Mirella Lorella Loda is responsible for the LaGeS-Laboratory for Social Geography at Florence University (www.lages.eu). She is founder director of the Master degree in Geography, Spatial Management, Heritage for International Cooperation at Florence University. She is also member of the UNESCO Expert Working Group for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Landscape and Archeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley World Heritage Property. She is responsible of an ongoing cooperation project for upgrading the urban quality of informal settlements in Bmiyan.
Paola Abenante works as technical expert on culture and development at the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Office III Economic Opportunities and Development (Cultura e sviluppo - AICS). Ph.D., in Cultural Anthropology, she has conducted research on the topics of cultural policies, migration, religions and gender in the Middle East, and is now subject expert and teaching assistant in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’.