Agenda

Lori S. Schulman is Senior Director for Internet Policy for the International Trademark Association (INTA) where she is responsible for managing the association’s Internet policy and advocacy initiatives and serving as liaison to INTA’s Internet and Data Protection Committees.  She is INTA’s representative to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and other Internet policy bodies.  Lori has a varied background in general corporate and intellectual property law and has managed the trademark portfolios of Fortune 100 companies and major nonprofit organizations.   She started her career as an Attorney/Advisor for the U.S. Trademark Office.  Prior to joining INTA as a staff member, she served as General Counsel for a U.S. based, nonprofit, educational organization.  Ms. Schulman is a former INTA board member and former advisor to the Public Interest Registry (PIR), the operator of the .org top level domain.  Lori holds a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University and a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law where she was a member of the George Mason Inn of Court.

Dr. Tawfik Jelassi was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information on 1st July 2021. In this position, he is responsible for the Organization’s programmes on building inclusive knowledge societies, leading digital transformation, strategizing the role of ICT in education, and fostering freedom of expression.

Dr. Jelassi holds a Ph.D. doctorate in information systems from New York University (USA) and postgraduate diplomas from the University of Paris Dauphine (France).
Dr. Jelassi has extensive experience in higher education, scientific research, and information & communication technologies. He held academic, corporate and government leadership positions in Europe, the USA, and Tunisia.

Among others, he was Programme Director and Professor of Strategy and Technology Management at IMD Business School in Lausanne (Switzerland, 2015 – June 2021). Prior to that, he served as Minister of Higher education, Scientific Research and Information & Communication Technologies in the democratic transition government of Tunisia (2014 – 2015). Prior appointments included being Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ooredoo Telecom in Tunisia, Dean at Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris), and Professor & Chairman of the Technology Management Department at INSEAD (Fontainebleau).

Mayra Arevich Marín, is a Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Minister of Communications of the Republic of Cuba.

Previously, she served as Executive President of the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA).

Previously she assumed multiple responsibilities within the company. She was Head of the Metropolitan Regional Management and Supervision Center with the mission of guaranteeing the management and intervention of the communications networks in the city of Havana.

She held the position of Deputy Chief Manager of the Regional Management Supervision Center and later assumed the position of Branch Manager of the Havana City Network and was promoted to Vice President of Havana City.

She obtained a Master's Degree in Telematic Engineering at the "José Antonio Echevarría" University of Technology of Havana and a Diploma in Public Administration at the Higher School of State and Government Cadres.

She was born in 1966 in Havana, Cuba. She has one daughter.

Dr. Hayam Al-Yasiri holds the position of Minister at the Ministry of Communications of Iraq. She has a distinguished academic journey, with a Post-Doctoral degree in Communications Engineering from Curtin University of Technology, Australia (2005). Prior to this, she earned her PhD (2001) and MSc. (1996) in Communications Engineering from the University of Technology in Iraq. With a robust professional background, Dr. Al-Yasiri served as a Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Communications from 2007 to 2021, offering invaluable insights and expertise. Earlier in her career, she contributed significantly to academia, holding positions at various Iraqi Universities from 1991 to 2007. Her scholarly impact extends through tens of publications in international periodicals, showcasing her knowledge and research. Additionally, she has played a pivotal role in guiding and supervising many PhD and MSc theses, encouraging the growth of emerging scholars.

Mr. Jailani has 22 years of working experience in the telecommunication industry covering licensing, spectrum management, broadband, numbering, convergence, market access, competition and tariff in the telecommunications market. He was involved in various projects in developing telecommunication infrastructures such as Asia America Gateway Submarine Cable Network, AITI Frequency Management System (AFMS) as well as various regulatory projects such as development of Radio Regulation, development of Spectrum Pricing and Numbering Plan for Brunei Darussalam.

He currently leads the team that is responsible for regulatory matters in the telecommunications industry, international as well as on national infrastructure that mainly looks into broadband deployment of both wired and wireless technology, cybersecurity, postal services, personal data protection and ICT Industry and ICT Manpower Development. He also represents Brunei Darussalam in various international meetings in International Telecommunication Union (ITU), APEC-TEL, ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and has been appointed as the chairman and moderator in local and international meetings and conferences.

He holds Master of Communications Management from Coventry University under the Chevening Scholarship from United Kingdom in collaboration with Cable & Wireless in 2004 and obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics from University of Glasgow, Scotland in 1999.

Cinthya Arias Leitón brings over 13 years of regulatory expertise in the telecommunications market and over 25 years of fostering key productive activities for Costa Rica's development as President of the Council of the Superintendence of Telecommunications (Sutel). Notable projects under her leadership at Sutel include the Institutional Regulatory Agenda and the Statistics System for the telecommunications sector. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Costa Rica and a master’s degree in international business from UCR-Fundepos, complemented by INCAE's Senior Management Program. Arias Leitón also serves as a professor in the Graduate Studies Program in Economics at UCR's School of Economics, focusing on Operational Risk Management.

Internationally, she contributes as a member of the Digital Innovation Board established by the ITU since 2024. Previously, she led a Working Subgroup of the ITU Expert Group on Telecommunications Indicators (EGTI) and engaged in forums by organizations like Comtelca, Regulatel, and ATIM. Presently, Arias Leitón actively advocates for reducing the digital gender gap.

Nele Leosk, PhD, serves as the Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, being responsible for the development and coordination of Estonia’s digital diplomacy.
Over the past twenty years, she has advised political and public sector leaders in digital governance and digital economy in more than forty countries in Central and Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. Apart from government work, she has experienced the life of private sector, international and inter-governmental organisations such as the UNDP, OECD as well as academia. 
As a promoter of an open and inclusive digital society, Nele is the member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Technology Policy, GovStack lead for Estonia, Chair of the Digital Cooperation and Diplomacy Network, and member of several networks on women in tech.

Nele holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute (EUI), Italy. She is a former Fulbright-Schuman grantee at the National Centre for Digital Government at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at the Governance Lab at New York University, USA.

AHM Bazlur Rahman serves as the Chief Executive Officer of BNNRC, spearheading diverse projects and initiatives in media development, ICT for Development, and digital transformation over the past two decades. Renowned for his leadership, Mr. Rahman actively engages in international conferences and summits, advocating for media development, ICT innovation, and digital transformation in the Asia-Pacific region since 2000. His engagement extends to facilitating Bangladesh's involvement with the International Telecommunication Union on WSIS process and Internet policy issues.

Accredited by the UNODA, Mr. Rahman co-founded pivotal initiatives like Bangladesh Working Group on WSIS and Bangladesh UN Internet Governance Forum. He consistently contributes to the WSIS Forum and served as a Strategic Council member of UN GAID. With a background in Government and Politics and Management Development Studies, Mr. Rahman imparts his expertise as a faculty member at prestigious institutes and drives impactful initiatives in media development and UN SDGs in Bangladesh.