The Agenda, Speakers and Venue

ELAF is pleased to announce the confirmed speakers for the ninth Edition of the Forum.
More speakers to be introduced soon.
Speaker Line-Up 2020
ELAF 2020 aims to create a space to understand the most daring issues from a Latin American perspective and formulate solutions. Because of this, sessions will be interactive and attendees will work closely with renowned speakers in a collaborative environment. We believe this will allow the forum to result in plausible ideas, policy proposals, and lifestyle changes that will be summarized in the final ELAF 2020 Briefing Paper.
This year, our Line-Up of speakers includes award-winning academics, activists, businesspersons and development practitioners that will share their expertise in law, economics, journalism, architecture and engineering.

President of the Energy Commission of the Brazilian Bar. UNFCCC's COP Official Observer. Lawyer and economist at RV&LC Associates. Expert on renewable energy law.
Luis Francisco Álvarez, MBA
Director of Infrastructure of the Banco de la República (Central Bank of Colombia). Architect specialised in Management of Construction Companies. Designs and builts under the sustainable architecture philosophy.

Jose Maria Saez
Founding professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Arts of the Universidad Católica de Quito. Specialist in Environment and Bioclimatic Architecture.
Dr. Christian Malaga-Chuquitaype
PhD in Structural and Earthquake Engineering. Researcher in structural dynamics. Imperial College London Lecturer.

Sustainable Infrastructure
Friday, 31st of January
Panel Question: What should the contribution from the state, private sector and communities be to sustainable infrastructure?


Dr. Diego Sanchez-Ancochea
Head of University of Oxford's Department for International Development. Co-Editor of The Journal of Latin American Studies. Academic and policy adviser researching the determinants of income inequality and the role of social policy in reducing it.

Dr. Pedro Mendes Loureiro
PhD Director at University of Cambridge's Centre of Latin American Studies. PhD in Economics. Researcher in Brazil's class, race and gender inequality structures.

Dr. Eduardo Pinos Velez
UNESCO Chair on Assistive Technology for Inclusive Education. Programme Director of Electronic Engineering at Universidad Politécnica Salesiana. Develops technical aids for people with disabilities and supporting technologies for educational inclusion.
Dr. Julia Calvert
Lecturer of Political Economy of Latin America at The University of Edinburgh. Ex-Board Member at the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
Social & Economic Inequality
Friday, 31st of January
Panel Question: What are the deeper divisions caused by economic and social inequalities focusing on Latin America?


Dr. Inty Grønneberg
MIT Technology Review Inventor of the year in Latin America, 2018. Co-Founder and CEO of Ichtion, award-winning developer of technologies to extract plastics from rivers.

Dr. Meriwether Wilson
Founder of MSc Marine Systems and Policies at U. of Edinburgh. Co-Director of Edinburgh Ocean Leaders Programme. Works with World Bank, UNESCO and UNDP to establish marine protected areas globally.

Ines Yábar
Founding member of Life out of Plastic (LOOP). Director at Techo-France. Sustainability journalist for Climate Tracker. Peruvian delegate at the COP25, Madrid.
Marine Pollution
Saturday, 1st of February
Panel Question: How can marine conservation be reconciled with economic & social development?
Deforestation
Saturday, 1st of February
Panel Question: How can deforestation be reconciled with economic & social development?

Tatiana Espinosa, MSc
Founder and CEO of Arbio Peru, an award-winning NGO that protects nearly 1000 hectares of the Amazon rainforest through its online conservation platform.

Dr. Kirsteen Shields
Contributor on IPCC's Special Report on Climate Change and Land, and the Paris Agreement. Lecturer in International Law and Food Security at the University of Edinburgh's Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security.

Diana Rodriguez
Forest, agriculture and climate change specialist at South Pole. Managed projects in sustainable forest management and conservation with the World Bank and climate change with FAO, Rome.