Finnish architect, biourbanist and social theorist. From the early stages of his career Casagrande started to mix architecture with other disciplines of art and science landing with a series of ecologically conscious architectural installations around the world. «There is no other reality than nature». He views architects as design shamans merely interpreting what the bigger nature of the shared mind is transmitting. Casagrande views cities as complex energy organisms in which different overlapping layers of energy flows are determining the actions of the citizens as well as the development of the city. By mixing environmentalism and urban design Casagrande is developing methods of Urban Acupuncture in order to create an ecologically sustainable urban development towards the so-called Third Generation City. All in all 70 realized works in 14 countries. Casagrande has been teaching in 65 academic institutions in 25 countries. World Architecture Community Awards 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2015, World Architecture Festival Award 2009, Architectural Review House Award 2010, Red Dot Design Award 2012 and Union of Architects of Russia annual “Zeleny Proekt” Award 2012. Marco Casagrande is the laureate of the European Prize for Architecture 2013, Committee of International Architecture Critics CICA Award 2013 for conceptual and artistic architecture and UNESCO & Locus Foundation Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2015.

After graduating in Architecture and Urban Planning at the Polytechnic University of Krakow in Poland, she worked for a long period of time in the Municipality of Tirana as urban planner, developing parallely and hereinafter the academic experience in teaching at the Faculty of Architecture. Co-designer of a considerable number of urban studies, urban requalification projects of public spaces, she also owns qualitative experience in design and implementation. Currently directs the Institute of Cultural Monuments, it is co-author of numerous projects on the restoration of monuments, and revitalization of historical and museum centers. The initiator of several partnerships with the Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of History and Philology and non-governmental organizations participating in the IPA projects in the region. The Institute she leads is the focal point of UNESCO for the declared World Heritage properties in the territory of Albania and maintains regular contacts with European institutions on exchanging parallel and successful experiences. Participant and contributor in a series of international conferences and exhibitions on preservation, revitalisation and management of cultural assets. Jury member in several international architectural competitions.

Critically aware landscape architect recently completed advanced studies in Landscape Urbanism at the Architectural Association of London that is combined with a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. A Senior Designer at Martha Schwartz Partners for the last 3 years, Edith is engaged at a variety of levels that span conceptualizing, writing, design, curation and project management on various scaled complex international projects that often require sustainable urban strategies. She is interested in the socio-economic forces that impact the built world. She has recently written upon and presented at the Dumbarton Oaks Symposium “Cites and Their Rivers,” in Washington D.C. waterfront projects by MSP from this perspective. Ms. Katz has previously worked in the southwestern United States, Santa Fe, New Mexico where she had her own nationally recognized design firm.

Is the Deputy Mayor of Tirana since July 2015. Previously he was Deputy Minister of Education and Sports and the Executive Director of Agenda Institute, a think-tank in Tirana that undertakes research and analysis on public policies in Albania, particularly in the fields of good governance, European integration and economic and social development. Prior to taking up this responsibility in January 2008, Arbjan worked for MJAFT! (Enough! in English), Albania’s most successful civic movement that grew out of a youth movement. MJAFT seeks to achieve a well-governed Albania with active citizens, strong communities and a positive image in the world. Between 2005 and 2007, Arbjan was Policy Director at MJAFT, and between 2003 and 2005, he was MJAFT’s Communications Director. Before joining MJAFT, Arbjan ran the Albanian National Debate Association for three years, coordinating the debate programmes of Albania’s universities and high schools. Arbjan holds a Master’s degree in Political Communications from the University of Sheffield in the UK and, prior to that, studied journalism at the University of Tirana.

Mosbach is graduated from the landscape architecture school of Versailles, she founded with Marc Claramunt, Pascale Jacotot and Vincent Tricaud the magazine Pages Paysage and opened her studio in Paris in 1987. Among her many projects, the archaeological park of Solutre in Saone-et-Loire, walk Canal of Saint -Denis, the Botanical Garden of Bordeaux, the prototype garden “ the other side “ in Quebec City, Shan Shui garden prototype at the International horticultural Exposition in Xian, the Place de la Republic in Paris, walking Mediterranean Fort Saint -Jean in Marseille and the park Louvre museum in Lens. On November 18th of 2013, the Monitor Group delivered the equerre d’argent award -Paris- to the architects Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa of Sanaa and Catherine Mosbach for Louvre museum Lens part of a 25-hectare park. Phase Shifts Park has been honored on 2014 by the Iconic Concept Award category German Design Council, Munich.

Lytton John Musselman earned a Ph.D. in botany from the University of North Carolina and was chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he is the Mary Payne Hogan Distinguished Professor of Botany. For many years he has studied plants of the Bible and Qur’an and has been a Visiting Professor in Sudan, Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Most recently he worked at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani and is presently a Visiting Professor at Universiti Brunei Darussalam where he is researching plants of the Qur’an and Hadith. Among his many publications are several books on plants of the Holy Scriptures. The Queen of Jordan, Rania Al Abdullah, commissioned him to write Jordan in Bloom. Wildflowers of the Holy Land published in 2000 by the Jordan River Foundation. Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh Plants of the Bible and Qur’an (2007, Timber Press) is a guide for the general public. In 2011 he published Dictionary of Bible Plants (Cambridge University Press) which is an in-depth survey of all the plants occurring in the Old Testament, New Testament, and Apocrypha. In addition, he has produced two books on Bible plants translated into Dutch. Present research includes a survey of Southeast Asia plants mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith including agarwood and camphor as well as collaborating with several botanical gardens that are developing collections of plants mentioned in the Holy Writings.

Niko Peleshi has graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Electronic Engineering Department of the Polytechnic University of Tirana with excellent results, receiving the title: Electronic Engineer. In 1989 he graduated from “Raqi Qirinxhi” high school in Korca with a Golden Medal. Mr. Peleshi has had a significant career in the private sector in the city of Korca and from 2001- 2004 he ran with great success the Industrial and Trade Chamber of Commerce of Korca. The political career of Mr. Peleshi starts in October of 2004 when he was elected to be Prefect of the District of Korca, he was also elected as the Mayor of the City of Korca later on. Mr. Peleshi is a member with full rights to the Committee of Monitoring of the Local and Regional Congress of Authorities at the European Council.