Agenda

Tim Unwin (born 1955) is a British academic and public figure, specialising in the uses of digital technology by the world’s poorest and most marginalised peoples. Trained as a geographer, he believes in crossing boundaries between disciplines and sectors, as well as in the importance of international understanding between peoples and governments.  He was Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation from 2011-2015, was Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission from 2009-2014, and over the last decade has worked closely with UN agencies, and particularly the ITU, UNESCO and UNICEF. He has written or edited 17 books and more than 250 other publications, with his influential edited book Information and Communication Technologies for Development, being published by CUP in 2009, and his latest single authored book Reclaiming ICT4D being published by OUP in 2017.

GOBIND SINGH DEO is the Malaysian Minister of Digital. He was elected Member of Parliament for Damansara in November 2022. He was Member of Parliament for Puchong from March 2008 until October 2022.
He is currently the National Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Action Party (“DAP”) Malaysia and Chairman of DAP Selangor.
He served as Minister of Communications and Multimedia from 21st May 2018 until 24th February 2020. In that time, he pushed for reforms in various sectors such as making broadband more affordable and accessible, media freedom, transitioning national broadcaster Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) into the digital era, and enhancing the country’s digital connectivity through 5G.
He holds a law degree from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom and is a Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn.
He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1996 and thereafter commenced practice at Messrs. Karpal Singh & Co. until 2006 after which he set up his own legal practice, Messrs. Gobind Singh Deo & Co. which was based in Kuala Lumpur.
A seasoned practitioner who appeared in numerous cases, he was one of the country’s leading criminal, constitutional and human rights lawyers and led on a number of high-profile cases including the trials of current Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim; former Chief Minister of Penang and Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng; and former Youth and Sports 
Minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
He has appeared in all courts within this jurisdiction including the Special Court, Federal Court and Court of Appeal

Professor Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT) in February 2018 and his mandate has been renewed in February 2022.

He is Outgoing Chair/Vice Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2024 and he was BEREC Chair for 2023 and Vice Chair for 2022 (Incoming Chair) and for 2019.

He is Professor in the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the University of Peloponnese and he served as Rector of the above University during the period 2012-2017.

From 2005 to 2008 he was a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London. Also during the period 2010-2016 he was an Honorary Lecturer in the same Department.

From 2001-2004 he worked in the telecommunications industry.

Since 2005 he has been collaborating as an expert with various units of the European Commission. Also, he was member of the Scientific Committee of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) from 2015 to 2017.

Dr. Mercedes Aramendía is the President of the Communications Services Regulatory Unit (URSEC) and the National Council of Innovation, Science and Technology (CONICYT) of Uruguay.

She holds a PhD in Legal Sciences from the University of Granada (with distinction cum laude), Spain; LLM in Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship from Cornell University Law School (Cornell Tech), United States; MBA from the EAE Business School, and Master in Business Management, Administration and Organization from the Camilo José Cela University, Spain; Lawyer and Master in Economic Administrative Law from the University of Montevideo, Uruguay.

She is the Professor and Director of the Postgraduate Course in Digital Transformation and Law at the University of Montevideo.

Charles Noir leads CIRA’s policy development, advocacy and Net Good program. Net Good invests millions of dollars each year to bridge the digital divide and address some of Canada’s most pressing internet challenges. The program encompasses all the initiatives funded and led by CIRA that tackle the digital obstacles faced by communities across the country.

Prior to joining CIRA, Charles spent over 15 years working for various Canadian government departments and agencies where he made significant contributions to policy development related to the internet, international telecommunications, cybersecurity and technology. He has extensive experience in leading international negotiations and providing policy advice to senior decision-makers.

Charles holds a PhD in Management (Information Systems) from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, a Master of Science in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Simon Fraser University.

Lise Fuhr is Director General of ETNO, the association representing Europe’s leading telecom operators, which she joined in 2016. Lise is a Board member of European Cyber Security Organization (ECSO) and Chair of Danish Cyber security organization Security Tech Space. In August 2022, Lise was nominated as a member of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum Leadership Panel, serving a two-year term. From 2016-2022 Lise served as Chairwoman of the Boards of Public Interest Registry (.org domain name registry) and the Public Technical Identifiers (PTI), formerly IANA, and affiliate of ICANN.

Before joining ETNO, Lise was Chief Operating Officer of DK Hostmaster and DIFO, the company managing .dk domain names. From September 2014 to October 2016, Lise also chaired the Cross Community Working Group for the IANA Stewardship Transition, building on her strong network within the internet community. Lise has 20+ years of experience in the internet and telecoms industries. She is a lifelong member of ATV – the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences – an independent think tank.