HERITAGE AWARDS JURIES / JURYS DES PRIX DU PATRIMOINE
Mr Ballester is Former Director of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage at the Council of Europe. During his time at the Council of Europe, the Grenada, Malta and Florence Conventions were elaborated, the European Conferences of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Heritage were organised in Grenada (1985), Valletta (1992), Helsinki (1996) and Portoroz (2001), the programme of Technical Cooperation and Assistance for Integrated Conservation of Cultural Heritage was re-started, the European programme for Cultural Routes was launched, as well as the European Heritage Days and the Campaign “Europe, a Common Heritage”.
Prior to being recruited by the Council of Europe in 1979, he was Assistant to the Director General of Fine Arts (Private Office, Ministry of Education (1969-1970), Director of the Centre for New Expressive Forms (Ministry of Culture) (1976-79) and Junior Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for Cultural Relations (1971-1979).
He has extensive journalistic experience as an art critic, and has written on various issues pertaining to cultural heritage in numerous Spanish periodicals and newspapers, including El Pais. He has been a member of various Awards Juries, namely the international Competition for Town Planning Strasbourg-Kehl (1992), the Principe de Asturias Awards (1999 and 2000), and the Queen Sofia’s International Award for Restoration of Monuments in America (2000).
Mr Ballester is currently Director of the Programme “Heritage and Territory: Sustainable Development”, Marcelino Botin Foundation (Santander, Spain). He is Advisor on Cultural Affairs to the Government of Navarra and to the regional governments of Navarra and of La Rioja. He is Consultant to the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church. He is Visiting Professor in cultural heritage management at the University of Madrid (Alcalá) and the University of Murcia . He is member of various boards, including that of the European Institutes for Cultural Routes, the Royal Tapestries Factory’s Foundation, of the Diputación de San Andrés de los Flamencos, Carlos de Amberes Foundation. He is a correspondent to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts San Fernando (Madrid) and to the Academy of History and Art San Quirce (Segovia).
