Cultural anthropologist, educator, President of Serfenta Association, co-founder of Serfenta Ltd. For 16 years now, Paulina has guided Serfenta towards a point where crafts meet human needs and business. Thanks to her actions, her beloved craft of basketry is still vibrant with life. She is a basketry expert, also specialising in...

• finalist in the "Businesswomen Who Won’t Give Up" competition
• winner of the Europa Nostra Award 2024
• finalist in the New European Bauhaus Prize 2023 for the project "Innovation Model of Craft Revitalisation"
• winner of JIAPICH 2022 for promoting cultural heritage with a strong focus on sustainable business (South Korea)
• holder of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship of 2016

Co-manager of Serfenta, winning international awards and acclaim for combining traditional values with the modern market. She is also a co-author of the “Innovation Model of Craft Revitalisation” business model. With her team, she designs contemporary market solutions for cultural heritage and craft. Łucja shares and promotes intangible cultural heritage around the world. She talks about the origins and principles of a business model which makes it possible to sell services based on traditional values worldwide, in an attractive and modern way. She’s an expert in promotion, social media, communication, and e-commerce. She was a co-leader of Serfenta’s trade mission to South Korea.

• winner of the Europa Nostra Award 2024 – the Oscars of cultural heritage
• finalist in the New European Bauhaus Prize 2023 for the project "Innovation Model of Craft Revitalisation"
• winner of JIAPICH 2022 for promoting cultural heritage with a strong focus on sustainable business (South Korea)

Cultural anthropologist, PhD in social sciences, in management and quality studies. As an academic lecturer, she is affiliated with WSB University and the University of Silesia. Before, she was a long-time deputy director of Zamek Cieszyn, a regional design centre. She coordinates the Design Observatory in Silesia. Her classes with university students cover a range of subjects from design thinking to creativity training and innovation management. Lubomira specialises in the field of cultural heritage preservation and development processes, offering a variety of workshops and courses in this area (e.g. for Hala Koszyki, Kraina św. Anny, and Podhalańska Lokalna Grupa Działania). She has an ample experience in service design processes. Lubomira is the author of a book titled “Design Thinking in Cultural and Heritage Management”, as well as numerous articles, research papers, and strategic documents concerning intangible cultural heritage management.

Expert in business process modelling and business solution design for the creative sector and crafts. For many years now, she has worked as a business advisor to social economy enterprises. Urszula was the CEO of DINKSY Design and Illustration Studio for 10 years, responsible for all the processes related to the market growth of the company. She specialises in project management and modelling in areas combining heritage and business. With Serfenta Association, she took part in the trade missions to South Korea and Iceland. Her work in the field of business modelling and CSR product and service design has been awarded by the Foundation for Social and Economic Initiatives (FISE), Łódź Design Festival (Must Have! Award), and Zamek Cieszyn (Silesian Icon).

Multilingual Design Anthropologist dedicated to bridging the worlds of academia, business, and non-profit organisations. She earned her PhD from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, where her research focused on the challenges of tourism development in New Caledonia. In the commercial sector, she has contributed to innovative projects for clients such as Avast, Bekaert, and Visa. At the Faculty of Business Administration, Prague University of Economics and Business, she fosters collaboration between students and organisations, supervising a variety of UX research projects. As an AFS alumna, she also serves as a trainer with the European Federation for Intercultural Learning. Karolina’s passion for travel and nonfiction writing is reflected in her reportage contributions to Polish magazines like “Tygodnik Powszechny”, “OKO.press”, and “Magazyn Kontynenty”.

Joanna is a specialist in combining design research with social science and strategic innovation, effortlessly turning cultural insights into design opportunities and business strategies. Leading intO’s central, strategic team (spread across the UK, Germany, Poland, South Africa and Colombia), Joanna orchestrates projects with the 68 multi-lingual researchers living in over fifty countries. With a leadership ambition to achieve equality for all, and as a mother of four, she has built a culture that empowers and supports individuals to develop their careers while caring for their families. This engaged and innovative approach to leadership fuels intO’s striking proposition and its success. Lecturing and mentoring at various universities, Joanna is also a regular guest speaker at events (TEDx, the BBC, Qual360, Service Design Days, Campus Party), and has written articles for many publications.

Joanna has a BA (Hons) in Product Design from Central Saint Martins, and an MSc in Culture & Society from London School of Economics in sociology, anthropology and social psychology. She has lived in Germany, Ireland and the UK, and is now based between the UK and Poland. She speaks English, Polish, German and Italian.

Specialist at the Industry Cooperation Office at the University of Silesia in Katowice and PhD candidate in the field of management at the Silesian University of Technology. Her field of expertise is the study of the behavioural aspects of social innovations, competences, and academic entrepreneurship.

She runs international research projects testing innovative solutions, such as support workshops for persons after mastectomy. Her interdisciplinary approach combines cultural and social traditions with modern management, with a focus on the upskilling of both academics and social innovators.

In her private life, she’s a passionate traveller. Maria is the first Polish woman to have cycled solo across the American continent: from Alaska to Argentina, through the Rocky Mountains and the Andes. She was nominated for the National Geographic Travelery Award for the best expedition of the year, and received one of the most important travel prizes in Poland, Kolosy, for her solo ride across the two Americas that challenged common stereotypes.