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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.