Saša Poljanec Borić

Saša is an exceptional example of a multidisciplinary education. After graduating in philosophy and French language and literature, additional academic and work experience also in France, she spent ten years at the Institute of Tourism, where she was involved in the implementation and development of numerous national and international scientific researches in the field of sociology of leisure and tourism. In this period, she won a master’s degree with “Socio-cultural aspects of post-war development of tourism function in Dubrovnik” at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. She was Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Tourism, and Head of Directorate of Development. She participated in the preparation of a bilateral agreement on technical assistance with Austria and in development of the “General Plan of Tourism in the Republic of Croatia“. After a couple of years of advisory function in international consulting company Horwath and Horwath Consulting, she started to work for the Institute Ivo Pilar. From this period dates thesis entitled “Privatization of the Croatian hotels as a precondition for the competitiveness of Croatian tourist offer».  Saša published numerous expert and scientific works, she is often an associate of Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Radio Television, she conducts quality control research in the Croatian tourist destinations in the action Tourist flower. The last three years she has been participating in the negotiating group for negotiations on Croatian accession to the European Union. She is a member of the Presidency of the Croatian Sociological Association, as an invited lecturer regularly lectures on the courses in the field of urban sociology and economics of leisure time at the Faculty of Architecture University of Zagreb and the “Zagreb School of Management and Tourism” as a part of Vern.

Peter DeBrine

Mr. DeBrine joined the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in 2011 as a Programme Specialist where he is spearheading the development of a new World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme. Previously he was the Director of the World Heritage Alliance at the United Nations Foundation—a global community of travelers, members of the travel industry, government groups, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations working together to preserve and protect World Heritage sites while supporting local communities.   With extensive experience in sustainable development and tourism, Mr. DeBrine held the position of Deputy Director of the International Tourism Partnership for the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum where he worked with major hotel companies to create practical sustainability strategies and tools for the tourism industry.  Previously, Mr. DeBrine worked as a Forestry Officer for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization where he helped shape an international partnership for sustainable development in mountain regions. This builds on his many years as an environmental campaigner for WWF working on climate change, endangered species and sustainable tourism issues in the US and Europe. Mr. DeBrine holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Colorado.

amareswar galla

Chairperson, Sustainability Knowledge Community and a champion of cultural democracy, UN Millennium Development Goals and safeguarding all forms of heritage, Prof Galla, is an alumnus of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is the founding Executive Director of the International Institute for the Inclusive Museum, Copenhagen & Hyderabad.  His latest book World Heritage: Benefits Beyond Borders, Cambridge University Press & UNESCO Publishing, 2012, is the flagship project of the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. He is currently working on the establishment of the international centre of excellence in Inclusive Museum Studies at the University of Copenhagen. He was Professor of Museum Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane and Professor  & Director of Sustainable Heritage Development Programs, Australian National University, Canberra. During 1994 - 99 he was the International Technical Adviser for the transformation of Arts Councils, National Museums and the National Parks Board (now SAN Parks) in post- apartheid South Africa. He was an expert adviser to the UN World Commission for Culture and Development. He worked on the implementation of Museums and Cultural Diversity Promotion at the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Netherlands. His work, listed as best practice in the 2009 World Culture Report by UNESCO, includes the establishment of World Heritage Areas as culture in poverty alleviation projects - Ha Long Bay and Hoi An, Vietnam and Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India. He has been honoured internationally on several occasions including Outstanding Conservationist of the Year Award by the Vietnamese government in 2002 and the European Best in Heritage Award in 2008. ICOM Australia conferred the 2012 Individual achievement award for excellence for Amar's extensive and on-going commitment to museums, sustainable development and poverty alleviation through culture: http://icom.org.au/site/activitiesiaair2012.php  Amar spends half his time building community grounded museums with his graduate students in low economic indicator countries. His enduring commitment to inclusive heritage development informs his community engagement, professional achievements and keynote addresses worldwide. As the 2nd and 3rd Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Intangible Heritage he provided seminal leadership for firmly establishing the journal as a quality assured scholarly journal that is inclusive and representative with emphasis on cultural and linguistic diversity of the world. Email. director@inclusivemuseum.org; Web. www.inclusivemuseum.org

Ivan Pavić

Prof Pavić graduated in 1973, obtained his Master’s degree in 1976 and Doctor’s degree in 1992 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. Upon graduation, he spent three years working in the field of economy. In 1976 he was employed at the Faculty of Economics, University of Split, where he is still working. Acting as Teaching Assistant, Assistant Professor, Associate and Full Professor at his faculty he taught various subjects focused on the study of enterprises, and for the last twenty years he has been teaching Microeconomics. Besides teaching at his faculty, he worked as Visiting Professor at many other universities. He published number of scientific and professional papers, among which special attention should be drawn to textbooks Organisation and Economy of Production (1982), Production Management (1996), Salary Management (1996) and Microeconomics (2006), (2008.). He was Project Manager and Project Associate at many research projects and coordinator of two Tempus projects (Development of Economics and Business Education at Faculty of Economics and Masters Degree in European Integration in Croatia). Besides active scientific work and teaching, he acted as Vice Dean (1992-1996) and Dean (1996-2000) of the Faculty of Economics in Split, Vice Rector (2000-2002) and Rector (since 2002) of the University of Split. In 2007 he was awarded the medal for special merits in science (Red Danice hrvatske s likom Runera Boškovića). His hobbies are skiing and tennis.

Jacob Christian Salvig

Jacob is the Director of Naturama and Fjord & Bælt with more than 20 years of research track record in wildlife biology and extensive experience in developing educational exhibitions based on field research, environmental management and nature rehabilitation.  With his passion for sustainability he took over the management of the former Svendborg Zoologiske Museum and through innovative thinking and appropriate business development, he completely redeveloped the institution. Introducing the new concept of drama and performance in environmental education, he modernized the way of engaging with education for sustainability and nature conservation. Naturama was created in Funen, Denmark. It is an impressive framework using new technology and multimedia for teaching natural history presented in a way that was, and still is, unusual for environmental conservation institutions. In the new architectonic frames, modern natural history is presented using impressive lightning, dramatic films, sounds, music and pictures. A visit to Naturama is a unique experience rousing the guests´ senses in the world of the animals. Apart from being a conservation science centre and a tourist attraction, Naturama is acknowledged by all levels of school institutions – from kinder gardens to universities – as a highly competent learning and science institution. In January 2013 Naturama merged with another tourist attraction and learning centre called Fjord&Bælt, situated also in Funen, Denmark. This paved the way for relaunching and developing yet another new concept for Naturama with an even closer link to the educational institutions in the entire region of southern Denmark. The merge of the two institutions is also expected to be the foundation of an even stronger concept which will position it among the top environmental attractions in Denmark. Apart from running Naturama/Fjord&Bælt, Jacob is a member of several boards, groups, and committees, most of them related to the management and strategic development of environment education and responsible tourist attractions. He is a passionate advocate of environmental sustainability.