Agenda

Francis Gurry is currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Advisory Council of the Global SDGs and Leadership Development Center (also known as UNITAR SDGs Singapore Center).

Mr. Gurry is born on May 17, 1951, in Australia, is a renowned expert in the field of intellectual property and international governance. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne and a Doctor of Laws from the University of Cambridge. Gurry was admitted to legal practice in Australia in 1974 and worked as a lawyer in Melbourne until 1976. He was a lecturer and senior lecturer in law at the University of Melbourne from 1979 to 1983 and served as a visiting professor at the University of Dijon in France from 1982 to 1983. In 1984, he practiced law in Sydney.

In 1985, Gurry joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Secretariat, where he held positions as Legal Counsel, Assistant Director General, and Deputy Director General. He served as Director General of WIPO from October 1, 2008, and was reappointed for a second six-year term in May 2014, concluding in September 2020. He also served as Secretary-General of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).

Corinne Momal-Vanian is the Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation. She has led the Kofi Annan Foundation since 2020. Prior to this, she worked in various senior positions and a variety of countries for the United Nations, including as Director of Conference Management (2015-2020) and Director of the Information Service (2010-2015) at the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Ms. Momal-Vanian served as Special Assistant to Kofi Annan in 2005 and 2006, traveling with him to some 20 countries as he worked to resolve crises, defuse tensions, highlight the plight of communities and individuals suffering from discrimination and abuses, build international cooperation and strengthen support for development and justice. She worked for a total of six years in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, after serving in the Department of Political Affairs and in two regional economic and social commissions of the United Nations.

A French national, Ms. Momal-Vanian has lived in 11 countries on four continents. With the United Nations, she was stationed in New York, Bagdad, Bangkok and Geneva. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from HEC Graduate School of Management in Paris, and an advanced degree in international relations from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po Paris), as well as an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is married and has two children.

Ashutosh is currently responsible for engaging with the UN and other international organizations to facilitate policy discussions that promote the responsible use of technology. This is achieved through programmatic interventions aimed at advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and socio-economic growth while ensuring an enabling innovation ecosystem, inclusion, and a safe, secure, and interoperable internet.

Until recently, he was the Director and Country Head of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy for India and South Asia at Microsoft. He collaborated with the Government, Academia, Industry, and Multilaterals to shape policies that promote technology usage, drive digital inclusion, and ensure innovation and safety in the digital ecosystem.
 
With a career spanning over 37 years, Ashutosh has held positions at Mastercard, Wipro Ltd, Intel India, Shell India Pvt Ltd, NIIT, and the National Dairy Development Board. A graduate of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat, Ashutosh possesses extensive experience in business development, channel management, strategic planning, corporate affairs, government relations, and policy advocacy.

Ashutosh frequently speaks at national and international forums on topics such as corporate affairs, public policy, education, CSR, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He has participated in events organized by WB, WTO, UNICEF, UNESCO, and various national and international academic institutions.

Ashutosh is passionate on promoting the use of technology for socio-economic development and enhancing lives through education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Ashutosh actively mentors’ startups, coaches students and executives, and is a certified Level 2 NS-NLP Executive and Corporate Coach.

Ms. Ni Huan (Helen) is the Founding Director of Shanghai Minhang District JiangChuan Green Light-Year Environmental Service Center (Shanghai Green Light-Year / GLY), a Cambridge Chevening Scholar (2004-05), China Member of IUCN CEC and Director of ESG Development and Promotion Center of Shanghai Pudong New Energy Association. Helen has been working in financial sector, DFID-funded project, UNDP China, IFC, the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, UNEP Finance Initiative, and WWF China for 20 years. By using her sectorial experience, she has incorporated experiences in sustainability to empowering younger generations by developing their digital literacy and ethics competency towards 2030 agenda.

Since GLY was established, Helen has been working with sectorial experts to develop youth sustainability leadership program for youth from China and overseas. Her students have entered global youth competitions (final round) by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UNEP, FAO, ITU, UN University, Shanghai Climate Week etc and have won global awards over ten times reaching 100K+ youth groups around the world and have been solving real world problems by PBLs (Project-based, problem-based and place-based). In addition, Helen led GLY to become the first ally in Chinese Mainland to join the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) in March 2021. She has taken the lead to cooperate with WBA in the first research report on China’s ICT companies’ digital inclusion performance, which was released in March 2023.

Jason is the Chief AI, Innovation and Digital Officer at UNIDO, overseeing projects and programs related to AI, digital transformation, and innovation, with a key focus on the Digital Economy. He co-leads efforts under Objective 2 of the Global Digital Compact, which aims to advance inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.

Previously, Jason served as UNIDO’s Digitalization and Innovation Officer, spearheading the organization's digital and transformation initiatives and driving innovation solutions. His leadership emphasizes optimizing service delivery through digital solutions, collaborating closely with stakeholders to enhance processes and outcomes. With extensive experience at UNIDO, Jason has held roles as the head of IT, strategic financial management, business transformation, and communications. Before joining UNIDO, he led finance management consulting in the UK public sector and served as head of finance at a large multinational corporation. Jason is a Chartered Management Accountant and holds an MBA.

Nils Berglund is a research associate at the European University Institute’s Robert Schuman Centre, where I work on technology and global affairs. At the EUI, Nils Berglund is also the project lead for the Global Initiative on the Future of the Internet (GIFI), an EU-funded project that promotes key principles of the free and open Internet through research and policy support.

Dorain Amanda Clarke is the founder of Youth Climate Voice Caribbean, a youth-led organization empowering young women and girls in small island developing states (SIDS) with digital tools to lead on climate resilience and advocacy. She has mobilized youth across multiple Caribbean islands through digital storytelling, policy engagement, and inclusive climate education, ensuring marginalized voices are heard and represented. As a passionate advocate for gender equity in the digital era, Dorain is committed to building a regional movement that puts Caribbean girls at the forefront of climate and tech leadership.

Ms. Isabelle Lois works as a Senior Policy Advisor on internet governance, artificial intelligence and digital policy at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) since 2022. As a legal expert in public international law, she works in policy development at the international level and represents Switzerland in various international fora.

One of her main focuses is AI governance, she is serving as vice-chair of the OECD Working Group on Artificial Intelligence and part of the Steering committee of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI). She was also actively involved on the swiss delegation negotiating the first convention on AI at the council of Europe with a focus on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. 

The second core focus is internet governance particularly within the WSIS (World Summit on Information Society) architecture. She is a vice-chair of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for development and actively involved in related process. 

On the national level, she is also actively involved in the implementation of Switzerland’s National Action Plan for the safety of media professionals, which was published in May 2023 (available here).  

She holds a Master degree (LL.M.) in Public International law, University of Leiden and a Bachelor degree (LL.B) in Swiss Law from the University of Geneva. She is fluent in French, Spanish, Swedish, German and English. 

Nadir is a young and enthusiastic Hardware Research Engineer and Scientist from Azerbaijan, currently working in the Research and Development department at the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos). He actively contributes to the design of small satellites in the country, playing a key role in advancing Azerbaijan's space exploration efforts. Recognized for his achievements, Nadir has been selected for various technical competitions and has actively contributed to the development of theses and articles in electronics, telecommunications, and space equipment. His diverse expertise makes him a valuable asset to both local and global space initiatives. Beyond his technical contributions, Nadir is dedicated to youth advocacy and serves as a teacher and mentor, playing a crucial role in nurturing the next generation of engineers. Notably, Nadir is engaged in promoting global collaboration among young space enthusiasts as the National Point of Contact (NPOC) for Azerbaijan in the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). 

Melissa is the Director of Innovation at OGTIC and the Coordinator of the Innovation Cabinet of the Dominican Republic, where she led the development of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the first AI Strategy in Central America and the Caribbean. She focused her career on the intersection of governance and technology. Additionally, Muñoz leads the implementation of the National Innovation Policy, steering over 22 innovative projects towards a smarter, interconnected future. She was also part of the first Cohort of the International Telecommunications Union's “Generation Connect" America's Youth Envoys.