Agenda

Carlos holds a PhD and Master's degree in Sociology from the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities "Alfonso Vélez Pliego" of the BUAP and a Bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences from the UDLAP.
For more than 10 years he has been coordinating actions related to research, training and capacity building in the NGOs REDES AC and Rhizomatica, particularly through the Techio Comunitario training programme. As part of these functions, since 2019, he manages the "Training Programme on ICT Networks Management in Indigenous and Rural Communities in Latin America" as an ITU expert consultant; and, since 2020, he coordinates the Learning and Mentorship Area as part of the LocNet initiative in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
He has been an advisor for capacity building projects on technological and communication issues in community contexts and consultant for the development of connectivity strategies and access to telecommunications in rural and indigenous territories. In his link with academia and research, between 2019 and 2022 he was founder and general coordinator of CITSAC; in addition to being a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) Level 1 of CONACyT of Mexico since August 2019.

Roxana WIDMER-ILIESCU has worked for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the past 25 years, contributing to the overarching goal of Digital Inclusion by focusing on people with specific needs or in vulnerable situations such as women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, and Indigenous people. 

Since 2005, as ITU Focal Point for Indigenous Issues, Ms. Widmer has collaborated with experts and Indigenous Communities to develop and deliver dedicated knowledge development programmes aimed at empowering Indigenous People and communities through ICTs and supporting the socio-economic development and self-sustainability of these communities in accordance with their values, needs, and cultural heritage. 

To ensure an all-inclusive and intersectional approach to the work in digital inclusion, she promotes Information and Communication Technologies ICTs/ digital accessibility, the universal design of technology, as a critical enabler to guarantee everyone's empowerment through access to and use of ICTs and equal and equitable inclusion in digital societies, economies and environments regardless of their age, gender, physical ability to use the technology, level of education or geographical location.

As Senior Coordinator for Digital Inclusion, she provides ITU members with specialized advice on developing digitally inclusive policies and strategies, and she leads the development of key ITU-D tools and resources intended to support stakeholders' efforts in the implementation of related regional and global commitments and in building a digitally inclusive world for all, ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age.

She is a digital transformation expert with a passion for fostering collaborative and inclusive approaches to advance comprehensive digital inclusion and equity in Africa. As a pioneer in the community networks movement on the continent, she played a key role in establishing TunapandaNET, the first community network in Kenya. With her telecommunications engineering expertise, she focus on operational aspects of bottom-up connectivity and digital inclusion models, as well as telecom policy and regulations. She actively contribute to research, capacity building, and advocacy for policies and regulations on a global, regional, and local scale, all aimed at nurturing inclusive and people-centered digital ecosystems. She is currently serving as the Regional Policy Coordinator - Africa for the Association for Progressive Communications Local Access Networks Initiative, she also co-chair the Africa Community Networks Summit and is a member of the UN Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory Group.

With over 23 years of extensive experience as a civil servant in various ministries of the Government of India (GOI), Mr. Sushil Pal currently serves as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. He is primarily responsible for execution of various Electronics Manufacturing Schemes, e.g. Semiconductors, PLIs (Mobile & IT Hardware), SPECS (Components), Investment Promotion activities etc.  Besides, he is also in-Charge of International Co-operation Division, Internet Governance Division. Mr. Sushil Pal is the Indian Representative in the Governmental Advisory Committee of ICANN.  He has played a pivotal role in leading the G20 Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiatives & FTA negotiations on Digital Trade.

He has extensive experience working on programs and finance verticals of various sectors such as Ministry of Home Affairs, Economic sectors (Department of Fertilizers), Social sectors (Health) as well as Revenue Department of Government of India. He has also worked in multi-cultural environment and developing countries, particularly in Timor-Leste, having worked there as Treasury Advisor in Government of Timor-Leste. He has conceived and successfully implemented the computerization of receipt accounts of Direct Taxes across the country by leveraging the banking interface. As a National level Consultant for WHO and DFID, he provided technical assistance for formulation and implementation of financial and accounting guidelines for National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a flagship scheme of Government of India. 

He holds an MBA (Finance) from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University and a Postgraduate in Operational Research from Delhi University. He is also a Certified Internal System Auditor (CISA) qualified as awarded by ISACA, USA.

Dawit Bekele is a Regional Vice President for Africa at the Internet Society.

He has more than two decades of experience in Internet development in Africa and around the world. At the Internet Society, he has worked in various positions to support Africa around Internet policy and technology. Before joining the Internet Society in 2006, he worked at Addis Ababa University as an assistant professor. He also has extensive experience as a consultant for major international organizations and in the private sector.

He received his undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. degrees from Université Paul Sabatier in France, all in Computer Science. He also holds a Masters in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa.

He is an Ethiopian citizen living in Geneva.

Public policy director at  Derechos Digitales. Bachelor of Law by State University of Maringá (UEM), PhD and MA of Law by the University of São Paulo (USP), LL.M. of Comparative Law and Economics by the International University College of Turin (IUC).