ponentes

Ponente is a Spanish noun that designates a person who presents or speaks at an event, such as a conference, symposium, or debate. Its plural, ponentes, is used on program agendas to label the speakers. The term is common in academic, scientific, and professional settings, where a ponente is expected to give a talk or lead a discussion.

A ponencia is the presentation itself, and a session may include several ponentes, a moderator, and an audience. Ponentes may be invited specialists, researchers, or practitioners, and their talks can cover research results, technical explanations, or policy proposals. The exact role and status of a ponente can vary by field and country, but the core idea is that they present material to others.

In civil-law jurisdictions such as Spain and many Latin American countries, ponente can also mean the judge who writes the court's opinion. The ponencia is the opinion or draft decision, and the ponente is the judge responsible for presenting it to the court. In panels, other judges may adopt the ponente's reasoning or issue separate opinions.

Regional and contextual variations affect usage. In most contexts, ponente conveys the idea of a presenter or author of a substantive discourse, while in legal contexts it denotes the author of an official judicial opinion. The term thus has related forms—ponencia (presentation or opinion) and ponentes (speakers or authors of opinions)—with meanings that depend on the setting.