currently the Executive President of the National Trust of Malta, Din l-Art Helwa.

Jasna Popović graduated from Law in Belgrade and holds two Masters – one in International public law and another in Human Rights, and now is a PhD candidate at UC3M, Madrid, researching the link between cultural heritage and sustainable tourism.
She has experience in the administration (working in the Serbian Embassy in Spain), cultural heritage NGO sector (collaborating with Hispania Nostra), and private sector collaborating with tourist agencies.
Currently, she is a freelance cultural practitioner and she is collaborating with Hispania Nostra, where she oversees youth involvement, and digital transformation in heritage and EU-funded projects. She is also working as the Coordinator of youth activities for the European Heritage Hub pilot project. She is also very active in ESACH where she has volunteered as Secretary since September 2022.

Sara originally trained as an architect and holds an MSc in Architectural Conservation. She began her professional career working for the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) where she undertook various roles including running the casework and education teams and leading the Europa Nostra award-winning Faith in Maintenance training project.
She then spent time with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), where she was Head of Historic Environment – providing advice and strategic direction to the Board and Executive on grant giving, and policy issues and building strategic relationships with historic environment organisations across the UK – before moving on to become CEO of Icon (the Institute of Conservation) and leading the organisation through a digital transformation as well as publishing a new long-term strategy with a renewed focus on skills and accreditation.
Sara is currently CEO of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting but retains her passion for heritage. She is a trustee of the National Heritage Science Forum, the Chair of the BEFS Places of Worship Forum, the Chair of Historic Buildings and Places, and the Chair of Europa Nostra UK.

Jermina Stanojev, PhD, is an independent expert in the field of cultural heritage and international cultural relations. She is a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University with a focus on circular economy and cultural heritage and holds a PhD in participatory and integrated governance of cultural heritage in the Western Balkans. She is currently appointed as an individual expert by the European Commission to the “Commission’s expert group on cultural heritage”. Her work focuses on culture-led, sustainable, regional development, policy design and evaluation for trans-disciplinary challenges through different governance frameworks and geopolitical levels. Since 2009 she is an advisor on the role of cultural heritage in international cultural relations within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and since 2016 supports the European Union in engaging in international cultural relations within the framework of the EU strategy for international cultural relations through Cultural Diplomacy/Relations Platform of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, with a global geographical mandate, under which, among others, developed recommendations “European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018: International Perspectives”. She has established competences and wide experience in fields of international cultural relations and cultural heritage working with different international organisations and institutions (UNESCO, European Commission, Goethe-Institut Brussels, European Cultural Centre Foundation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia etc.). She has an extensive experience in research, policies and numerous projects such as the EU Horizon 2020 project, “Circular models Leveraging Investments in Cultural Heritage Adaptive Reuse”, Erasmus + HERITAGE-PRO, the report of the Structured Dialogue with the EC on “Skills, Training and Knowledge-transfer in the Traditional and Emerging Heritage”, the OMC working group of Member States’ experts report on “Fostering cooperation in the EU on skills, training and knowledge transfer in cultural heritage professions” etc.

Victor Boye Julebæk, Ph.D., is an accomplished architect and academic who combines a deep theoretical foundation with practical experience. He studied architecture at both the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, grounding his approach in the rigorous architectural traditions of Denmark and Switzerland. He serves as an assistant professor at the Royal Danish Academy and is head of the Master’s Programme for Cultural Heritage, Transformation, and Conservation. In his teaching, research and practice, there is a focus on both the theoretical and the hands-on, applied perspectives of the conservation and transformation of architectural heritage with an emphasis on material practices, cultures, and ecologies.

Dr. Marine Mizandari has been co-chairing the National Trust of Georgia since 2017.
With 30 years of professional experience, her career spans scientific research in cultural heritage and the implementation of projects across Georgia and Europe.
Her extensive background includes high-level management roles, such as ministerial management and policy development. She has advised the Georgian government on strategic documents and served as the first Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia from 2012 to 2014.

Charles Personnaz is a historian and civil servant, having spent most of his career in the field of cultural heritage both at the French Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Culture. He has been the Director of the National Heritage Institute (INP – Institut National du Patrimoine) since 2019.
Charles Personnaz has a special interest and commitment to the preservation of Christian heritage in the Middle East. He has authored several books published in France about Byzantine and Greek history and cultural policy.