Council

Arcadi Oliveres i Boadella (Honorary President)

1945-2021. With an economics degree from the University of Barcelona and a PhD in economic science from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He was a professor at the UAB Department of Applied Economics for 36 years. And president of Justice and Peace from 2002 to 2014. He was one of the main visible faces of the defense of peace and social justice of the Catalan panorama. He was a referral for FAS, participated in the Solidarity Autonomy Committee (the forerunner to FAS) and in its constitution was made honorary chairman of the FAS Advisory Council.

Jaume Albaigès Roselló

Telecommunications Engineer from the UPC. He has dedicated most of his professional life to bringing information and communications technologies closer to non-profit organizations. He is director of the SinergiaTIC Association, an entity he co-founded in 2013 and whose objective is precisely the technological empowerment of the third sector. It currently has more than 250 member organizations, which share knowledge, resources and solutions in order to increase the impact in their respective mission areas.

Eduard Ballester

With a bachelor in veterinary medicine and surgery from the UAB, Eduard Ballester has worked in international cooperation for 20 years as a cooperative officer and technical director of the Catalan Federation of Development NGOs. He is presently head of the Catalan Association of Integration and Human Development (acidH), an organisation that seeks to tap ethic and moral commitments to contribute to people with an intellectual disability and their families being able to develop their quality of life and to promote their inclusion as full citizens in a fairer and more supportive society.

Sara Carbonell Curralo

Social educator, with a postgraduate degree in Community Mental Health and a Master's degree in Medical Anthropology and Global Health. She has developed her professional career in the field of health education, working with various entities and vulnerable groups, especially in sexual health, substance use and mental health. She combines this work with teaching at the UAB. Currently, she actively participates in popular structures linked to education, critical pedagogies and the fight for housing from a harm reduction perspective.

Digna Couso Lagaron

Digna Couso has a PhD in Science Education and a degree in Physics. She directs the Department of Mathematics and Experimental Sciences Education (UAB) and the MIF program of the Directorate General of Universities. She has led CRECIM, coordinated 47 national and international projects (including H2020 and Erasmus+), and directed 11 doctoral theses. Member of the ESERA Board and the PISA 2025 strategic group, she focuses her research on scientific modeling, STEM education with equity and teaching innovation from the classroom.

Yousra El Gdari El Mejdoubi

Graduated in Sociology from the UAB and a master's degree in Social Policy, Work and Welfare. She began her professional career in the field of interculturality and religious diversity at the Religious Affairs Office of the Barcelona City Council. She currently works as a technician for a service of the Barcelona City Council to promote linguistic and cultural diversity within the same workforce. She combines her work with raising awareness in the field of anti-racist and intercultural education, and managing religious diversity in classrooms with the Bayt Al-Thaqafa Foundation.

Josep Espulga Trenc

Doctor in Sociology and Master in Occupational Health. Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and researcher at the Institute of Government and Public Policies (IGOP). He conducts research on social perception of technological risks, socio-environmental conflicts and eco-social transition processes. He is founder and collaborator of the Agriculture, Livestock and Food Group in Globalization (ARAG-UAB), coordinator of the Minor in Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship at the UAB, as well as co-director of the Specialization Diploma in Local Agroecological Dynamization.

Ricardo Esteban Legarreta

A full professor of Labour and Social Security Law at the UAB, Ricardo Esteban is a member of the university’s Work Studies Institute (IET-UAB) and Centre for Studies and Research for an Inclusive Society (CERSIN-UAB). His research areas include work and disability, a field where he has spearheaded several research projects in addition to reports and expert opinions. He is currently the vice dean of academic organisation and a coordinator of the law degree at the UAB Faculty of Law.

Abdoulaye Fall

Abdoulaye Fall has a Master’s Degree in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Master's Degree in Immigration Management from Pompeu Fabra University. He has a PhD in Demography from the UAB Centre for Demographic Studies with research on Senegalese and sub-Saharan immigration in Catalonia. He is also a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Migration. As a social entrepreneur, Abdoulaye is the founder of Main Gate, a project that works for the training and qualified employment of migrants, especially those of sub-Saharan origin.

Sergi Figueres

Núria García Muñóz

With a PhD in audiovisual communication, Núria García is a researcher in DTT content and formats in Europe and in audience studies. She was the Director of the UAB Audiovisual Communication and Advertising Department, where she currently works as a professor. She was the Vice-Chancellor of students and cooperation and also Chair of the FAS Trust. Núria García previously worked as a journalist for El Periódico de Catalunya and RTVE.

Ignasi Giménez Renom

BA in journalism and philosophy, UAB. He worked as a journalist for Ràdio Barcelona and Badia del Vallès Town Hall. Ignasi Giménez has been the mayor of Castellar del Vallès since the May 2007 elections, leading a town hall that partners with the UAB Refugee Housing programme. He has also been the head of Vallès Occidental Provincial Council since July 2015.

 

David González Chanca

With a BA in political science and public management from the UAB in 2017, David González has been the technical secretary of the Platform for Fair Taxation and a business manager with CaixaBank. He has been teaching vocational training at Vitae since 2018, from where he is currently on leave. At present he is the city councillor for Education, Youth, Good Government and Democratic Quality, University and the Knowledge City at Cerdanyola City Council, where he has also been the spokesperson for the Socialist Party of Catalonia’s municipal group since June 2019.

David Llistar Bosch

With a BA in Physics and a PHD in sustainability from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, David Llistar is the Co-founder of the Observatori del Deute en la Globalització (ODG) of the Unesco Chair of Sustainability. He has worked on development cooperation and global environmental and economic justice in different NGOs, universities and social movements. Currently and since February 2016 he is the Director of Global Justice and International Cooperation of the City Council of Barcelona

Enric Marin Otto

PhD in Information Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and tenured lecturer in the Department of Media, Communication and Culture. Researcher attached to the UAB Institute of Communication (InCom-UAB). As a teacher, he has also taught doctoral courses at Ramon Llull University and the Open University of Catalonia. He was president of the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Journalists Association of Catalonia. At the UAB, he is the former General Secretary and is currently Dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, a member and moderator of the Senate.

Francesc Mateu Hosta

Doctor. Director of the Forum of Local Ombudsman and Defenders of Catalonia. Former director of Oxfam Intermón in Catalonia and former president of LaFede.cat and vice president of the Spanish Coordinator of ONGD. Social activist for multiple causes. President of the Board of Trustees of Arrels Fundació, and member of the Cuina Justa Foundation and the Social Housing Foundation. Builder of social nativity scenes.

Sara Moreno Colom

She has a PhD in Sociology from UAB. She currently holds the position of Professor of the UAB Sociology Department and is a researcher at the Sociological Studies Centre on the subject of Daily Life and Work and the Institute for Work Studies. Her research and transfer lines fall within the fields of sociology of work, sociology of time and sociology of gender. She was Vice-Chancellor for Students and Occupability at UAB (2016-2020), Vice-Dean of Professionalism (2009- 2015) and Vice-Dean of Institutional Relations (2015-2016) in the Political Sciences and Sociology Faculty of UAB.

Estel·la Pareja Morte

She has a Degree in Political Sciences and Administration from UAB and a Master's Degree in International Relations from Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals. She has worked as a professional in the fields of human rights, humanitarian law, development cooperation, and in the area of institutional reinforcement and observation of electoral processes. Since 2011 she has held the position of Director of the Catalan Refugee Aid Commission.

Jordi Plana Coll

BA in geography and history, specialising in social anthropology, from the UB. Currently manager of the Political and Social Sciences Institute. He began his professional career in the IT field, working at the La Caixa and Barcelona City Council computer centres before switching to research and public management. He has also worked for Barcelona City Council and been a director of the Barcelona Observatory and the magazine Barcelona Societat.

Mariona Puigdellívol

With a degree in Political Science and Administration and a master's degree in International Solidarity Action in Europe, she has an extensive career in the fields of international cooperation, social action and social policies. Since 2022, she has been the general director of ECAS (Catalan Entities for Social Action).

Victoria Reyes García

An anthropologist who took her degree from the University of Florida in 2001, she is currently an ICREA research professor at the UAB’s Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB). Victoria Reyes studies indigenous and local knowledge and how it supplements science. She also co-manages the LASEG research group and a project on local perceptions around climate change impacts.
 

Laura Riba Singla

Bachelor’s Degree in Translation and Interpreting from the UAB, Social Educator and Master’s Degree in International Development and Cooperation. She has worked in civil society organisations in Catalonia and the Global South. For seven years she has been part of the FAS team, where she has worked to promote the Asylum Seekers Reception Programme. She is a member of the Board of Directors of LaFede.cat and works at Irídia - Centre for the Defence of Human Rights.

Judit Rifà

With a BA in English philology from the UAB and the University of Cologne (Germany), Judit Rifà has a PhD in education sociology from the UAB. She is currently head of education projects and a gender projects expert at the Directorate of Global Justice and International Cooperation at Barcelona City Council. She previously worked at the Barcelona Education Consortium and the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Education (IMEB).

 

Marc Siscart

PhD in economics from New York University, master's in economics and business from Pompeu Fabra University and economics degree from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Marc Siscart has worked as an economics professor at the Queen's School of Business (Canada) and held several teaching positions at New York University and Pompeu Fabra University. He is currently president and chief executive of Establiments Viena.

Eulàlia Sot Rahola

A psychology graduate from the UAB, Eulàlia Sot has spent more than 20 years in the field of health promotion and addiction prevention. She has developed projects in this area for city councils, associations and organisations, including the FAS Health programme. She is currently head of the drug prevention area at the Drug Dependency General Sub-Directorate of the Public Health Agency of Catalonia.

Xavier Such Martí

He has a Master's Degree and a PhD in Veterinary Medicine. He is currently Vice-Dean of Students of the Veterinary Faculty and also the Secretary. He is a tenured professor of the Animal Science and Food Department and has worked and participated in many research projects, in all cases related to milk production in small ruminants. He coordinates the multidisciplinary research group ARAG-UAB (Agriculture, Livestock and Food in Globalisation) and was chair of the NGO Veterinaris sense Fronteres (VSF) for thirteen years.

Gemma Xarles Jubany

A graduate of economic and business science from the UAB, Gemma Xarles has a master’s in political science and a post-graduate qualification in armed conflict resolution from the University of Los Andes (Colombia). She has a post-graduate qualification in international cooperation from CIDOB-UAB. Gemma Xarles is currently director of Globalisation and Cooperation at the UOC and a member of the Government of Catalonia's Cooperation Council representing CIC (the Inter-university Council of Catalonia), as well as a member of the Municipal Council on Cooperation at Barcelona City Council. She has also worked at UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) in New York and Colombia.