Keynote Speaker – Juana Lahousse-Juárez
After graduating from ISTI (Institut supérieur de traducteurs et interprètes, Bruxelles) in 1976, Juana Lahousse-Juárez first worked as a freelance interpreter (member of AIIC) for a number of large international organisations, European institutions and multinational companies, before joining the European Parliament in January 1986. She spent the first eight nine years of her Parliament career in the interpreting service, first as Head of the Spanish Interpretation Division and then as Head of the Central Planning of the Directorate for Interpretation, with responsibility for ensuring the linguistic coverage of Parliamentary meetings in the three places of work and elsewhere. Appointed Director in 1995, Juana spent three years heading the Directorate for Buildings, Infrastructure and General services, before moving on to become Director of Communication in the Directorate General for Information. Managing a team of 340 people and a budget of €36.5 million, Juana was responsible for the planning and implementation of a number of Europe-wide communication campaigns, including the one for the 2004 European Parliament elections, the organisation of major events, exhibitions and concerts, and the publication of numerous brochures and books about the Parliament. She also managed and coordinated the 27 European Parliament information offices and 6 regional antennas.
Juana was appointed Director General for Translations and Publications as of February 2007. She is only the second women ever to hold a Director General post in the European Parliament.
Juana is married with three children. Her hobbies include opera, reading and enjoying the very few moments of "family life".
Click for a transcript of Mme Lahousse-Juárez' speech – PDF file, 90KB