Born in 1970 in Tehran, Ali Asghar Moonesan studied civil engineering in Sharif University and then joined Amir Kabir University to receive his MA in structural management. Then he started studying trade management in Industrial Management Organization.
Before his ministry in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Moonesan was the head of ICHTO (Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization) for 2 years. He also has been the CEO and head of the board of directors in Kish Free Zone Organization, and had a similar position in the company of Cultural Spaces Development (Tehran Municipality). He also has hold many other important positions including CEO of Tehran Civil Engineering Organization, CEO of Atisaz Company, deputy manager at Heris Company, deputy manager at Dey Company, etc. Moonesan was selected as the best manager in Municipality of Tehran in 2013.
Dr. Moonesan has executive and managerial experiences in areas such as infrastructure development and investment in cultural spaces. He has also done many scientific and research works in technical and managerial areas and is a university professor.
Sa’ad was born in Kuwait and graduated from University of Buckingham in Economics in 1979. He has been the director of HQSF since 2000, a non-for-profit foundation that believes in the power of education and philanthropy to revitalize Palestine. He is a member of Expo 965 Team for Heritage and Crafts. In recent years, Sa’ad accompanied the late President Dr. Ghada Hijjawi Qaddumi, and was selected as the Interim President of WCC-AISBL after her death.
She is a Committee Member of Crafts Council of India for nearly 35 years, and had held the post of Vice President for 15 years. Currently, she is the Honorary Treasurer of the organization. As an active member of the Crafts Council of India, she has organized or participated in several workshops and exhibitions, each focusing one specific area of expertise in the crafts field. These include the Jawaja leather craft, terra cotta, basketry and traditional Tribal embroidery. Some of the programmes, such as the “Tambool” workshop and the Natural Dyes workshop had international reach too. Mrs. Krishna was elected President of the World Crafts Council at their General Assembly
held in Hangzhou, China in November 2008. During the four-year term as President, Mrs. Krishna’s main focus was on advocacy – taking the cause of craftspersons to the Governments, policy makers and the business community and get crafts and craftspersons recognized as an integral part of the society and brought into the mainstream of life. As President of WCC, she participated in several international events such as Africa Days, Vienna; UNESCO Forum on Cultural Industry; International Fair of Craft (FIART) in Havana, Cuba; Cairo Forum on Cultural and Economic Development, etc., and effectively advocated for the cause of crafts and craftspersons in these forums.
Pooya Mahmoudian, one of the young government mangers in Iran since the last decade, has played a significant part in registering Iranian cities in the World Craft Council. She has previously been the Director General of Iranian Handicrafts Export and her current position is the vice-minster of Cultural Heitage, Tourism and Handicrafts. Mahmoudian was selected as the vice-president of WCC West Asia Subregion in 2021.
Aziz was born in the Uzbek town of Margilan. He went to study finance in Kyrgyzstan and took up a career in banking as a loan officer. In 2009, he became the manager of Handicraft Development Center Marghilan, and was recently appointed as the Vice President of Central Asia section in the World Craft Council.
He is Chairman of the chamber of commerce and industry of Uzbekistan n 2011-2012 Adkham Ikramov was a member of the WHO Executive Committee from the Republic of Uzbekistan. As the Head of the delegation, he represented the Republic of Uzbekistan at the Olympic Games in Brazil in 2016, was chairman of the Fencing Federation of Uzbekistan. In 2012 – 2016 participated in the sessions of UNESCO as the head of the delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
By Presidential Decree in 2011 he was awarded the Order of “Fidokorona Hizmatlari Uchun” (a major contribution to the economic and cultural development of the country). He has more than 200 publications, including 1 monograph, 120 articles, 6 methodical manuals.
In February 2009, she received the Government of Malaysia’s National Arts Award 2008 for her contributions in the Promotion of the Arts (Individual Category) on the occasion of the Eighth National Arts Award 2008 Ceremony. In November 2009, she received the GUSI PEACE PRIZE, Manila , Philippines. Currently serving as Advisor on the Board of the World Crafts Council Asia Pacific Region
Hamidreza Sheshjavani, born in 1975, is a cultural economist who has studied sociology, cultural economics, and cultural policy-making. His doctoral dissertation was on the economic policy in the cultural sector in Iran. He is one of the founders of the economics of culture and art as an independent discipline in Iranian universities. He is also a member of the International Art Market Studies Association (TIAMSA) and the Association for Cultural Economics International (ACEI), and the CEO of the Center for the Development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CACIMA). He teaches art economics at various universities in Tehran and is an advisor to the Ministries of Culture and Justice. His current area of research focuses on copyright economics.
Born on April 24, 1973 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Sarvar Bakhti is a career diplomat who has graduated in Language and Literature of Middle East and International Relations and speaks three languages of Persian, Russian and English.
Sarvar Bakhti is the incumbent President of the ECO Cultural Institute (ECI). The ECI is an independent specialized agency within the ECO family, which has been promoting cultural relations between and among the ECO member states since its inception in 1995, being the only international cultural body based in Tehran.
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an international, regional organization involving 10 member states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Sarvar started his career as a program expert for youth at the Committee for radio and television under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan but later moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan and assumed various diplomatic posts including Third secretary at the Middle East and Africa Division of the department of Asian and African countries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan, Second secretary of International Information and Accreditation of the department of analysis and strategic research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan. In a couple of years, he proved that he deserves senior positions and took on the following positions: Head of the Commonwealth of Independent States Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan and Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Rosy Greenlees, OBE, is Executive Director of the Crafts Council, a national charity promoting the value of craft and making to society. The Crafts Council has supported thousands of makers through its talent development programmes; brings high quality craft projects and events to the public across the country; and is passionate about the importance of giving children and young people a craft education.
Rosy spent her early career as a visual arts curator before taking on senior roles including Director of Visual and Media Art at Eastern Arts Board, Cultural Strategy Manager responsible for the Mayor of London’s first culture strategy; and founder Director of the London Centre for Arts and Cultural Enterprise a higher education partnership promoting knowledge exchange with the cultural sector.
Rosy is one of former President of the World Crafts Council International and a member of the Creative Industries Council and the DIT Creative Industries Trade and Export Board. She is a Fellow of the RSA and Honorary Fellow of Arts University Bournemouth and the City and Guilds of London College of Art.
Born on December 20, 1968 in the city of Tashkent, Uzbekistan Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor. He was awarded with the state Order «Fidokorona hizmatlari uchun» (For the Selfless Service) in 2011 and the “Shukhrat” Medal in 2018