Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary General, ITU
Houlin Zhao was elected ITU Secretary-General at the 19TH Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, Korea, in October 2014. He took up his post on 1 January, 2015. Prior to his election, he served two terms of office as ITU Deputy Secretary-General (2007-2014), as well as two terms as elected Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (1999-2006). A graduate of China's Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, with an MSc from the UK's University of Essex, Mr Zhao has spent most of his career working in the international arena. His leadership has been characterized by a tireless commitment to further streamlining ITU's efficiency and enhancing strategic partnership between Member States and Sector Members. He has boosted ITU's level of international cooperation with other international organizations, and is dedicated to harnessing technology to bridge the gap between developing and developed countries. As Secretary-General, Mr Zhao is committed to further extending ITU's community to include academia from around the world, as well as promoting the greater involvement of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the work of the Union. He is married with one son and two grandchildren, and is fluent in three official ITU languages: English, French and Chinese.
Mr. Brahima Sanou, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
Mr. Brahima Sanou has been Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) since January 2011. Mr Sanou was elected, on 24 October 2014, to a second four-year term. He draws on over thirty years of experience in the ICT sector at national and international level. A national of Burkina Faso, Mr Sanou is committed to promoting ICT as a major driving force for sustainable socio-economic development, in particular in least developed countries, remote and rural regions and amongst persons with special needs. His focus is on sharing knowledge and coordinated resources through multi-stakeholder, cross-sector platforms such as the m-Powering Development Initiative, the Smart Sustainable Development Model initiative and the ITU Academy.
Dr Edgar NapoleonAsiimwe, Programme Manager Research, SPIDER – The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions, Stockholm University
Edgar is an information technologist and ICT4D researcher. He holds a PhD in informatics from Örebro University School of Business, Sweden. For the past 9years he has been doing ICT4D research and implementing ICT4D projects with a focus on e-governance, e-learning, e-health, and transparency and accountability. He has international experience regarding implementation of ICT4D projects having worked on research and development projects in more than 10 countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Edgar is the current programme manager for research at SPIDER – The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions. He is also the co-found of Projektone Consult and founder of Longhorned International. The two firms are based in Uganda.
Mr. Bocar A. Ba, Chief Executive Officer of SAMENA Telecommunications Council'
Bocar BA is a renowned advocacy specialist, business development expert, and a promoter of digital development throughout the Middle East and Africa regions. He globally chairs International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s Chief Regulatory Officers Meeting, a platform devoted to representing the interests of telecoms and ICT sector, worldwide. He also serves on the m-Powering Development Initiative's Advisory Board, and is the chairman of the m-Powering Development Initiative's Working Group on Partnerships.
BA, as CEO, leads SAMENA Telecommunications Council, a premier association of telecom operators, active within the South Asia - Middle East - North Africa region on digital development advocacy and sector partnerships between the private and the government sectors. He has spearheaded major initiatives in the interest of the digital communications industry. As a knowledge contributor on digital development through effective policymaking, and as a strong believer in the need for realizing industry-wide collaboration and achieving socio-economic progress through ICT and incentivized investment in digitization, Bocar BA has been a speaker at various global industry platforms. He has built new global alliances as well as a strong ICT advocacy network to help address critical technology-centric and policy-level issues, currently being encountered within the industry.
BA also serves as director and board member in the leadership teams of several companies, active in the areas of technology, management, and consultancy services. He is actively involved in the privatization processes in the MEA region and drives various investment projects, aiming to link new development opportunities throughout the region.
Dr George Barker, London School of Economics (LSE), UK
Dr George Barker is Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) and past Director of the Centre for Law and Economics at the Australian National University (ANU) 1998-2017. He gained a DPhil in Economics from Oxford University, and holds both a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Economics. He has extensive expertise in economic analysis of law, regulation, public policy, governance and market design in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Since the 1990’s he has advised Governments and private clients in the Asia Pacific, North America and Europe on privatisation and regulation of telecommunications, spectrum use, fixed line and mobile telephony, digital television, the evolution of the 2G, 3G and 4G markets, International Internet Contractual and Pricing Arrangements, and the effects of ICT on economic growth. He was the Olin Fellow in Law and Economics at Cornell University in 2000; and has been Visiting Fellow at Oxford University (2008); University College London (2010-2015); and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law London (BIICL) since 2010. He is on the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Law and Economics, currently President of the Australian Law and Economics Association, and a Founder, and elected Honorary Fellow of the Law and Economics Association of New Zealand. Dr Barker was a member of the Governing Board of Wolfson College, Oxford University from 1990 – 1992, Chief Analyst and Economic Advisor at the NZ Treasury (1984-1996), and Board member of LECG Asia-Pacific Ltd (1997-2005), Celtic Pacific Ltd, and Upstart Investments Ltd (1999-2003), KEA Global and past Chairman of KEA Australia (2001-2010).
Ms. Minerva Novero-Belec, Policy Specialist, United Nations Development Programme - UNDP
Ms Sonja Betschart, Co-Founder and Chief Entrepreneurship Officer, WeRobotics
Sonja is a passionate “Tech for Good Entrepreneur” with a longstanding career in SME’s, multinationals and start-ups, including in the drone industry and for digital transformation initiatives. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Entrepreneurship Officer of WeRobotics, an international not-for-profit organization that strives to democratize robotics for the benefit of all. Robots, such as drones, are radically transforming multiple industries through rapid and dramatic gains in efficiency and productivity. WeRobotics wants to create the same impact in a responsible and meaningful way and build aid, health, development and environmental solutions by sustainable localizing emerging technologies in developing countries. Sonja holds degrees both in Marketing and SME Management. Read Sonja’s full bio on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/sonjabetschart)
H.E. Mr. André Müller Borges, Secretary of Telecommunications of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications, Brazil
Ms Sylvia Cadena, Head of Programs, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC)
Sylvia has been working for over two decades on strategic use of the Internet for development, since her early years as a UN Volunteer working on south-to-south farmers information exchange in 1993. She joined COLNODO in 1994, where she worked to build a strong and consistent Internet presence from civil society around the LAC region, providing technical training on web design, usability and accessibility, coordinating the first Latin-American telecenter network providing access for marginalized communities, offering input to the National Connectivity Agenda in Colombia and similar initiatives that flourished throughout the region during the mid-late 90s. In 2000, she joined the Tropical Whitefly IPM Project, a global research initiative on integrated pest management from the CGIAR Consortium to developed an online content management system. In July 2003, her work was recognized with the “Annual Award for Young Professionals” by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) where she supported ICAmericas to start-up a variety of initiatives such as OSILAC, FRIDA, WiLAC & TRICALCAR, the World Dialogue on Regulation, among others.From 2005 to 2008 she worked as a consultant, mainly on community wireless initiatives, focusing on collaboration platforms to provide training, localized materials (such as the Wireless Networking for the Developing World book series) as well as sourcing equipment to support network deployment. She moved to Australia in 2008 and joined the Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) to coordinate the information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia), a grants and awards program supporting digital innovation in the region. APNIC established its own Foundation in 2017, where Sylvia continues to serve, as Head of Programs.
H.E. Ms. Maria-Manuela Catrina, Secretary of State, Ministry of Communication and Information Society ROMANIA
H.E. Mr. Marin Cebotari, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission, Republic of Moldova
Mr. Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, Prime Minister's Office, Bangladesh
Ms. Taïssa Thierry Chaves, Digital Transformation Specialist/Founder and President of Women in Digital Switzerland
Taïssa Thierry Chaves is an entrepreneur, expert mentor, and a recognized professional in the digital industry. She leverages on more than 15 years of experience in strategic marketing and digital transformation, building success stories for iconic companies such as Nespresso, Hublot, L'Oréal, and Nestlé. As the founder of Y Coaching & Consulting, she thrives to help companies achieve greater innovation and business performance in the digital era, with a focus on the human factor. Taïssa believes that individual actions can have a deep collective impact. Passionate about women empowerment, she founded in 2014 Women in Digital Switzerland, a non-profit organization that is more than 2'000 members strong and present across 6 Swiss cities. Women in Digital aims to promote the visibility of women experts in the tech sector through thought leadership, knowledge sharing and community building.
Mr. Marcin Cichy, President, Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), POLAND
A graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, a collaborator at the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies (CARS) of the University of Warsaw. A member of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). From 2005 to 2013, he worked for UKE and was responsible for the analysis and regulation of mobile services. As Director of the Department of Strategy and Market Analysis he was in charge of the ICT analytics and regulatory strategy under the former heads of UKE. From 2013 to 2016, a regulatory expert at UPC Polska, responsible for regulated access to property and telecommunications infrastructure for investment purposes. A collaborator of the Polish Chamber of Electronic Communication (PIKE). In March 2016, he took the position of Director of the Analysis Bureau at the Ministry of Digital Affairs. He coordinated the implementation of the Strategy for Responsible Development in the area of digital affairs. He also cooperated with the Council for Digitization and start-ups, with responsibility in the field of innovation.
In September 2016, appointed as President of the Office of Electronic Communications
Ms. Simone Conrad, Advisor Sector Project Sustainable Digital Development giz Deutsche Geselleschaft fur Internationale Zusamennarbeit, Germany
Ms. Marie Debombourg, Chief Operating Officer, WeCan.Fund SA, Switzerland
COO of WeCan.Fund, a fintech founded by Vincent Pignon, Marie Debombourg brings to the company her qualities as a business manager specialized in crowdfunding. She regularly gives conferences and workshops for the development of a new way of finance to entrepreneurs and banking institutions. With a Bachelor's degree in business economics, Marie Debombourg is graduate in commodity trading and has contributed to the creation of the first crowdlending platform in commodity trade finance. She has also coordinated the Certificated of Advanced Studies in Entrepreneurship at the Geneva University of Management.
Dr. Damian Derlukiewicz, Wrocław University of Technology
Vice Director of the Center for Scientific and Technical Information. Vice President of Management Board of Institute of Technology Transfer Ltd.. Since 2006, the doctor of technical sciences in the field of Mechanical Engineering. He is a specialist in the design of machines and equipment, new technical solutions and CAD numerical modeling using advanced numerical methods which is the Finite Element Method. He is the author of about 120 scientific and research works including national and international publications, and works for the industry related to the design of machines and devices, strength calculations and optimization of machines and especially innovative and creative design using innovative design methods, ie., "Design Thinking" . He is a specialist in field of commercialization and the establishment of contact between business and science. He is a laureate of programme "Innovation Brokers", organized by the Ministry of Higher Education where he is a Broker of Innovation of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Wrocław University of Science and technology. He is a laureate of a prestigious scholarship program "Top 500 Innovators", Stanford University, California, USA. Member of the Board and a representative of the University in the platform at the European Parliament "Knowledge 4 Innovation - K4I". An author of many implementations of innovative solutions into the industry.
Mr. Carlos da Fonseca,
Minister, Information Society Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil
Minister Carlos da Fonseca is a carrier diplomat, having worked at the Brazilian Embassies in Washington and Santiago. During his time in Brazil, he was Head of the Department in charge of Brazilian relations with Chile, Peru and Ecuador. He has also worked with regional integration, as an assistant at the Department of MERCOSUR. For the last 18 months, Carlos is responsible for the international agenda related with digital economy and Internet Governance. In that capacity, he represents Brazil at the OECD (Committee on Digital Economy Policy), the G20 (Task Force on Digital Economy), the ITU (Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues), MERCOSUR (Grupo Agenda Digital), and eLAC, among others. Carlos has a degree in history (University of Sorbonne) and a Masters in Public Administration (Harvard Kennedy School). He has also worked as a journalist.
Mr. Anthony Giannoumis, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Oslo Metropolitan University
Anthony's research focuses on technology law, policy and practice. He is currently researching the implementation of policies aimed at ensuring equal access to technology for everyone. His research interests include universal design, international governance, sustainable development, social regulation, standardization, assistive technology, and intellectual property. He is currently an associate professor of universal design at the Department of Computer Science at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) and an international research fellow at the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. Anthony also acts as a principal investigator for research, development, and innovation projects focused on applying universal design principles and practices in sustainable development, learning,e-government, interdisciplinary collaboration, and virtual and augmented reality. Anthony has previously acted as a researcher in several large-scale projects in Europe and North America, includingDISCIT - making persons with disabilities full citizens,Cloud4All - Cloud platforms lead to open and universal access for people with disabilities and for all. He was awarded aMarie Curie Fellowshipin2011 as part ofDREAM - Disability Rights Expanding Accessible Marketsand has been a visiting researcher and guest lecturer throughout Europe, North America, AsiaandAfrica.
Mr. Johan Hellström, Program manager specialist, digital development, Swedish International Development Corporation, Sweden
Hellström has been working with digital development more than a decade and currently works as a Policy Advisor and Program Manager Specialist in Digital Development at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Previously a researcher at Stockholm University focusing on ICT-facilitated participation and crowdsourcing in East Africa.
Grzegorz Iskierka, Student from Wrocław University of Technology
A mechatronics engineer and lead programmer in project ScanΠ. Born in Opole, Poland. Earned a bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Working towards his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. An active member of REVIR3D science club at the university. A reverse engineering and automation enthusiast.
Dr. Eun-Ju Kim, Chief Innovation and Partnership, ITU
Eun-Ju Kim is Chief, Innovation & Partnership Department at BDT/International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a Specialized Agency of United Nation, with responsibilities for membership, partnership, resource mobilization, innovation, and Study Groups for Development. She has been educated from the Seoul National University in the Republic of Korea and the London City University in the UK for the Masters’ and Ph. Degrees; and the Harvard Kennedy School in the USA for Executive Education. She has been awarded by the Governments of the R. O. Korea and Mongolia as well as the ITU. Her main result-based achievements include publishing numerous articles/books and executing pragmatic researches, policies, strategies, initiatives and projects through closer coordination and partnership among multi-stakeholders from public-private sector, UN system/agencies, to academia in order to raise awareness with advocacy, build capacities and skills, and develop systems in the interdependent world with aims of contributing to the sustainable development and humanity.
H.E. Ms. Lucija Ljubic Lepine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Konstantinos Masselos, Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT), Greece
Mr. Pedro Matos, Senior Policy Officer, Department for the Information Society, Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal
Pedro Matos is a senior policy officer in the Department for the Information Society at the FCT – the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education), where he works on a variety of topics and public policies issues at European and International levels, namely Next Generation Internet and Emerging Technologies, Cyber Security and Privacy, the Digital Agenda for Europe and Digital Single Market, Internet Governance and Digital Economy. Currently, he is a Portuguese representative at the OECD’s Working Group Security and Privacy in the Digital Economy and alternate representative at the OECD’s Working Group Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy. He is also one of the Portuguese representatives at the Future Internet Forum in the European Commission and the Portuguese Next Generation Internet Contact Point (European Commission). He has a Masters in Political Science and International Relations, Area of Specialisation in European Studies.
Mr Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President, World Bank Group
Mahmoud Mohieldin is the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations, and Partnerships. Before joining the World Bank, Mohieldin held numerous senior positions in the government of Egypt, including minister of investment from 2004 until 2010. He also served on several boards of directors, including the Central Bank of Egypt and the banking and corporate sector. He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He is a professor of economics and finance at Cairo University, an honorary professor at Durham University and a member of the Advisory Board of the Durham Business School. He also held leading positions in national and regional research centers and think tanks. He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of international finance, economics, and development in English and Arabic. He received his doctorate in economics from the University of Warwick, M.Sc. in economic and social policy analysis from the University of York, and B.Sc. in economics, first in the order of merit, from Cairo University.
Mr. Turhan Muluk, Global Public Policy Manager, Intel
Turhan Muluk joined Intel in 2006. He is working at Government and Policy Group, responsible from telecommunication policies in the Middle East, Africa regions and also representative of Intel at ITU-D Sector. Before joining to Intel he worked 14 years for Turk Telekom at different wireless broadband projects. He also involved with ETSI, ITU, IEEE studies and worked as Vice Rapporteur at different ITU-D Questions. Turhan has also organized different joint activities together with ITU, including the Regional Digital Transformation Forum in Morocco. He was the chairman of WiMAX Forum for the Middle East and Africa. Turhan Muluk is graduated from Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of the METU in Turkey and a member of IEEE.
Mr. Jaromir Novak, Chairman of the Council of the Czech Telecommunication Office
Mr. Jaromír Novák was born on 12 December 1979 in Vysoké Mýto. He graduated from the Faculty of law, Masaryk University in Brno and the Faculty of Informatics and Management at the University of Hradec Králové. In 2005, he acceded to the Department of Electronic Communications at the Ministry of Informatics and after the abolition of this Ministry he served at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, where he later held the position of Director of the Electronic Communications Department and subsequently Section Director of the Digital Economy.He was responsible for postal services, information society services and agenda of the Electronic Communications Department. He actively participated in the negotiation of “The Telecoms Package” during the Czech Presidency of the EU Council in the 2009 and he was a member of the team for implementation of the new regulatory framework into the Czech national law.In October 2012 he was appointed a Member of the Council of the Czech Telecommunication Office by the Government of the Czech Republic. Effective 15 May 2013 Mr. Jaromír Novák has been appointed by the Government of the Czech Republic as Chairman of the Council. He is interested in literature and modern technology.
Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe
Mr Ponder is Head of ITU Office for Europe at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (Geneva, Switzerland). Within the last years Mr. Ponder has been carrying out numerous projects, activities and initiatives at national, regional and international levels. He has been taking lead role in many international conferences and summits dealing with development of ICT ecosystem, information society, and advancements of digital economy worldwide, while setting strategies and ensuring their timely implementation. Along the professional career Mr. Ponder held official positions in the public sector and was a contributor to the legislative projects having impact on the public policy. Since 2004 Mr. Ponder has been working for ITU. In 2004 he was consultant at the Market, Economics and Finance Unit (MEF/ITU). In year 2005 he moved to Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU/ITU). In year 2007 he moved to Project and Initiatives Department (PRI/ITU). In year 2008 upon his former duties he acted as Europe Officer (EUR/ITU) as well as as Project Manager for European Centres of Excellence Network (CoE-EUR). In August 2008 he was appointed as Coordinator for Europe. After successfull recreation of the coordination for the region in February 2009 he moved to the General Secretariat becoming Strategy and Policy Coordinator and one year later Senior Strategy and Policy Advisor with the objective to lead the ITU activities on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and its 10 year review, amongst the others successfully establishing WSIS Forum, WSIS Prizes, WSIS Stocktaking, and organizing WSIS+10 High Level Event (2014) that resulted in negotiated texts. In parallel, since October 2011 he has been working as Coordinator for Europe strengthening coordination and implementation mechanism. In July 2017 he became a Head of ITU Office for Europe, directing ITU actions, projects, initiatives and experts groups, trainings, targeting 43 European countries.
H.E. Ms. Irini Reljin, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Serbia
Daniel Semkowicz, Student from Wrocław University of Technology
Team leader of Robotic Chessboard project and member of Scientific Club KoNaR. Student of Robotics and Control Engineering at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. Currently working as Software Developer in research and development department of Diehl Controls. In 2017 his team won a gold medal in Freestyle competition at RobotChallenge championship in Beijing, China. He is a constructor of embedded solutions and enthusiast of new technologies.
Dr Ahmad Reza Sharafat, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran
Ahmad Reza Sharafat is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, a member of the Iranian Academy of Sciences, chairman of IEEE Iran section; chairman of ITU-D Study Group 2 in Geneva, Switzerland; Vice-Chairman of Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG) also in Geneva, Switzerland; Editor of the International Journal of Wireless Information Networks; and Editor of Scientia Iranica. He has 7 Iranian patents and one US patent, published three books and more than 150 papers in refereed scholarly journals and professional international conferences. He received his B.Sc. degree from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, and his M.Sc. and his Ph.D. degrees both from Stanford University, Stanford, California, all in Electrical Engineering in 1975, 1976, and 1981, respectively.
Dr. Lidia Stępińska-Ustasiak, UKE
Counsellor in the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), National Regulatory Authority in Poland. Responsible for social policy, including communication of capacity building initiatives, relations with entrepreneurs and academic institutions. Sociologist (PhD in sociology, 2017) with expertise in science and technology studies (STS). CSR, public affairs and communications expert with more than 10 years of experience in telecommunication sector (Orange and UPC/Liberty Global) Co-author of reports, author of publications, lecturer at Warsaw School of Economics. A graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Warsaw and the Graduate School for Social Research (Polish Academy of Science and Lancaster University).
Arkadiusz Terpiłowski, Student from Wrocław University of Technology
A graduate of the Wrocław University of Technology in the field of Management and Production Engineering of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He is interested in the LEAN methodology, project management, creation and implementation of business strategy, and business development. Currently, the chairman of the board at InnoMesh and the founder and originator of Erly - an automated powerbank rental startup. Before setting up the company, he was responsible for the implementation of the largest website in the world of electronic entertainment on the Polish market - IGN.com, where he was responsible for creating and implementing short-, and longterm company goals, contact with the largest media houses in the world and planning advertising campaigns. He was also a board member in the KAIZEN scientific circle at the Wrocław University of Technology, where he was responsible for cooperation with companies.
Mr. Alex Wong, Head, Global Challenge Partnerships, World Economic Forum
