Gerard Brophy is Chief Social Worker in Tusla, Child and Family Agency in Ireland. He has spent more than 25 years as a qualified social worker working across direct practice and governance in child and family services.

The Office of the Chief Social Worker works to strengthen practice in Tusla as participatory, relationship-based and safety-building, rooted in the values of trust, respect, kindness and empowerment. Gerard places a strong emphasis on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and ensuring children are involved in decisions affecting their lives.

He is leading the implementation of the Barnahus model in Ireland to support children who have experienced sexual abuse. His office also provides governance for Tusla’s ICT systems for child protection and alternative care, supports service improvement and learning, promotes evidence-based practice and oversees student placement programmes.

Ana has a PhD in Sociology, and is a civil servant of Madrid City Council since 1987, where she has developed her professional career in planning and evaluating social services, international development cooperation policies, gender equality, and combating gender-based violence, care for the elderly, family and childhood, as well as international coordination of the Social Policies Area.

She has been the General Director of Gender Equality (2015–2017) and of Family and Childhood (2018–2019) at Madrid City Council. She has collaborated on several postgraduate university courses (University Complutense of Madrid, UNED) and has several publications in the field of social policies.

She is currently Senior Advisor to the General Coordination of the Area of Social Policies, Family, and Equality of the Madrid City Council.

Dr Sarah Carlick started her professional career as a social worker and a probation officer, gaining experience in the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. She is the Director of MeSafe, supporting organisations to develop a strategic approach to Digital Safeguarding that promotes co-design with children and young people. She was the founder of a Safeguarding Training and Consultancy company for 19 years.

The focus of her academic research is on co-producing new ways of working at the front door of child protection to extend the current socio-technical framework to improve outcomes for children, including developments in child protection and early help, and smartphone apps relating to managing risk and safeguarding.

She chairs the Digital Safeguarding Special Interest Group on behalf of the Association of Child Protection Professionals (UK). She is an international speaker, panel judge, published author, visiting university lecturer and associate researcher.

Andrzej Klimczuk, PhD, a sociologist and public policy expert, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Policy of the Collegium of Socio-Economics at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland. He worked as the external expert of institutions such as the European Commission, URBACT Programme, Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme, and Fondazione Cariplo.

He is a member of various scientific organisations such as the European Sociological Association, European School of Social Innovation, International Political Science Association, European Citizen Science Association, and Human Development & Capability Association. Author of many scientific papers and books in gerontology, labour economics, public management, and social policy. He is an editor of the series “Towards 2030: Sustainable Development Goals. A Sociological Perspective” (Frontiers Media) and a Sections Editor in the “Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging” (Springer Nature).

Suzi Kvas is currently General Secretary and Director of the Social Chamber of Slovenia (since 2024), where she leads strategic coordination, international cooperation, professional standards development, and EU-funded programme participation in social welfare.

Previously, she served as Director of the Public Institution for Social Welfare Services (2003–2024), where she led management and strategic development, new projects and programmes, and coordination of the institution’s network. She also worked as a Social Work Specialist at the Municipality of Celje (2000–2002) and as a Class Teacher at primary schools (1992–1999).

Ms Suela Lala has been a board member of the European Network on Independent Living since 2019. She is one of the founders and the Executive Director of Together Foundation / Fondacioni “Se Bashku”, an organisation that promotes the rights of persons with disabilities and is one of the few organisations in Albania to focus on Independent Living.

A disability rights activist for more than 15 years, Suela has designed and led projects focused on accessibility, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and Independent Living. She has studied law in both Albania and England, holds a Master’s degree in Public Law from the University of Tirana, and is an alumnus of the School of Political Studies of the Council of Europe. She is fluent in English, Italian and Spanish.

Ana Llena-Nozal has been leading the long-term care work at the OECD since January 2018. She coordinates work on dementia care, the future of the long-term care workforce, support for family caregivers, social protection and funding in long-term care, quality of care, healthy ageing policies and end-of-life care. She has also led OECD advisory work on long-term care reforms in Greece, Poland, Croatia and Lithuania.

Since joining the OECD in 2006, she has worked on health, employment and social policy projects, including social mobility, sickness and disability policies, and the OECD Employment Outlook. Before joining the OECD, she conducted research at the Institute of Development Studies (Sussex University), Utrecht University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Ana is Spanish and holds degrees from the London School of Economics (MSc Development Studies), Pompeu Fabra University (MSc Economics) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (PhD).

Antonio López Peláez is a full professor of Social Work and Social Services in the Department of Social Work at UNED (Madrid, Spain). Since 2020, he has served as executive director of the International Council on Social Welfare. Co-editor of The Routledge International Handbook of Digital Social Work (2023).

Since 2021, he has been director of the Chair in Innovation in Social Services and Dependency (Fuenlabrada City Council, UNED, and the National Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services). On May 5, 2025, Professor Antonio López Peláez gave the Friedlander Lecture at the University of California Berkeley Social Welfare, entitled: Digital Social Work: coping with digital vulnerability in times of AI.

Peter acts as health and care advisor and consultant for CGI. He is the former CEO of the Care Inspectorate – Scotland’s care and early years inspection agency. He was appointed Renfrewshire Council’s Director of Social Work in 2007 and Director of Children’s Services in 2014, integrating social work and education services. He was elected President of the Association of Directors of Social Work in 2012 and led significant work on the integration of health and care.

He was appointed Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate in 2018 and retired in 2021. Peter has considerable experience in digital health and care, having chaired the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Programme and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS). He has led two ESN reviews of the Maltese government’s social work services. Peter is a Gaelic speaker from the Western Isles.

Francisco Javier Martínez Capín is currently Head of Social Innovation Service at the Ministry of Social Rights and Welfare of the Principality of Asturias (since September 2024), where he leads planning, coordination, and management activities including HR, public procurement, social innovation programmes, MRR funds management, and IT applications.

He is also a Vocational Training and Career Guidance Teacher (since 2006), a University Tutor at the University of Oviedo (since 2019), and an Erasmus+ Project Evaluator for SEPIE (since 2021). He has coordinated Erasmus+ programmes and managed European funds in Andalusia and has broad experience in bilingual education, guidance counselling, and entrepreneurship.

Biography coming soon.

Professor of Collaborative Learning in Health & Social Care, Department of Social Work & Social Care, School of Social Policy & Society, University of Birmingham. Robin is an applied academic with an international reputation in relation to integration, strengths-based practice and leadership in social work and social care.

He is the Co-Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Integrated Care and has researched widely the implementation of transformational programmes in primary health and social care. He is a Senior Fellow of the NIHR School for Social Care Research and UK Demonstrator Model lead for the IMPACT (IMProving Adult Care Together) Centre, which uses evidence to address issues of strategic importance.

Daniel Millor Vela is an architect and holds a PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Alicante. His work is driven by the conviction that everyone should have access to adequate housing and meaningful work, and that community participation in neighbourhoods and towns is a powerful driver of social change.

Over the past decade, he has led and supported community-based urban regeneration initiatives in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, addressing the social, economic and housing challenges that affect residents’ quality of life. These initiatives have enabled the full rehabilitation of nearly twenty residential buildings and more than eighty emergency housing interventions.

Daniel is also a co-founder of an architecture cooperative based in Paris. His doctoral research focused on health inequalities and Asset-Based Community Development, exploring the links between community empowerment, place-based action and health outcomes.

The initiatives in which he has been involved have received recognition from UN-Habitat and several national awards for social innovation and community impact. His work brings together architecture, public health and community development to foster more inclusive, healthy and resilient communities.

An economist, Ruth Paserman joined the European Commission in 1993. She has since worked in a number of services: Eurostat, DG Employment and Social Affairs, DG Competition, DG Enterprise and Industry. She was also a member of the cabinet of Vice-President Tajani, Vice-President Dombrovskis and Deputy Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Thyssen.

Since November 2020, she has been Director for Funds Programming and Implementation in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. She is responsible for the legislation, policy development and coordination of implementation of the funds managed by the DG (European Social Fund+, Social Climate Fund, European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, InvestEU social window), as well as for the social economy, social innovation and better regulation.

Mădălina Radu is Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Bucharest on Social Public Policies, where she leads the current reform of the city's metropolitan social services. She brings over twenty years of experience at the intersection of public policy, human rights and social protection.

Between 2019 and 2023, she served in the Romanian Government as Secretary of State and President of the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions, and subsequently as Counsellor of State coordinating Romania's response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis and its anti-trafficking efforts.

She has led the development of more than fifteen national laws and strategies on child protection, disability rights, adoption and victim protection. A Fulbright/Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota, she has consulted for the World Bank, IOM, FRA and the Council of Europe, and received the US Department of State's International Women of Courage Award.

Judit Rauet-Tejeda is a Health Research Officer in the Health Division of the OECD, where she analyses long-term care systems and ageing-related policies.

Since joining the OECD in 2024, she has contributed to research on long-term care workers and caregivers in Latin America, dementia policies across OECD countries, and the development of a typology of long-term care systems. She also contributed to Health at a Glance 2025 as an author of the chapter on ageing and long-term care.

She holds an MSc in International Development from the Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI), awarded jointly by Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat de Barcelona and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Oliver Scicluna is the Chief Executive Officer of Aġenzija Sapport. Born with Spina Bifida, he has dedicated much of his career to advancing the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in Malta.

He studied at MCAST, the University of Malta and the University of Chester, graduating in informatics, youth studies and public administration. He has led several voluntary organisations, including Breaking Limits, and in 2014 began serving within the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, first as Chairperson and later as Commissioner.

Oliver established the Malta Business Disability Forum and has served on numerous national boards including Transport Malta, Valletta18, NCPE, Jobs+, Malta Community Chest Fund, FITA and Public Broadcasting Services. He also served as a Member of Parliament from January 2021 to February 2022. In 2025, he received the Leadership in Social Services Award from the European Social Network.

Viktoria Stein is a health economist and Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at Leiden University Medical Centre, and serves as joint Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Integrated Care. She co-founded VM Partners Integrating Health and Care, supporting the design and implementation of integrated care worldwide, as well as the Karl Landsteiner Institute for Health Promotion Research.

Viktoria advises international organisations such as the World Health Organization, World Bank, European Commission, and Accreditation Canada on integrated care design, workforce development, evaluation, population health management, and community engagement. A unifying theme of her work is a strong commitment to building learning organisations and adaptive health systems capable of continuous improvement and long-term transformation.

Denys Tkachov is an expert in local governance, digital transformation and artificial intelligence with over a decade of experience in municipal development and international cooperation. He currently serves as an Expert of ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy, where he advises on innovative methodologies and digital transformation in local governance.

A PhD candidate at the Université de Limoges, Denys focuses his doctoral research on the use of Artificial Intelligence in local democracy. Previously, he managed regional operations for the GIZ/U-LEAD with Europe Programme and served as an expert for the EU Delegation's Team Europe Initiative in Ukraine.

Denys provides strategic consultancy to municipalities and organisations on digital transformation, process automation, institutional capacity building, decentralisation and project management.

Elena Weber has extensive leadership experience across European social services and disability networks. She served as CEO of the Istituto Regionale Rittmeyer per i Ciechi (2008–2024) and as Director General of the Regional Council FVG Istituto per la Ricerca, la Formazione e la Riabilitazione (2016–2026).

She has been a board member and president of Enviter, a member of the Council of Administration and Secretary of the Executive Committee of AGE Platform Europe, and since January 2022, President of the European Network for Inclusion Beyond the Borders. She has also been a member of the general assembly and executive board of the European Ageing Network since 2014. She holds Master’s degrees in Economics and Organisational Sciences, European Studies, and Social Innovation.