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Annie-Hélène Samson is a biology professor at Dawson College in Montreal, where she is committed to an interdisciplinary approach to teaching. After completing a master’s degree in neurophysiology at McGill University, she turned toward education, which led her to pursue a PhD in Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Her research focus revolved around the dynamics of professional development and innovative learning methods. An active member of Dawson’s Learning Communities initiative, she works to build bridges between disciplines, convinced that understanding living systems is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach enriched by human, cultural, and artistic experiences.

Guided by this perspective, she collaborates with the CREAT Chair, where she designs activities and projects that encourages students to explore the connections between science, art, health, and well-being. Annie-Hélène introduces students to the study of health and well-being from a holistic standpoint through immersive practices such as virtual reality and participatory research projects. She also encourages learners to reflect on how art, whether through images, narratives, sensory experiences, or multimedia creations, can become a powerful vehicle for understanding, care, and transformation.

Driven by a desire to contextualize scientific knowledge and foster curiosity, Annie-Hélène hopes to help shape a generation of individuals capable of thinking about health and well-being in creative, integrated, and engaged ways.

Convinced of the boundless potential of theatre practice in fostering creativity, public speaking, and civic engagement, Claudia Bilodeau has been leading cultural mediation and socially engaged arts projects for over twenty years. She collaborates with teenagers and adults from diverse backgrounds, working notably in the fields of mental health, neurodiversity, and French-language integration.

Holding a Master’s degree from the École supérieure de théâtre at UQAM, she has served as Head of Theatre Mediation at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde since 2014.

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Sylvain Martet is Scientific Director at Artenso, an innovation and applied research centre specializing in art and social engagement. He contributes to all of the centre’s research activities, supporting the expansion of existing areas of expertise while also taking part in the development of projects and partnerships.

For nearly fifteen years, he has been involved in numerous research projects focusing on cultural mediation practices, the impact of digital technologies on cultural professions, cultural participation, and the circulation of music—particularly in digital contexts. He holds a PhD in sociology from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and is a co-researcher with the Observatory of Cultural Mediation (OMEC), the Partnership Study for Music Mediation (EPMM), and the Interuniversity Research Group on Research-Creation in Music and Society (RCMS).

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Mathieu Lagacé has been working for nearly three decades in cultural, community, and artistic development in Québec. A recognized leader known for his vision, ability to bring stakeholders together, and strategic mindset, he has served since 2025 as Executive Director of Culture Lanaudière, where he oversees the organization’s strategic direction, government relations, and the promotion of the region’s cultural vitality. His work focuses on strengthening connections between artists, institutions, municipalities, and citizens, while also fostering cultural tourism and regional vitality.

Prior to joining Culture Lanaudière, he spent five years as Director of the Department of Culture and Recreation for the City of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies. There, he developed an ambitious cultural program, oversaw an exhibition centre and a performance venue, established artist residencies in the performing arts, and led major infrastructure projects. From 2008 to 2019, in L’Assomption, he managed the Culture and Community Division, notably coordinating the City’s 300th anniversary celebrations, mobilizing over 200 volunteers and supporting some fifty community-led projects.

Holder of a bachelor’s degree in Leisure Sciences from Concordia University, Mathieu Lagacé also has extensive experience in cultural mediation, event production, and governance. Passionate about history, contemporary art, and community development, he has long been involved in various regional and school-based organizations. His career reflects a sustained commitment to creating environments where culture serves as a key driver of social cohesion, identity, and sustainable development.

Passionate about education, skills development, and culture, I have devoted 33 years to supporting students, teachers, and administrators throughout their educational journeys. I hold a bachelor’s degree in arts education and a graduate diploma in educational administration. For 28 years, I worked at the Centre de services scolaire de l’Estuaire, where I held various positions, including teacher, pedagogical advisor, assistant principal, and principal of Polyvalente des Baies.

These experiences allowed me to develop strong expertise in school leadership, pedagogical support, and project management. I now continue this mission as a training advisor at Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), at its Baie-Comeau campus. In this role, I actively contribute to the development of the university’s academic offerings and to the establishment of the new campus, ensuring that programs and services meet the realities and needs of the community.

In a volunteer capacity, I serve as President of the Musée de l’église Sainte-Amélie de Baie-Comeau, an artistic and heritage gem of the Côte-Nord region. I work to enhance the visibility of this unique site by strengthening its cultural and community mission, organizing inclusive activities, and building partnerships. My involvement includes fundraising, cultural mediation, and the creation of experiences that make this heritage accessible to the public.

Firmly convinced that education and culture are powerful drivers of transformation, I am committed to a human-centered approach rooted in my community. Working for and with my region is a great source of pride, and I devote all my energy to it.

I have worked as a cultural manager for more than 30 years in theatre, television, variety and radio, before joining the museum sector in 2019 as the 8th Executive Director of the Musée de la Gaspésie. At Radio Gaspésie, where I served as General Manager, the team grew from 12 to 16 full-time employees and revenues increased by 25%. The station received several awards, including Community Station of the Year in 2015 and the Social Economy Enterprise prize in 2017. I was personally honoured with the Prix Résonnance for my contribution to the community radio network.

In Montréal, I was the right-hand man of producer Guy Latraverse, with whom I produced television programs for the Francofolies de Montréal, the Grand Rire de Québec, various series and documentaries, as well as around thirty plays and major cultural events, including Montréal’s 350th anniversary celebrations. I headed Théâtre Il va sans dire from 1998 to 2003 alongside its founder and artistic director Dominic Champagne, creator of the Beatles LOVE show for Cirque du Soleil.

I hold a diploma in Arts and Media Technology (television) from Jonquière and began my career as assistant director, then director, at TVA Trois-Rivières, before pursuing management training at HEC Montréal and studies in politics and philosophy at Université de Montréal. I have served on several boards of directors and have mentored many professionals in radio, television and theatre.

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Victoria Lupascu is an assistant professor of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies at University of Montréal. Her work explores how writers, directors and artists engage with and produce visual and medical narratives to unveil hidden histories of cultural, economic and social disposability. Her training focuses on 20th and 21st century Chinese, Romanian and Brazilian literature and film, medical humanities and visual culture, with additional interests in Francophone graphic narratives of postpartum depression and mental ill-health.

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Hamed Motaghi is an Associate Professor of Business Technology Management at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). He also serves as Managing Director of the International Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (IEKH) at McGill University and as Chair of the Business Technology Management Governing Council. He is an active founding member of the Centre for Media and Society at HEC Montréal. Professor Motaghi is a co-applicant researcher and member of the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche et d’innovation en cybersécurité et société (CIRICS). He is also a co-applicant researcher with the Culture in the Regions Axis of the Chair in Creative Economy and Well-Being (CREAT), and a member of the Institut multidisciplinaire en cybersécurité et cyber-resilience (IMC²). Prior to joining UQO, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.

He holds a PhD with distinction from a joint doctoral program administered by the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where his dissertation examined the relationship between creativity and information technology. He also earned a master’s degree from Université Paris-Dauphine and an engineering degree from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. In addition, he has held adjunct faculty positions at UQAM, TÉLUQ, the Royal Military College of Canada, McGill University, HEC Montréal, and Lawrence Technological University in Michigan, USA. In his academic career, Professor Motaghi has extensive hands-on experience in distance, hybrid, and on-campus education. He has designed and delivered courses in both English and French in Canada, the United States, and Malaysia, and has supervised MBA, MSc, and PhD students. His research interests focus on information systems management, innovation and creativity, creative and cultural industries, IT-driven transformation, disruptive technologies, and the role of technology in entrepreneurship and the internationalization of firms.

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Valérie Yobé, Ph.D., is a full professor at the School of Arts and Cultures (ÉdAC) at the University of Quebec in Outaouais (UQO). In 2014, she founded tribu grafik, a non-profit organization bringing together projects with social and cultural objectives. From 2016 to 2019, she was director of the School of Arts and Cultures (ÉdAC) at the University of Quebec in Outaouais. Her most recent research-creation projects focus on a series of residencies in elementary and secondary school settings, with the objective of implementing socially-oriented graphic design practice within arts education.

Since 2021, she has been a board member of the Social Design Platform. In 2022, she co-published the first book in a series, *Le kit graphique : graphisme citoyen à l’école primaire* (The Graphic Kit: Citizen Graphic Design in Elementary School). That same year, it received the Social Good Design Award in the education category from the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (RGD). Since 2024, she has been a member of CREAT, the Research Chair in Creative Economy and Well-being – Culture in Regions axis, and since 2025, an associate member of CRISES, the Centre for Research on Social Innovation – Territories and Living Environments axis. In 2025, she published *Aborder la santé mentale autrement en milieu scolaire : coconstruire au-delà des clichés* (Approaching Mental Health Differently in Schools: Co-constructing Beyond Clichés), a collaborative research project in partnership with the Diament Chair, a strategic research chair at UQAM in design for digital mental health.

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Anne-Marie Émond is a Full Professor of Education at the Université de Montréal. She received her training in visual arts (studio practice) from the University of Ottawa and the Université du Québec à Montréal and holds a PhD in Art Education from Concordia University.

In recent years, she has developed expertise in museology, with a particular focus on museum education, closely linked to her artistic practice. Her research examines the reception of art and the development of creativity through aesthetic appreciation experiences with adult learners.

Frédéric Laurin is Professor of Economics at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and a member of the Research Institute on SMEs (Institut de recherche sur les PME, INRPME). His research includes work on regional economic development, regional entrepreneurship, SME internationalisation and the distribution of wines and alcohols in Quebec.

As a researcher, he also worked with such institutions as Caisse de dépôts et de placements, Investissement-Québec and Canada Economic Development (DEC-CED). He is one of the founders of GROUPÉ –Mauricie-Rive-Sud, a group of business leaders of the Mauricie region that aims to encourage the region’s economic development.

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Since the age of 28, Jean-Michaël Lavoie enjoys an international career as a conductor. After his studies at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, he is appointed assistant conductor to the Ensemble intercontemporain in Paris (2008-2010) and one of the resident conductors of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2010). He deepens his musical training in Europe and United States with Pierre Boulez (Lucerne Festival Academy), Susanna Mälkki (Ensemble intercontemporain, LA PHIL) and Esa-Pekka Salonen (Orchestre de Paris).

For more than ten years, Jean-Michaël Lavoie guest conducts the most important orchestras in Europe, among them the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre national de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, NFM Filharmonia Wroclawska.

He made his opera debuts at Teatro alla Scala, Milan (2011), co-conducting the world premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Quartett, at Opéra de Lyon (2013) and Opéra national de Bordeaux (2014).

He was a regular guest to the specialized ensembles in contemporary music : Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, Musikfabrik, Ensemble Resonanz et l’Ensemble de la Société de musique contemporaine du Québec.

Jean-Michaël Lavoie is Associate Professor at the Faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal, where he supervises and teaches the professional cursus in contemporary music in the performance programs.

Since 2024-2025, Jean-Michaël Lavoie is Artistic and Music Director of the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne.

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Myriam Boucher is a sound and image composer and professor of digital music composition at the Université de Montréal (CA). Her work focuses on relational approaches to sound and image, and over the years she has developed a deep reflection on ecological relationships within her audiovisual performances, videomusic installations, electronic music and works for ensembles. Her research-creation integrates composition, improvisation, deep listening, sound ecology, site-specific creation, and immersive practices. She investigates mechanisms of perception in audiovisual works and multidisciplinary concerts, viewing art as a practice capable of transforming reality and generating alternative forms of sensory and social experience. Boucher’s commissions include the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (ECM+), Ars Nova, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM), Magnitude6, Collectif9, 5ilience and Architek Percussion.

As VJ, she performed with many artists/DJ such as Shackleton (UK), Mind Against (IT), POLE (GE), Ayesha (US), Automatisme (CA) and DJ Lag (ZA). Her work has been presented at many international events and places, including Mutek (CA, AE, ES, JP, MX), Kontakte (DE), Igloofest (CA), Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois (CA), Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg (FR) and Akousma (CA). Her research is published by Routledge and Palgrave (UK).

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Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Ph.D., is a full professor at Téluq University (University of Quebec), holder of the Research Chair on Socio-Organizational Issues of the Knowledge Society (Téluq), and held a Canada Research Chair from 2002 to 2016. She is the director of ARUC on age and social times management. She has published hundreds of articles mainly based on research on work-family balance, work organization, telework, communities of practice, coworking, innovation, and labor market transformations.

She has been a visiting professor at many universities internationally, notably in France, Belgium, and Vietnam, and received the Fellow distinction, an honorary title from the Order of Chartered Human Resources Advisors (OCRHA) in 2015; she was appointed a member of the Cercle d’Excellence of the University of Quebec in 2021 and of the Royal Society of Canada in 2022. She has also published textbooks on innovation management, labor economics, sociology of work, work-family balance, and human resource management. She has published in various journals including: Personnel Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, New Technology, Work and Employment, International Journal of Technology Management, Cities, Canadian Journal of Urban Research, Applied Research on Quality of Life, Review of Social Economy, Employees Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Social Indicators Research, Journal of Work Innovations, Canadian Journal of Communication, Canadian Journal of Regional Science. She is often invited to comment on current issues related to work, employment, and remote work in various media outlets, including CBC and Radio-Canada.

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Patrick Cohendet is professor at HEC Montréal in the International Business Department. His research interests include Economics of Creativity and Knowledge Management, Economics of Innovation, Theory of the firm, Economics of Knowledge. He is member of the Royal Society of Canada.

He is the author of 20 books and over 120 articles in refereed journals, such as Research Policy, Organization Science, Industrial and corporate Change, Journal of Economic Geography, Long Range Planning, etc. He was the supervisor of more than 80 Ph.D. He conducted a series of economic studies on the economics of innovation for different international organisations such as the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the European Space Agency or the Canadian Space Agency. He is co-director of the hub Mosaic at HEC Montréal on the management of innovation and creativity.

Lucie Beaudry teaches at the dance department of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) where she completed a master’s degree in dance and a specialized graduate degree in somatic education (Feldenkrais Method). She also holds a certificate in movement-based expressive arts therapy and education from the Tamalpa Institute in California, and an interdisciplinary doctorate in health and society (UQAM). As a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montréal (CRIR), her main research activities focus on the development of movement-based interventions and programs for people with motor disorders, cerebral palsy, lower-limb amputation, stroke and cognitive decline, to name but a few ongoing projects with children and adults. Its interventions and programs also incorporate the use of new technologies and video, and are offered in person and online, in hospitals, community centers and at home. As part of her dance and somatic education practice, she also developed various movement-based initiatives for institutions, businesses and corporations. More broadly, her work focuses on the potential of dance and somatics for health, from an interdisciplinary and intersectoral perspective.

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Jean-Charles Andrieu de Lévis is a professor of comics studies at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, within the École des Arts et Cultures. After completing a master’s thesis on abstract comics, he focused during his doctoral research on the stylistic evolution of comics in France and the United States throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Combining cultural and aesthetic approaches, his current work mainly examines contemporary comics in which artists explore new forms of expression.

Yan Breuleux is a Full Professor at the School of Digital Arts, Animation, and Design (NAD), Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). A practitioner-researcher and visual artist working in the field of A/V performance, his work is grounded in a research-creation approach dedicated to visual music and immersive dispositifs, exploring the relationships between sound, image, and space. For over a decade, he has collaborated with musicians and composers on the creation of audiovisual works for multi-screen, panoramic, architectural projection, and full-dome (fulldome) environments. As part of the duo PURFORM, in collaboration with composer Alain Thibault, he has contributed to numerous immersive projects exploring the sensory, spatial, and performative dimensions of sound and image.

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