Enrique de Villamore Martín, is an expert on strategic advocacy and intergubernamental cooperation and focuses on leveraging physical activity and exercise as central tools in the prevention and treatment of metabolic and mental health conditions. With over two decades of experience involved in transformational change in intergovernmental contexts, he collaborates with multidisciplinary initiatives addressing the root causes of sedentary lifestyles and their growing impact on public health and social systems. His work is rooted in a vision of preventive health, informed by his deep understanding of behavioral change, advocacy, and system-level transformation.
From 2010 to 2023, Enrique served as Director of MedWaves, a Centre working for the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme. In this role, he provided strategic and organizational leadership within a highly complex framework involving regional and national governments, UN bodies, the European Commission and member states of two international treaties, namely the Stockholm Convention against Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Barcelona Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Coast and Sea. His work focused on strengthening intergovernmental cooperation, mobilizing funding, and positioning the center as a regional leader in sustainability and innovation for preventing environmental challenges. He spearheaded the transformation, growth, and diversification of the organization, and advocated for the support of entrepreneurship and innovation into the strategic frameworks of the above-mentioned international treaties on environmental protection. Under his direction, MedWaves also consolidated a multicultural and multidisciplinary team of high-level experts. Earlier, as Project Manager at the Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (UNEP/MAP), Enrique led and coordinated international technical cooperation projects aimed at promoting sustainability and pollution prevention across Mediterranean countries. He managed multidisciplinary teams, designed and facilitated technical studies, and organized international forums and conferences that brought together diverse actors from public, private, and academic sectors.
In 2024, as an independent consultant, Enrique contributed, along with other experts, to the preparation of the White Paper “Exercise Adherence for Wellbeing: Barriers, Practices and Strategies”, published by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association under the framework of the Brain Capital Alliance. The paper explores behavioral, social, and systemic challenges to sustained physical activity and proposes integrated strategies to overcome them.
Enrique holds a Master’s Degree in Law and Environmental Studies from the University of the Basque Country, a Postgraduate Degree in Environmental Management, and a Law Degree from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is a certified personal trainer and is currently completing a specialization in physical activity for health at the European Sports and Health Institute, with a focus on vulnerable populations such as women, older adults, and individuals with cancer or obesity.