As every year, WOMEX has invited seven well-respected members of the WOMEX network to join the WOMEX Jury. They always represent a mixture of people and regions and musical tastes. The Jury - we like to call them the 7 Samurai - work on the programme selection. In 2011, for the second year running, two Jury members will collaborate on the Conference Sessions, while the other five will focus on selecting the Showcase artists.

Film proposals are independently juried by the IMZ International Music + Media Centre, Vienna.

The Conference Samurai
Alberto Cottica (Italy)
Alberto Cottica is the rare economist who can claim he knows the music business from within. He has been a major label recording artists in pre-Internet times; has founded and taken world-electronica combo Fiamma global, taking advantage of accelerated information flow in the digital age; and had written extensively on digital copyright and the role of music in boosting local economic development. He currently works with the Council of Europe and University of Alicante. www.cottica.net
Jody Gillett (UK)
Based in London, Jody Gillett has worked for over 15 years in independent music, in marketing and promotion (Hannibal, Ryko, Palm Pictures) and UK label management (Luaka Bop, Fania, Trama). She is now editor of online music and culture magazine Mondomix.com (English edition), freelance PR for international artists, and consultant with BM&A, the Brazilian Music Export Office. www.mondomix.com bma.org.br/brmusicexchange/en
The Showcase Samurai
José Da Silva (Cape Verde/France)
José Da Silva was born in Cape Verde. He met Cesaria Evora in 1987 and founded the label Lusafrica. He produces Cesaria Evora, who has sold over 5 million records since 1988. From 1996, the label opened to other world music styles such as Cuban and Caribbean music, but also to several West African artists. Today, some of the major artists produced by Lusafrica include: Cesaria Evora, Lura, Tcheka, Bonga, Teofilo Chantre, Pierre Akendengue and Boubacar Traore. www.lusafrica.com
Matt Greenhill (USA)
Matt Greenhill is Vice-President of Folklore Productions International. Founded in 1957 by Matt’s grandfather Manuel Greenhill, the agency represents a select roster of artists of exceptional talent in the worlds of traditional and roots music world-wide. In addition to serving as a booking agency for international touring artists within North American, Folklore offers services and expertise in artist management, music publishing, record production, and theatrical sound design. www.folkloreproductions.com
Peter Hvalkof (Denmark)
For decades Peter Hvalkof has been involved in Roskilde Festival: since the mid-nineties he has been a member of a booking committee with special focus on overseas music, roots music, etc. He is involved in several side projects related to world music. Today he is also in charge of booking at Global CPH - the world music venue in Copenhagen. www.roskilde-festival.dk www.globalcph.dk
Penny King (UK)
Penny King is Senior Officer, Music and Dance at Arts Council England, supporting music and dance development in England across all genres and styles. Previously she produced unique touring projects with some of the world’s most celebrated musicians at the Contemporary Music Network and Asian Music Circuit. As a musician she is a member of the Southbank Gamelan Players. www.artscouncil.org.uk www.sbgp.org.uk
Simone Schrempf (Germany)
Simone Schrempf has worked for Berlin-based booking agency Koeterhai Booking since 2003, and does production work for festivals and clubs. She has been touring international artists of a broad variety of genres all over Europe, with a special focus on Fusion/Crossover music from the borderlands of what is called World Music. www.koeterhai.de

The WOMEX Jury was first invented for the 5th WOMEX edition in 1999. Jury members so far: 1999 - 2010. Please check our archive for further information.

Adlington, Jenny (UK) - Arjouni Bourelly, Khadija (Morocco/Germany) - Baldursson, Sigtryggur (Iceland)- Benaïche, Marc (France) - Benigar, Bogdan (Slovenia) - Benoist, Yorrick (France) - Boyd, Joe (USA/UK) - Bragin, Bill (USA) - Carfi, Pietro (Italy) - Cesarini, Giuliana (Italy/Spain) - da Cruz Mota, Rui (Portugal) - De Kloet, Co (The Netherlands) - den Boer, Jaenneke (The Netherlands) - de Oliveira Pinto, Tiago (Brazil/Germany) - Diamé, Julia (Germany) - Dominguez, Manuel (Spain) - Doruzka, Petr (Czech Republic) - Duran, Lucy (UK) - Frost, Jo (UK)- Gay, Francis (France/Germany) - Gorjaczkowska, Hanna (Belgium) - Granieri, Rosanna (Canada/France) - Guaita, Ariane (France/Germany) - Heurtebis, Gaëlle (France) - Hvalkof, Peter (Denmark) - Ilmonen, Kristiina (Finland) - James, Alan (UK) - Jukkara, Jaana-Maria (Finland) - Jurkota, Melita (Croatia) - King Miranda, Cristina (USA/Mexico)- Lemke, Uli (Germany) - Lopez, José Miguel (Spain) - López, Lara (Spain) - Lucker, Katja (Germany) - Mahmoud, Yusuf (UK/Zanzibar) - Maier, Tobias (Germany)- Martinez, Herminia (Spain) - Melguizo, Pedro (Spain) - Minimum Benjamin (France) - Moraes Pires, Paulo André (Brazil) - Morales, Martin (Peru/UK) - Morgan, Andy (UK) - Mousset, Christian (France) - Nawaz, Aki (Pakistan/UK) - Odenthal, Johannes (Germany) - Orlove, Michael (USA) - Pacheco, Mario (Spain) - Pannke, Peter (Germany) - Pavlakis, Katerina (Greece/UK) - Paz, Juan (Colombia/UK) - Puértolas, Francesc (Spain/Germany) - Ray, Rita (Ghana/UK) - Rigby, Ros (UK) - DJ Ritu (India/UK) - Rovers, Maarten (The Netherlands) - Sandahl, Sten (Sweden) - Santini, Titti (Italy) - Sarr, Dudu (Senegal/UK) - Seligman, Gerald (USA) - Serres, Corinne (France) - Siegelwachs, Diego (Argentina/Germany) - Theurer, Johannes (Germany) - Thiange, Dominique (Belgium) - Troitsky, Artemi (Russia) - Trouillet, Jean (Germany) - Ulug, Ahmet (Turkey) - Urpi, Jordi (Spain) - Villafruela, Juan V. (Spain) - von Gaudecker, Marion (Germany) - Winter, Dennis (The Netherlands) - Winter, Michel (France/Belgium) - Wurr, Zazie (Germany/Spain)