Gorka Espiau Idoiaga is Director of the Agirre Lehendakaria Center for Social and Political Studies, a joint research initiative of the University of the Basque Country and Columbia University’s AC4. The Center shares internationally the Basque experience of socio-economic transformation under conditions of conflict and crisis, working with regions seeking inclusive and sustainable development.
He is also a founding partner of Social Innovation Laboratory Koop (SILK) and Scientific Director of the Work4Progress initiative powered by La Caixa Foundation, which fosters new ways of creating decent work in vulnerable communities. Previously, he served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Office of the Basque President, contributing to strategies that linked peacebuilding, social cohesion, and territorial development.
Dr. Espiau has held several international academic and policy roles, including Professor of Practice at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montreal (CIRM) at McGill University, Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and Senior Associate at Columbia University’s Center on International Conflict Resolution (CICR).