Short bio:

Giovanni Fontana Antonelli (Italy, 1967), graduated from Florence University, is a world experienced architect, urban/landscape planner and heritage expert. Owning a proven work experience as Project Manager and Team Leader in the field of international cooperation in developmental and humanitarian contexts, he gained his extensive experience from serving UNESCO and other United Nations agencies, and more recently NGOs and private companies, for more than 25 years in Africa, Europe and the Arab Region, including conflict and post-conflict situations. The Safeguarding of the terraced cultural landscape of Southern Jerusalem, the Reviving Earthen Architecture in the Jordan Valley, the Restoration and reconstruction of the Old City of Mosul for UNESCO, and the Recovery of Syrian Urban Heritage for UN-Habitat are milestones in his international civil servant’s career. In 2017, he founded Archi.Media Trust, an international cooperation agency promoting just, inclusive and sustainable cities and environments, cultural diversity and heritage preservation, and media development towards peacebuilding. Visiting professor in various universities across three continents, he was keynote speakers in numerous international conferences and author of three books and more than seventy publications on cultural heritage and development studies. He designed and coordinated projects that were recipient of international awards, such as the Gubbio Prize 1996, the Sheikh Zayed Prize 2005, the Melina Mercouri Prize for Cultural Landscapes 2011. His projects were shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2013 and 2016.