The International Artistic Committee of the 32nd FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF MOUNTAINS

An ethnologist and culture researcher, one of the foremost instructors of folk ensembles in Podhale, a highly committed cultural life animator, a jury member in numerous folk festivals and contests. She took a graduate degree in ethnological studies at the University of Silesia (the Cieszyn Branch), and a post-graduate degree in ethnomusicology at the University of Warsaw.  In 2018 she defended her Ph.D. dissertation in ethnomusicology at the Institute of Art at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In 2005 she established the Association of Folk Culture Lovers, and MAJERANKI Children's Folk Ensemble in Rabka-Zdrój. In the years 2000-2004, Dorota served as head of the Poronin Community Centre, and from 2020 to 2024 she was a member of the Programme Board of the National Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw. She is currently the deputy chairperson of the Museum Board of the Władysław Orkan Museum in Rabka-Zdrój, an expert affiliated with the Polish Section of CIOFF®, a member of the Traditional Culture Commission of the Polish Section of CIOFF®, a member of the Scientific Board of the Podhale Inhabitants’ Association in Poland, a member of the Polish Seminar of Ethnomusicology, and since 2024 a member of the Honorary Programme Board of the Institute of the Intangible Heritage of the Carpathian Peoples in Ludźmierz.

A professor at the University of Warsaw, with a habilitation degree in arts, a musicologist and dance anthropologist. A deputy director of the Institute of Musicology at the Warsaw University, the head of the Department of Systematic and Cultural Musicology. An adjunct professor of dance at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. Tomasz Nowak is an author of several books and more than ninety academic articles on, inter alia, traditional music and dance from Poland and the neighbouring countries. He is a laureate of the CLIO Award, Rev. Prof. Hieronim Feicht Award, as well as the Award for the best written study on the history of Polish music.

An assistant professor at the Institute of Ethnology, Folklore Research, and Ethnography Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; an ethnochoreographer at the Department of Ethnomusicology and Ethnochoreology. An author of more than 50 articles published in scientific journals. In her research she mainly focuses on dance music and folklore, contemporary folk events, and folklore in the Balkans. She is a choreographer and artistic director for dance ensembles in Sofia, a member of the Expert Board for Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, of the Choreographers Association in Bulgaria, and of the Bulgarian Section of CIOFF.

A graduate in ethnography at the Jagiellonian University. Since 1976 he has been professionally involved with the Provincial Culture Centre - currently SOKÓŁ Małopolska Culture Centre in Nowy Sącz - where he has been employed as the chief folklore specialist. He has originated many folk festivals and contests. In 1979 it was on his initiative that the Department of Folklore and Folk Arts was established; he served as its manager for 24 years. He acts as a juror and consultant for major contests, festivals and competitions, both local, all-Poland and international ones. In 1988-1993 he was a member of the Board of Experts at the Ministry of Culture and Arts. He is a member-founder of the Polish Section of CIOFF, and a member of the CIOFF Programme & Arts Board. In the 1980s he was also a member of the Artistic Board of the “Folk Stage” at the National Management of the Association of Rural Youth. He gives lectures at seminars, conferences and training sessions in folklore, organized by SOKÓŁ Małopolska Culture Centre, and other domestic institutions. Currently, he serves as a member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Team at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Barış Kop, born in 1984 in İzmir, is an artist, educator, and project coordinator with over 20 years of experience in performing arts, folk culture, and special education. Growing up in a family of prominent folk dance instructors and researchers in Turkey, he has been immersed in the world of folk culture since birth. Barış Kop studied Labor Economics and Industrial Relations at Uludağ University and simultaneously pursued his passion for the arts, starting his career as a Turkish folk dance performer and instructor at the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Conservatory.

As the founder of Danshane Stage and Performing Arts Academy, he has staged numerous performances across Turkey and on international platforms, collaborating with private institutions, NGOs, and educational organizations. Between 2013 and 2016, he served as the Art Director at the Cultural and Social Affairs Directorate of Çorlu Municipality, where he played a key role in organizing international art festivals and led projects in partnership with prestigious organizations such as CIOFF and UNESCO.

He has led therapeutic art initiatives for individuals with intellectual disabilities, spearheading various events and Erasmus+ projects that promote their active participation in social life. His expertise in arts education, folk dances, and music is supported by official instructor and coaching certifications.

Known for his strong coordination skills in both artistic and social responsibility projects, Barış Kop views art as a powerful tool to connect with society and continues his work with this vision. With his foreign language proficiency and technical knowledge, he is qualified to take an active role in both national and international projects. He currently serves as a member of the International Relations Committee of the Turkish Folk Dance Federation.

Laura is passionate about folklore and engaging new generations in it. She is reading for an MA degree in Arts Management and Cultural Policies in Mexico. She has a bachelor’s degreein International Relations, a minor in Anthropology, a specialization in Social Projects Management, and has done additional studies on Intangible Cultural Heritage management and Cultural Administration. For more than 15 years she has collaborated witha variety of ensembles in Colombia and a group from the Colombian community in Mexico Cityin the capacity of a folk-dance interpreter ; she wasa scholarship student and is a graduate of the ESARTEC Foundation folk-dance programme in Colombia. Currently, Laura is working as a technical advisor for a corporation affiliated with the Colombian Ministry of Culture (CoCrea), a Projects’ Coordinator in ARCOLMEX(a Colombian cultural foundation based in Mexico), and has been an evaluatorof project funding from the Colombian Ministry of Culture in 2024 and 2025.

She has been a CIOFF®member  for 10 years, working on different projects dedicated to the promotion and preservation of forms of folk expression around the world; as a Colombian and International Youth Representative, an advisor for Colombian folk groups’ international promotion, and currently a chairperson of the Communications Commission. She was a leader of the project ‘Heritage without Borders’ funded by UNESCO in 2020 and developed by CIOFF® Youth, as well asa coordinator of the International Forum of CIOFF® Festival Directors held in 2023. In 2022 Laura received the Albert van der Zeijden prize from the Forum of NGOs accredited by the UNESCO ICH Committee, and in 2024 won the “Colombian Youth Talent for Arts and STEM”scholarship to finish her master’s degree studies. Laura advises folk ensembles with regard to the development of various management strategies, e.g. project writing, fundraising, an artistic portfolio, ethnographic research, communications.