International Expert Council Members
Jon West-Bey
Owner of West-Bey Consulting LLC
Lecturer | Museum Studies
Krieger School of Arts & Sciences
Johns Hopkins University
Jon West-Bey is a distinguished curator, museologist, and museum consultant based in Washington, D.C., with nearly three decades of experience shaping the cultural landscape through exhibitions, education, and strategic leadership. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of the American Poetry Museum and the Owner of West-Bey Consulting LLC, a firm specializing in curatorial planning, collections management, and museum development. Jon currently serves as a Lecturer in the Master of Arts in Museum Studies program at Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches and mentors emerging professionals in the field. Throughout his career, Jon has curated over 60 exhibitions and developed numerous acclaimed programs across disciplines including history, literature, art, and cultural studies. His expertise has supported a wide array of institutions—from national initiatives such as Greenwood Rising and the Motown Museum Expansion Project to community-based and international collaborations.
Jon’s work emphasizes equity, storytelling, and cultural engagement. His current consulting portfolio includes projects with the forthcoming Afrofuturism Museum in Arkansas, the National Slavery Museum in Richmond, and exhibitions highlighting the history of Black-owned insurance companies and Afro-Cuban artistic heritage. Previously, Jon held leadership and curatorial roles at the Prince George’s African American Museum, the University of Maryland University College, and the Tenement Museum in New York. He has also developed educational and public programs for institutions such as the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and the National Museum of American Jewish Military History.
Jon holds a Master of Science in Leadership in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Virginia Commonwealth University. His work continues to inspire inclusive museum practices and elevate underrepresented narratives across the cultural sector.
Council Member
Council Member
Terry Sandell
Director, Cultural Futures LLP
Terry Sandell is the Director of Cultural Futures LLP, a consultancy specializing in cultural policy, creative industries development, and international collaboration. He has led major projects supporting the Eastern Partnership countries, Northern Europe, and the Post-Soviet countries.
With extensive experience in policy design and implementation, Terry has guided governments and cultural institutions through strategies that foster sustainable cultural growth, audience engagement, and transnational partnerships . Based in Uzès, France, he bridges grassroots cultural projects and high-level policy, forging ecosystems that propel culture and creativity onto the global stage.
Prior to founding Cultural Futures LLP, Terry served as Managing Director and gained recognition as an Adjunct at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford. There, he deepened his expertise in European cultural policy—enriching the global dialogue on culture and soft power
Alessandro Bianchi
Retired Art Historian
Italian Ministry of Culture
Expert in European Mediaeval Art joined the Ministry in 1986 where he was mainly involved in the field of restoration and conservation of ancient artifacts. This field of intervention is based on detailed theory and methodology set in the thirties after many decades of reflection and academic debates. The most relevant question addressed during this debate was how to merge historical value of the artifacts with the needing of assuring their proper perception.
Since the nineties he has been engaged in the issue of protecting heritage involved in conflict situations and in supporting the authorities of countries concerned in recovering their technical capacities. The first experiences were done in Balkans where heritage became target of the interethnic wars, first in Bosnia Herzegovina and then in Kosovo. After 2003 war he was engaged in Iraq as co-ordinator of the initiatives undertaken by Italian side in support of the local authorities, namely the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. As well since 2005 he is engaged in Israel, following a Memorandum of Understanding between the General Secretariat and the Israel Antiquities Authority, with a number of initiatives in the field of exchange of technical skills and experiences.
He has been Resident Twinning Adviser for EU-funded Twinning projects in cultural field in Georgia (Support to the Institutional Development of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia 2013-2015) and in Azerbaijan (Support to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the modernization of its policy and management system in the culture sector (2016-2018).
Council Member
Council Member
Jahangir Selimkhanov
Advisor to Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, member of European Cultural Parliament, member of CPDN – Cultural Policy Designers Network. Curator, facilitator, promoter of artistic projects across various segments of cultural domain. In the past - elected President of the Administrative Council of UNESCO International Fund for the Promotion of Culture, National Expert in UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, member of the Coordinating Bureau of Silk Roads Living Heritage Network. Lecturer, panelist, speaker, presenter at the festivals, conferences, symposia and other cultural events in Azerbaijan and abroad - from Abu Dhabi to Vancouver, and from Oslo to Delhi. Since early 1990-ies actively dealt with arranging concert tours and CD releases abroad for traditional music of Azerbaijan. Co- established Yeni Musiqi -Society for Contemporary Music (1995) Recent international judging activity – Classical: NEXT Festival and Conference, Berlin, May 2024. Has written 6 out of 50 essays in ”Revisiting Museums of Influence. Four Decades of Innovation and Public Quality in European Museums”, Routledge, London & New York, 2020, as a result of extensive involvement over the six years in the jury of EMYA European Museum of the Year. For nearly 30 years leads various university courses and mentoring programs (from contemporary music to cultural policy to creativity process).
Dr Muhammad Sharif
Director/Advisor Science and Technology ICESCO, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO)
Dr. Muhammad Sharif is an Advisor/Director Science and Technology Sector at Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) at HQ Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. ICESCO is an inter-governmental organization having 54 member states around the world, emanated from the (OIC), specializing in the fields of education, science and culture. Dr Sharif is an Associated Professor at Leibniz Institute for Catalysis Rostock Germany, President of African Branch (55 countries) of International Engineering and Technology Institute and Adjunct Professor at University of Lahore Pakistan. Dr. Sharif is an architect of several international initiatives which include ICESCO Accelerator program for 54 countries, ICESCO International Aerospace Symposium and Model Satellite (CanSat) training workshops Initiative for member states, ICESCO’s Food Security Initiative for Sahel Region and Global Space Science Forum (GSSF).
Dr Sharif has been instrumental in setting up several ICESCO scientific chairs which includes, 1) International Space University on Space Science Applications, 2) Sultan Qaboos University Oman on “Remote Sensing”, 3) Qauid-I-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan on Big Data Analytics & Edge Computing,4) National University of Science and Technology Pakistan on Data Science and Analytics for Business 5) The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) on on Sustainable Engineering, 6) The Baku State University Azerbaijan on Biomedical Materials.
Council Member
Council Member
Reza Deghati
Peace Correspondence
Reza Deghati (born July 26, 1952, in Tabriz, Iran), widely known simply as Reza, is an acclaimed Iranian–French photojournalist and humanitarian. Ethnically Azerbaijani, he began photographing at 14 and was boldly exhibiting his images at university by 16.
His prolific career spans over four decades, working across 100+ countries for major outlets like Time, Stern, Newsweek, GEO, Paris Match, and especially National Geographic. His photographs, often seen on the cover of NatGeo—25 times to date—are powerful testimonies to war, cultural diversity, and human resilience In 1992, Reza and his wife Rachel co-founded the Webistan Photo Agency in Paris, a multimedia studio melding image and narrative. In 2001, he launched AINA, a nonprofit empowering youth—especially women and children—in conflict zones via media literacy and visual storytelling. By 2009, AINA had trained over 1,000 Afghans, including Pulitzer prizewinner Massoud Hossaini
Reza’s exhibitions and public art projects are world-renowned: “Destins Croisés” (Paris), “One World, One Tribe” (NatGeo Museum, D.C.), “War + Peace” (Caen Memorial), and massive outdoor installations like “A Dream of Humanity” along the Seine. He’s authored 17 books—highlighting “War + Peace” and his poetic reimagining of Sindbad—and contributed to numerous web documentaries.His work has garnered prestigious awards: World Press Photo prizes, the 1996 UNICEF Hope Prize, French National Order of Merit (2005), Prince of Asturias Medal (2006), Missouri Honor Medal, Lucie and ICP Infinity awards, as well as doctoral honors from institutions like the American University of Paris
Reza remains an educator and advocate, conducting photography workshops globally—from refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan to underprivileged communities in Argentina and Mali. His lifelong mission is to transform passive victims into empowered visual storytellers, using the universal language of imagery to illuminate shared humanit
Dr. Nigar Rustamova
Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs
Associate Professor, PhD in Philology
Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts (ASUCA)
Dr. Nigar Rustamova is a seasoned academic leader and philologist with over three decades of experience in higher education, educational policy, and academic administration. She currently serves as Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts (ASUCA), where she leads the university’s academic strategy, curriculum innovation, and international collaboration.
Dr. Rustamova holds a PhD in Philology, with her doctoral research focused on the role of national literary traditions in the works of prominent Azerbaijani writer Suleyman Rahimov. She earned her degree in Philology from Baku State University and later completed her doctoral studies at ASUCA. She was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2008.
Her career spans a range of senior roles at ASUCA, including Scientific Secretary of the Academic Council and Secretary of the Dissertation Board. She also served for over a decade as an expert for the Science and Education Committee of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, contributing to key legislation such as the Laws on Science, Vocational Education, and General Education.
Dr. Rustamova has actively participated in European academic initiatives, including the EU’s Erasmus+ program. She played a key role in the ECAR project to establish the Azerbaijan Rectors’ Conference and currently serves as Deputy Chair of its Committee on Academic Affairs and Quality Assurance.
Council Member
She is the author of multiple publications, including monographs, textbooks, translated academic works, and scholarly articles. Dr. Rustamova’s academic interests include cultural and literary studies, education reform, and international academic cooperation. Her academic works include:
- The Principles of Realization of the “Wise Old Man” and “Trickster” Functions in the Works of Sabit Rahman – Article
- At the Crossroads of East and West: The Works of Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt – Article
- Epic Prose and National Tradition: Based on the Works of Suleyman Rahimov – Monograph
- History of Russian Literature – 19th Century – Methodological Guide
- History of Russian Literature – Curriculum Program
- Siegfried Kracauer. Theory of film: The Redemption of Physical Reality – Translated Work
- Christopher Vogler. The Writer’s Journey – Translated Work
Nigar Rustamova has been recognized with national honors, including the “Progress” Medal (2023) by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the “Distinguished Educator” badge (2013) by the Ministry of Education, for her contributions to education and public service.
Council Member
Curtis Dowling
Fine Art Authentication Expert
With over 30 years of experience in the fine art and antiques industry, Curtis Dowling is a globally recognized authority in art authentication and forgery investigation. For the past fifteen years, Curtis has focused exclusively on identifying fakes and forgeries and tracing the provenance of artworks, working with collectors, museums, and institutions across the world.
Curtis has led a uniquely multifaceted career—ranging from authenticating high-value artworks and uncovering international art fraud cases to lecturing, authoring expert content, and producing investigative television programs. His sharp eye and deep knowledge have earned him the trust of clients in both the public and private sectors.
Before dedicating himself solely to authentication, Curtis spent many years as a respected fine art and antiques dealer, owning and operating galleries and shops known for their quality and historical significance.
Today, he continues to share his expertise through:
- Art Authentication Services
- Art Forgery Investigations
- Fake and Forgery Detection Training
- Lectures and Public Talks
Curtis Dowling remains a leading voice in the world of fine art integrity, committed to preserving the truth behind every canvas.
Prof. Dr. Erman M. Demir
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erman M. Demir is a scholar and policy advisor specializing in cultural policy, creative entrepreneurship, and the management of cultural institutions. He is Vice Manager of the Creative Cultural Industries Research Center at Başkent University, where he designs and implements research, training, and policy projects focused on creative labor, platform economy, and sustainable cultural ecosystems. With extensive teaching experience in entrepreneurship, leadership, and business skills for the creative economy, he also mentors cultural organizations in strengthening their managerial capacities.
Dr. Demir is a member of the Creative Industries Council at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and serves on the Committee on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions at the UNESCO Turkish National Commission. His interdisciplinary background—spanning industrial engineering, organizational behavior, and communication—enables him to engage effectively with academic, public, and creative sector stakeholders in shaping inclusive and future-oriented cultural policies.
Council Member
Council Member
Telman Malikzade
Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation
Telman Malikzade is a seasoned cultural policy expert with over 22 years of experience in international development, heritage governance, creative industries, and sustainable tourism. He currently serves as the Head of the Local Projects Division at the Reserves Management Center under the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and as Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation.
Telman holds a BA in English Translation from Azerbaijan University of Languages and an MBA from Azerbaijan State Economic University. His professional journey spans leading organizations such as World Vision, Oxfam, UNICEF, the World Bank, and BEGOC, where he has excelled in project management, policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and training.
He has spearheaded and coordinated national surveys on social services and creative industries and played pivotal roles in high-profile international events, including the UNESCO World Heritage Committee 43rd Session, multiple international forums and conferences in Azerbaijan, and COP29.
Telman is widely recognized for his in-depth understanding of Azerbaijan’s cultural and socio-economic landscape and is a dedicated advocate for creative sector growth and heritage-based sustainability.
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