Advisory Board

Dr Simon Dancey, CEO of the UK sector Skills Council Creative & Cultural Skills, which gives young people opportunities to work and learn in the cultural sectors. His roles prior to this include Global Director of Cultural Skills at the British Council, Director, Wales at the British Council and Director of Community Music Wales. Simon has worked in the cultural sector for 25 years, initially as a musician and music promoter. He has recently completed a PhD in International Cultural Policy.

Rebecca Davies, Head of Cultural Skills EU region – British Council. Rebecca’s career has included roles in libraries, government information, customer services, research, corporate operations and information management. She has managed and participated in major transformational projects and is passionate about using technology to improve participation in learning and to deliver excellent services.

Momchil Georgiev, PhD, is Secretary General of the Bulgarian Association of Employers in Culture (BAROK), Assoc. Prof. in Management of the Music Industry at the National Music Academy in Sofia, member of the Executive Board of the Bulgarian National Radio and programmer of the International festival "Sofia Music Weeks".

Antonios Glaros is the Director of the Communication and Development Division of the National Organisation for the Certification of Qualifications & Vocational Guidance (E.O.P.P.E.P.) in Greece. He has broad experience in the Public Sector/ Government Authorities. Antonios has great knowledge and is published on topics like Life Long Learning (LLL), assessment and certification of skills/trainers/VET providers, as well as skills accreditation and Quality Assurance in the VET area.

Andy Lenthall is the General Manager of the UK-based Production Services Association, the trade association for those involved in the technical production of Live Events. In his role, Andy has helped with the development of higher education courses in live production skills, serving on advisory boards as well as lecturing for several educational establishments in the UK.

Leonard Octavian Paduret is President of FAIR-MEDIASIND Federation of Culture and Mass Media Federation in Romania, and of the Sectoral Committee of the Culture Branch-public utility organization and member of numerous cultural associations, federations and institutions. His work includes among other Cultural &Project Management and Professional Skills training. Leonard was an expert to the ESCO project of the European Union and is a frequent speaker at conferences, congresses and colloquia.

Richard Polacek, Director of EURO-MEI, the media arts and entertainment sector of UNI Europa. Richard is in charge of coordinating the EU social dialogue committee in the audiovisual sector on behalf of the trade union delegation. He is also managing and supervising projects of EURO-MEI, with a focus on skills development, gender equality and diversity, health and safety at work, and new forms of work arrangements. 

Irini Vouzelakou, Head of Cultural Skills EU region – British Council, has over 15 years’ experience working in the arts, cultural and creative sector. Irini has managed projects and their teams, ranging from one off events to international, multi stand projects. She works for the British Council since 2008 and prior to this she was Assistant Artistic Director at the European Capital of Culture - Patras 2006 and Section Manager of Culture at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. (Currently on leave)