Dr. Lidia Varbanova has professional experience in Canada, Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She works as a consultant, educator and researcher in the areas of strategy, policy development, entrepreneurship and innovations, organisational development and online technologies, with a special emphasis on arts, culture and creative industries. Lidia has been permanent and visiting professor in prominent universities and training centers in Europe and Canada and has received a number of distinguished awards, among them: Dragan Klaic European award for excellence in teaching, FULBRIGHT Program, Japan Foundation fellowship, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation post-doctoral award; and scholarship from Webb Memorial Trust, Oxford. Her latest books are: Strategic Management in the Arts,(2013) and International Entrepreneurship in the Arts (2016), published by Routledge (New York/London).

Lidia is an internationally acclaimed conference speaker and moderator, and an active member of several professional networks in Canada and Europe, among them Arts Consultants Canada (ACCA) and the European Network for Cultural Management and Policy (ENCATC). She currently offers online masterclasses, organizational consulting and coaching for emerging arts entrepreneurs through her website www.lidiavarbanova.ca. Lidia leads also online workshops with the University of British Columbia, and is the Business Developer of Mojito Music – a new label for Latin and World Music. She is a regular visiting professor at UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management,Belgrade and the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts, Sofia.