Emílio Rui Vilar
President
Emílio Rui Vilar is President of the General Assembly of the Dialogue Café Association. He is also President of the Board of Trustees of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Chair of the European Foundation Centre and President of the Portuguese Foundation Centre. He is also Chairman of the Audit Commission of the Bank of Portugal. His career has spanned finance, philanthropy and government. Between 1974 and 1975, Rui Vilar was Minister of Economic Affairs and Secretary of State for Commerce and Tourism in 1974. He was also the Minister for Transport and Communications from 1976 to 1978.
Jorge Sampaio
Vice-President
Jorge Sampaio is Vice President of the General Assembly of the Dialogue Café Association. Sampaio served as President of the Portuguese Republic from 1996 to 2006. As President, his actions were mainly focused on education, social issues, human rights for all, and European and international affairs. In May 2006, Sampaio was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as Special Envoy to the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis, a global initiative which seeks to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the incidence of tuberculosis by 2015. The initiative hopes to treat 50 million TB patients and prevent 14 million TB related deaths by 2015. In April 2007, Sampaio was appointed as the High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, a UN initiative which seeks to promote dialogue, understanding and collaboration among cultures globally, and, in particular, between Muslim and Western societies.
Sara Piteira
Secretary
Sara Piteira is Secretary of the General Assembly and Executive Director of the Dialogue Café Association.
Diogo Vasconcelos
Chairman
Diogo Vasconcelos is Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is a Distinguished Fellow with Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), the company’s global strategy and innovation group where he is currently working with different governments in Europe and the Middle East, the European Commission, the UN’s High Commissioner for the Alliance of Civilizations and the European Investment Bank to develop the role of ICT in fighting climate change, promoting energy efficiency and supporting sustainable prosperity and innovation. Diogo is also working in Lebanon and Palestine on innovation, IT & broadband for social cohesion and economic growth. He also chaired the recent Business Panel on Future EU Innovation Policy, and is the Chair of the Social Innovation eXchange.
Dr. Helena Barroco
Dr. Helena Barroco is a member of the Board of Directors. Helena is a Portuguese Diplomat, and Special Adviser to former President Jorge Sampaio. Helena is a graduate in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Lisbon and has a PhD in Philosophy of Quantic Physics from Leuven University, Belgium and a Master Degree in Conference Interpretation from Mons-Hainaut University in Belgium.
Dr. Tom Fleming
Dr. Tom Fleming is a member of the Board of Directors. Tom is a consultant and academic specialising in research and support for the cultural and Creative Industries sector at all levels. Key areas of specialism include creative industries investment, local and regional creative Industries strategies, cluster development, detailed mapping, cultural planning, and establishing targeted support mechanisms for the creative industries sector that include approaches to finance, investment, business advice, skills/training, property feasibility, and network and supply chain development. He has worked across the UK and in over 25 countries.
Sara Piteira
Executive Director
Sara Piteira leads the Dialogue Café Executive Team. She has considerable experience of project management and overseeing collaborative networks, having developed the global Social Innovation eXchange, a network of 400+ organisations and individuals involved in social innovation around the world. Before that, Sara was responsible for managing pioneering e-democracy and e-voting projects with the Portuguese Government. Sara has a BA in Political Science and an MA in Democracy and Participation.
sara.piteira@dialoguecafe.org
Julie Caulier-Grice
Programme Manager
Julie Caulier-Grice is Programme Manager at the Dialogue Café Association. She is responsible for developing the global network of users and overseeing the programme of events at the local Dialogue Cafés. Previously, Julie worked at the Young Foundation, where she led the organisation’s research work on social innovation and co-authored Social Venturing and The Open Book of Social Innovation. Other publications explored ways of funding community activity and civil society’s role in campaigning for social change and meeting social needs.
julie@dialoguecafe.org
Dialogue Café is supported by a range of partners including:
United Nations’ Alliance of Civilisations
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is an initiative of the UN Secretary-General which aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions, and to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.
Cisco
Cisco is a global company, with more than 60.000 employees. Cisco technology enables people to make powerful connections-whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible-providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a charitable foundation established in Portugal in 1956 with cultural, educational, social and scientific interests. With assets of more than 3 billion euros, is amongst the biggest private foundations in the world.
The Anna Lindh Foundation
The Anna Lindh Foundation is an organisation shared and resourced by over forty Euro-Mediterranean countries, to bring people together as a way to promote dialogue between cultures and respect for diversity. The Foundation leads regional initiatives and support local activities carried out by organisations based across civil society which advocate for a better understanding among people, religions and beliefs, and champion human rights and democracy.
Dialogue Café is also working with:
The Union of Cities
and Local Government
Vieira de Almeida
e Associados
Gesbanha
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Central Saint Martins
College of
Art and Design
New York University
The Bilgi University
in Istanbul
People
Dialogue Café is managed by a non profit organisation set up as a public interest association. The Dialogue Café Association is governed by a Board of Directors and a Fiscal Board. Both boards are chosen by all members of the association in the General Assembly.
The Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic development and day-to-day management of the project. The Fiscal Board is responsible for auditing and approving the expenses and accounts of the association. The directors were chosen for their expertise and early engagement with the project.
The Executive Team of Dialogue Café reports to the Board of Directors and is responsible for the day to day management of the association and the implementation of the strategy defined by the boards.
Contact us
If you want to take part in the conversation, or have any questions or queries, then you can also get in touch with us at info@dialoguecafe.org.
