Executive Director of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network and Chief Vision Officer of the Datasphere Initiative.

Building upon his diversified experience as a French career diplomat, civil society actor and tech entrepreneur, Bertrand has been a determined promoter and pioneering implementer of multi-stakeholder governance processes for more than 20 years.

As Co-founder and Chief Vision Officer at the Datasphere Initiative, he fosters cooperation frameworks in data governance, to responsibly unlock the value of data for all. He is also the Executive Director of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network since 2012.

He was previously a Director on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board (2010-2013), France’s Thematic Ambassador and Special Envoy for the Information Society (2006-2010) and an active participant in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (2002-2005), where he promoted dialogue among civil society, private sector and governments. Bertrand was also in the early 90’s the co-founder and CEO of the virtual reality company Virtools, acquired in 2005 by Dassault Systèmes.

Bertrand de La Chapelle is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (1978), Sciences Po Paris (1983), and Ecole Nationale d’Administration (1986).

He graduated in 1993 from the School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). He completed his specialization in internal medicine at the Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires in 1997. He earned his Ph.D. in informatics engineering from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA) in 2016, the same year he obtained a master’s degree in information systems engineering from the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN).

He was one of the creators and the coordinator of the Clinical Informatics Residency at the Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires. He was responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Clinical Information System at that institution and served as Chief Medical Information Officer for ten years. After that, he took charge of the Health Informatics Department until the present day. He also participated in the development of several training programs in the region, including a Master’s Program in Health Information Systems.

Throughout these years, he has published more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals and many chapters/books in the field of health informatics. He is part of the editorial board of Applied Clinical Informatics, the Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries (JHIDC), and the Healthcare Informatics Research Journal (HIR). Member of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM). He participated as Chair and Co-Chair of the Working Group on Health Informatics for Development (WG 09) and as the Vice President of Membership of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA).

Sonia is the Founder and Executive Director of the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP). She has successfully led global coalitions to reduce the cost of connectivity and make universal meaningful connectivity a reality for everyone in global majority countries.

She is an experienced leader and international digital policy expert, having worked on numerous digital policy and development projects in over 50 countries for organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and private sector companies and associations. Sonia was recognized as one of the World's 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government in 2019 and has served on various committees, including the ITU-UN Women EQUALS Partnership, The World Economic Forum (WEF)'s Future of the Internet Initiative, and the EU-AU Digital Economy Task Force. She serves on a number of boards, including as Advisory Board member of the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br).

Sonia holds a master’s in public policy from Tufts University and degrees in economics and business finance from the University of Massachusetts (UMass).

Sonia Livingstone DPhil (Oxon), OBE, FBA, FBPS, FAcSS, FRSA, is a professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Taking a comparative, critical and contextualised approach, her research examines how changing conditions of mediation reshape everyday practices and possibilities for action.

She has published 21 books on media audiences, children and young people’s risks and opportunities, media literacy and rights in the digital environment, including Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears About Technology Shape Children’s Lives (Oxford University Press [OUP], 2020) and Digital Media Use in Early Childhood: Birth to Six (Bloomsbury, 2024).

Since founding the European Commission (EC)-funded 33 country “EU Kids Online” research network, and Global Kids Online (with United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF] Office of Research-Innocenti), she has advised the Child-friendly Governance Project, Child Helpline International, Council of Europe, European Commission, European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), European Parliament, International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Ofcom, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UK government and UNICEF.

She has served as President of the International Communication Association, chaired LSE’s Truth, Trust and Technology (T3) Commission and is currently leading the Digital Futures for Children centre at LSE with the 5Rights Foundation.

Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2021, Dr. Tawfik Jelassi is responsible for UNESCO’s programs on fostering freedom of expression, leading digital transformation, strategizing the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education, and building inclusive knowledge societies.

He holds a Ph.D. in management information systems from New York University (NYU) and postgraduate diplomas from the University of Paris Dauphine.

Former Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Information & Communication Technologies in Tunisia, as well as Dean and Professor, he has extensive international experience in higher education, scientific research, and digital technologies.

Head of the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), linked to the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). Responsible for research projects to produce data on information and communication technologies (ICT) for monitoring national policies and international goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Coordinates capacity-building programs on survey methodologies in Latin America and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. Member of the Consultative Committee of the Brazilian Census (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics [IBGE]) and Board of Counselors of the Innovation Center for Brazilian Education  (CIEB). He was chair of the Expert Group on ICT Household Indicators (EGH) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), from 2012 to 2017, and is an expert at the OECD Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy and Working Party on Artificial Intelligence Governance.

Holds a Ph.D. in business administration from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV, Brazil), a master’s degree in business administration from Bradford University (UK), a MSc in computer science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil), a BSc in electrical engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC Minas, Brazil), and conducted postdoctoral research at HEC Montreal (Canada).

Executive Director of Research ICT Africa (RIA), an African digital policy and regulatory think tank based in South Africa. Adjunct professor at the University of Cape Town’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance (UCT). A former broadcasting and telecommunications regulator in the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the South African Telecommunications Authority (SATRA, together now ICASA), she has published widely on and been actively involved in telecommunications policy formulation and regulation across the continent and Global South.

She leads RIA’s After Access surveys extending the development of digital indicators into new areas of the digital and platform economy for evidence-based policy formulation on the continent.

In 2023, she conceptualized the background paper on digital inequality for the 67th edition of the UN Women Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), applying RIA data to analyze intersectional digital inequality and then linking it to data injustice and its manifestations in AI.

Secretary of Information and Digital Health at the Ministry of Health (MS). Full professor at the University of São Paulo School of Dentistry (FOUSP). She has 20 years of experience in formulating, implementing, and managing public policies in the areas of health, education and intersectorality.

She was Director of Health Education Management (Secretariat for Health Work and Education Management [SGTES]/MS) from 2005 to 2012, when she coordinated the formulation and implementation of programs to reorient undergraduate training in health professions (Pró-Saúde, PET Saúde), the Telessaúde Brasil Redes Program, the regulation of Health Residencies, with the creation of the National Commission for Multiprofessional and Professional Health Area Residencies, the expansion of Medical Residencies (Pró Residências) to meet the needs of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), and the National Examination for the Revalidation of Medical Diplomas (Revalida). As an advisor to the Minister of Education (2003 to 2005), she was one of the formulators and participated in the implementation of the University for All Program (Prouni).

In the municipality of São Paulo, she coordinated the implementation of the São Paulo Redes Telehealth Program and the municipal policy for the integral development of early childhood – São Paulo Carinhosa. She is one of Brazil's representatives in the “Red Latino Americana de Lideres por la Primera Infancia” (Latin American Network of Early Childhood Leaders), created by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

General Coordinator of Technology and Innovation in Basic Education at the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC). She holds a master’s degree in development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and has worked for several years in the field of technology and innovation in education. She supported several Education Secretariats regarding their technology and innovation policies as Coordinator of the Innovation Center for Brazilian Education (CIEB) and was in charge of the Technology and Innovation area at the Recife Education Department.

Director of the Center for Data Science for Public Statistics (CCDEP), a project supported by the Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo (Fapesp) and based at Seade, the statistics agency of the State of São Paulo. He was Director of Data Production and Analysis at Seade from 2019 to 2024, where he also served as interim Executive Director.

He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of São Paulo (USP), a master's degree in sociology, and a bachelor's degree in social sciences from USP. He has 22 years' experience in academic and applied research and project coordination in areas such as Science, Technology and Innovation; Public Policies; Cities and Urban Mobility.

He was a researcher at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (Cebrap) from 2003 to 2019, where he also served as scientific director from 2015 to 2019. He has international experience as a visiting researcher at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in Brighton (2007) and at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York (2013).

He worked as a technical advisor on public policy planning at São Paulo City Hall (2009-2010) and as a consultant on public innovation policies at the Financing Agency for Studies and Projects (Finep) (2014-2015). He taught postgraduate courses at the Foundation School of Sociology and Political Science (FESPSP) (2011-2013) and an MBA in Market Intelligence at the Paulista School of Informatics and Administration (FIAP) (2019-2022).

Carolina Botero has over 20 years of experience working on the promotion and defense of human rights on the Internet, focusing on issues at the intersection of law and technology. She was Executive Director of Fundación Karisma Executive for ten years and continues to collaborate as a consultant.

She is a consultant for organizations such as the AlSur Consortium and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) at American University. She is a columnist for El Espectador and has contributed to media outlets such as La Silla Vacía and Razón Pública.

Botero has a law degree and a master’s degree in international law and cooperation from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium, and a master’s degree in trade and contract law from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain.

She is a member of the Advisory Committee at the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) and she is also part of the Advisory Committee at the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (Cele) and at the Veinte Assembly. She was also part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Advisory Committee of experts for the Recommendation on Open Science. In 2024, she was awarded the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Award for advancing digital rights in Latin America.

Cimar Azeredo holds a bachelor's degree in statistics with a post-graduate degree in education and works as a statistician at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Throughout his career at the institute he has held prominent positions, including the Presidency of IBGE.

He was also Research Director at the IBGE, the sector responsible for producing and systematizing studies, surveys, and statistical work relating to the demographic, economic, social, environmental, and administrative situation in the country. With a career marked by his contribution to areas such as demography, social statistics and population censuses, Cimar Azeredo was in charge of the Coordination of Sample Household Surveys for more than a decade, which is responsible for coordinating, among other surveys, the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua), the National Survey of Health (PNS), the Consumer Expenditure Survey (POF) and the Urban Informal Economy Survey (ECINF).

He was also responsible for the initial launch of IBGE’s ICT Households in 2005, through an initiative conducted in partnership with the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br). He recently served as National Coordinator of the 2022 Brazilian Demographic Census, further consolidating his recognized performance in the area of Brazilian statistical production. He currently holds the position of advisor to the President of IBGE.

Cristina Ponte is Professor at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NOVA FCSH) and Principal Investigator (PI) at NOVA Institute of Communication (ICNOVA). Member of the EU Kids Online network since 2006, she has had a leading role in international cooperation, particularly with Brazil and Latin America.

She has closely worked with the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) since 2011, having contributed to the ICT Kids Online Brazil and ICT in Education surveys, as well as to the Latin American Kids Online launched in 2015.

In the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action IS0906, Transforming Audiences, Transforming Societies (2010–2014), she coordinated the Working Group “Audience Transformation and Social Integration” (40+ participants from 17 countries). She led two funded projects – Children and Young People in the News (2005-2007) and Digital Inclusion and Participation (2009-2011), the latter with the University of Texas at Austin. She also coordinated the first Portuguese representative study on screens in the life of young children, Growing up among screens, funded by the Portuguese Authority for Communication (ERC, 2017), and in the ySKILLS Project on digital skills (H2020, 2020-2023), she was responsible for Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation.

She has published extensively on children and media and is Associate Editor of Communication, the European Journal of Communication Research. She has supervised more than 20 Ph.D. theses on media and journalism topics.

Cristóbal Cobo (Ph.D.) is a Senior Education Specialist focusing on technology and innovation in learning. He was the founding Director of the Center for Research at Ceibal Foundation in Uruguay (2014–2019) and an associated researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute (2009–2019).

His work explores the future of learning, a culture of innovation, and human-centered technologies. Recognized by the British Council and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), he is an associate research fellow at the Centre on Skills, Knowledge, and Organizational Performance at the University of Oxford. He has held academic roles, including professor and director of Communication and New Technologies at the Faculdad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO Mexico).  

Cobo has evaluated projects for institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), National Science Foundation (NSF), MIT Press, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

His Ph.D. in Communication Sciences (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) was awarded cum laude.  His books include The New Digital Education Policy Landscape (2023), I Accept the Terms and Conditions (2019), Innovación Pendiente (2016), and Invisible Learning (2011). A global speaker, he has presented in over 30 countries and been featured in CNN, Deutsche Welle, El País, Le Monde Diplomatique, and the Wall Street Journal.

Public servant in Brazil, working in the fields of digital economy, telecommunications, and Internet policies. Currently a senior advisor at the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (MGI), he participated in the BRICS ICT Working Group, during the presidency of Brazil (2025).

Previously, he was the Coordinator for Digital and Telecommunications Policy at the Ministry of Communications (MCom), having led the G20 Digital Economy Working Group during the presidency of Brazil (2024), and was one of the founding members of this group since 2017. He also represented Brazil at the OECD Committee on Digital Policy (2017–2024) and the BRICS ICT Working Group (2019–2024).

Earlier in his career, he worked in the private sector, in the areas of telecommunications and automation, having created a pioneer digital startup company. He holds an M.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Currently, he works as unit head and regional adviser at the World Health Organization (WHO/Europe), coordinating the digital health flagship initiative and the data, metrics and analytics portfolio. Prior to joining WHO/Europe, he served as coordinator of the eHealth programme at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) from 2010-2018. Furthermore, David served from 2006 to 2010 as a Technical Officer for the Ministry of Health of Spain, where he was appointed Executive Advisor to the Minister.

Obtained his master’s degree and Ph.D. in information sciences from the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M). He also received a master’s in public health from the University of Bordeaux and the Public University of Navarre (UPNA). He serves pro bono as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London (UCL) and as an Adjunct Professor on biomedical informatics at the University of Utah.

Delfina Soares is the director of the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). She coordinated multiple digital governance projects and partnerships with governments of multiple countries, including Cabo Verde, Colombia, and Uganda, and as well as international organizations, such as the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank.

Delfina has participated in the committees of more than 42 conferences and has integrated many Working Groups, Expert Panels and Advisory Boards. She coordinates the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) conference series, and has been a member of the Advisory Council for the Council for Digital in Public Administration of the Government of Portugal since November 2024. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Information Society Observatory (GÁVEA) and holds executive positions in the Portuguese Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and the Portuguese Information Systems Association (APSI). She is also a member of the Working Group on Information Systems in Public Administration (WG 8.5) of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).

She holds a Ph.D. in information systems and technology, an MSc in informatics (management information systems), and a BA in systems and informatics engineering, all from the University of Minho (UMinho), Portugal.

Engenheiro eletricista formado pela POLI/USP, com mestrado e doutorado em Engenharia, é Conselheiro do CGI.br (Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil), Diretor-Presidente do NIC.br (Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto br) e Professor Associado da PUC (Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo). Foi membro da diretoria da ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) pela ccNSO (Country Code Names Support Organization). Em abril de 2014 foi eleito para o Hall da Fama da Internet na categoria “Conectores Globais”, com cerimônia realizada em Hong Kong. Em julho do mesmo ano foi agraciado com o prêmio “Cristina Tavares”, da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação. Em dezembro, no dia do Engenheiro, recebeu do Sindicato dos Engenheiros no Estado de São Paulo o prêmio “Personalidade da Tecnologia 2014”, na categoria “Internet”. Em maio de 2016 foi admitido na Ordem do Mérito das Comunicações no “Grau de Oficial” como forma de reconhecimento aos seus serviços relevantes prestados às Comunicações. Desde 2014 publica uma coluna quinzenal no Caderno Link – Editoria de tecnologia e cultura digital do jornal O Estado de S. Paulo e do portal Estadao.com.br.

Federal civil servant who holds the position of Information Technology Analyst and Director of Digital Public Services Platforms at the Digital Government Secretariat of the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (SGD/MGI). She leads the teams responsible for public service automation, digital accessibility, and digital platform operation and monitoring at the core of the Brazilian federal government's digital transformation. She holds a specialization in software engineering with an emphasis on projects and a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

Ph.D., MPP, senior policy consultant and adjunct lecturer specializing in digital health, data governance, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). With over two decades of experience in international policy and governance in the digital economy, she has contributed to flagship projects for the World Health Organization (WHO/Europe) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Most recently, in 2024, she has supported G7 and G20 work on AI, focusing on AI in the public sector and readiness assessments.

Since 2022, Dr. Ronchi has been an adjunct lecturer at the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs. She also co-organizes an annual international course on Health Data and AI at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

Previously, as Head of Unit in the Division for Digital Economy Policy at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), she led work on data governance, privacy, and risk management for over a decade. OECD initiatives she coordinated included the 2021 Recommendation on Enhancing Access and Sharing of Data, the 2021 Recommendation on Children in the Digital Environment, and the 2016 Recommendation on Health Data Governance.

She is the author of numerous articles and reports on data governance, digital health, and AI policy. She serves as an expert on various advisory boards and panels, including the Foundation Board of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. She began her policy career in 1993 with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and previously held academic research and teaching positions in the U.S. and France.

Elsa Estevez is the chair holder of the UNESCO Chair on Knowledge Societies and Digital Governance at Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), a Principal Researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet), and a Full Professor at the National University of La Plata (UNPL), all in Argentina.

She is also a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on matters of digital government, particularly in Latin America. Previously, she was a Senior Academic Program Officer and Academic Program Officer at the United Nations University (UNU) in Macao and Portugal; Visiting Professor at the National University of Rio Negro (UNRN), Argentina; Gdansk University of Technology, Poland; University of Minho (UMinho), Portugal; and head of Information Technology (IT) departments in large financial and pharmaceutical organizations in Argentina.

She consulted for governments, taught public managers and policymakers, and organized events about digital government in over 30, mostly developing, countries. Her research interests include structuring the information technology function in government, digital transformation of government-citizen relationships, and the impact of such transformation on nations' and cities' capacity to pursue sustainable development. She has a Ph.D. in computer science from UNS, Argentina.

Director of the Department for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property (DCT) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). Former Deputy Consul General of Brazil in San Francisco, Head of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and focal point for Silicon Valley. Holds a Ph.D. in history of international relations from the University of Brasília (UnB). He is a researcher focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and global governance.

Fernando Rojas has 25 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. Since 2010, he has been working in the Division of Productive and Business Development at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) as a specialist in telecommunications infrastructure and digital economy.

In 2011, he took on the coordination of the Regional Broadband Observatory (ORBA) at ECLAC, a space designed to support countries in the region in developing and monitoring public policies for the universalization of this service. Additionally, he is part of the technical secretariat of the eLAC process, a regional platform for political dialogue on information and communication technologies (ICT) implemented in 2005, where he coordinates the working group on meaningful connectivity.

Previously, he served as the Director of Economic Regulation at the Telecommunications Superintendency of Bolivia. He holds a degree in economics, a master’s degree in management and public policies, another master's degree in corporate finance, and a postgraduate degree in policy management for competition promotion and consumer protection in the telecommunications sector.

Giulia Tucci holds a Ph.D. in Information Sciences (2023) from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT) and the School of Communication of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She holds a master's degree in biomedical engineering from the Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (Coppe/UFRJ, 2011) and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio, 2006).

Since 2017, she has focused her studies on the flow of information on digital platforms. Her doctoral research investigated the flow of information (and disinformation) on Telegram during the 2022 election campaign in Brazil. Her expertise spans computational social sciences, political studies and digital methods.

She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in a joint program between IBICT and UFRJ, as well as a visiting researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, contributing to the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security program.

Full Professor of Sociology at the University of São Paulo (USP) and Tinker Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA, 2010, 2022). Coordinator of the Humanities area at the Center for Artificial Intelligence-USP-Fapesp-IBM and of the Innovation Observatory at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA-USP).

He was President of the Financing Agency for Studies and Projects (Finep) and the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), a member of the National Council for Science and Technology (CCT) and Coordinator of the Center for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic. He was a member of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Group of Advisers.

He did post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Columbia University, the University of California-Berkeley and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE, UK).

Since January 2025, Guilherme Canela is the Director of the Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation and Secretary of the Information for All Programme (Ifap) at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris.

As Chief of the Section for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists for five years (2020–2025), he was notably responsible for World Press Freedom Day, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, and the Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms.

Between 2012 and 2020 (eight years), he held the position of Communication and Information Regional Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at UNESCO Montevideo Office. During those years, he acted as Regional Coordinator of the UNESCO Initiative for the Promotion of Democracy and Freedom of Expression in judicial systems in Latin America.

He was also the Secretary of the Regional Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (MoWLAC), and focal point of the Organization for issues related to the safety of journalists.

He holds a B.A. in international relations from the University of Brasília (UNB) and a master’s degree in political science from the University of São Paulo (USP).

Hartmut Glaser holds a degree in Physics from the  Institute of Physics at University of Sao Paulo – USP (1967) and a Master's degree from the Polytechnic School of USP (1973). He served as the Administrative and Financial Director of the Microelectronics Laboratory (1972-1990), was an advisor to the Director of the Polytechnic School/USP (1989-1994), and Coordinator of the Technological Modernization Program for Administrative Computing at USP (1994-1996). During his time at FAPESP, he held the positions of Advisor to its Director (1996-2002) and Coordinator of the Sao Paulo State Academic Network - ANSP Network Project (1996-2002). Since 1996, he has been the Executive Secretary of CGI.br.

Ph.D. in health informatics Federal University of São Paulo ([UNIFESP]) and Associate Professor (University of São Paulo Medical School [FMUSP]). She completed a post-doctorate in clinical informatics at Harvard Medical School – Center for Clinical Informatics (1995–98) and a sabbatical at Yale Medical Schools (2023).

She was Professor and Coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Health Informatics at UNIFESP until 2016. She served as President of the Brazilian Society of Health Informatics (SBIS) and chaired the International Medical Informatics Association, Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group (2009–12).

She is currently a retired Full Professor at UNIFESP and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Medical Informatics (IJMI), Elsevier. She is also the Scientific Coordinator of the ICT in Health survey carried out by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br). In 2023 she was elected President of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics – International Medical Informatics Association (IAHSI-IMIA).

Ambassador at Large on United Nations (UN) Global Agenda with responsibilities in cyber and climate diplomacy. He also has served as the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the Council of Europe, the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the UN at Geneva (twice), Latvian Ambassador to France, Andorra, Monaco, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Director of the Center of Excellence for Strategic Communications of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as the Assistant Director General of Communication and Information of UNESCO.

During his first stay in Geneva (2000–2007) he presided over the Preparatory Committee of the Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society. During the second tour in Geneva (2015–2020) he chaired the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the CCW 2018 meeting of High Contracting Parties, the ATT 2019 meeting of the States Parties, and the 2020 GGE LAWS in the framework of CCW.

Ambassador Karklins chaired the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 2007 until June 2010, at the same time being the GAC liaison to the ICANN Board of Directors. In 2014, the UN Secretary General appointed Ambassador Karklins to be the Chair of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) for a two-year term.

He holds an engineering degree from the Riga Technical University (RTU) and attended an Executive Education Program for Eastern European diplomats at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Secretary of Digital Policies at the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil. Ph.D. in political science from the University of São Paulo (USP), with a master's degree in regulation and communication policies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a degree in social communication from USP (2001).

He served as Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Culture (MinC) from 2015 to 2016 and as a special advisor to the Municipal Secretariat of Culture of São Paulo in 2013 and 2014. He worked for 15 years in civil society organizations and as a consultant for international organizations.

Career diplomat who currently serves as Special Advisor for International Affairs at the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise, and Small Business (MEMP). At Itamaraty, she led the digital agenda and coordinated multilateral negotiations on the topic. She also headed the international affairs division at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), the Ministry of Education (MEC), and the Economic and Social Development Council of the Presidency of the Republic.

Economist with a degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in economic development from the University of Campinas (Unicamp). She is Coordinator of ICT survey projects at the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br).

She was coordinator of the Digital Health Technical Committee of the National Education and Research Network (RNP). Member of the Brazilian Feminist Economics Network (REBEF) and the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE).

Manuella Maia Ribeiro is Coordinator of ICT survey projects at the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br). She holds a Ph.D. and a master's degree in public administration and government from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), and bachelor's degrees in public policy management from the University of São Paulo (USP) and law from Mackenzie Presbyterian University.

She is a visiting researcher at the United Nations University Operational Unit on Policy-Oriented Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). Since 2007, she has been researching how governments can improve their relationship with citizens using technology and, for more than 10 years, coordinates the ICT Electronic Government survey at Cetic.br|NIC.br.

Professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation's São Paulo School of Business Administration (FGV EAESP), in the undergraduate and graduate programs in public administration and government. She has a Ph.D. in business administration from the School of Economics, Business, Accounting and Actuarial Science of the University of São Paulo (FEAUSP) and a master's degree from EAESP/FGV.

At FGV, she also leads the Technology and Government area at the Center for Public Administration and Government Studies (CEAPG) and coordinates the CNPQ Technology and Government research group. She is also a member of Dataprev's Board of Directors.

Her research interests include the use of information technology in the public sector, digital inclusion, digital democracy and smart cities. She has led multidisciplinary research groups on these topics, both nationally and internationally.

He holds a degree in philosophy and a master's degree in social policies from the University of Brasilia (UnB). He is the Coordinator of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s Adolescent and Youth Development and Participation Program in Brazil, where he leads the 1 Million Opportunities (1MiO) initiative and the UNICEF Seal.

He was Coordinator of the National Movement of Street Boys and Girls (MNMMR) and a member of the drafting group for the Statute of the Child and Adolescent. He is the author and editor of the books: O Adolescente e o Alto Infracional (The Adolescent and the Juvenile Offense); Sem Liberdade, Sem Direitos (No Freedom, No Rights); A normativa Internacional sobre Adolescentes em Conflito com a Lei (International Regulations on Adolescents in Conflict with the Law), and other publications related to the rights of adolescents and young people.

Director of Office and Representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Brazil. She holds a master’s degree in social work and is an Eisenhower fellow and a Kellogg Foundation scholar. Marlova furthered her studies on the welfare state as a fellow of the Swedish Federation of Social Workers and completed executive training in public administration at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA, New York).

Marlova has more than 35 years of experience working in the areas of education, social policies, human rights, prevention of violence, poverty alleviation, social protection, gender equality and the fight against racism and discrimination.

In 1997, she joined the United Nations (UN) system through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as programme officer for Public Policies and Children’s Rights. She then moved to UNESCO as Coordinator of Social and Human Sciences and as Director of its Program Area. She was also Interim Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Brazil.

Marlova was a university Professor of methodology and general theory of social work. She was president of the Brazilian Council for Social Work and was on the Board of different foundations dedicated to social issues, philanthropy, and sustainability. Marlova has published books and articles on the third sector, social work, municipalization and human rights. She is married, has a daughter and is a Romanian/Brazilian citizen.

She has a degree in graphic design and advertising from the School of Hospitality and Tourism of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (ESEIG, Portugal) and a master's degree in management with a specialization in technology from the Bridgewater State University (BSU, the United States of America).

With 17 years of professional experience, Mayra Suely Santos Silva was Manager of Casa do Cidadão and is currently Executive Director of NOSi. She is also a Women in Tech Ambassador in Cabo Verde.

Acting Head of the Digital Connectivity, Economics and Society division at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France, with responsibility for connectivity infrastructure and services policy, cybersecurity, online safety, semiconductors and consumer policy.

She is also the Head of the OECD Digital Policy, Economics, and Measurement unit, with responsibility for the online and interactive Going Digital Toolkit, the OECD flagship publication the OECD Digital Economy Outlook, and the OECD Working Party on Digital Economics, Measurement and Analysis. She coordinated the Going Digital project, leading the development of the Going Digital Integrated Policy Framework and the Going Digital Toolkit.

Previous positions include Counsellor to the Directors of the OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate, 10 years as a trade economist in the OECD’s Trade and Agriculture Directorate, as well as roles in the Research Department of the US Federal Reserve Bank (international economics) and the private sector (Fidelity Investments, a US-based financial services company).

Computer Scientist from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). She holds a master’s degree in ethics in AI from the University of Campinas (Unicamp), and serves as an Executive Director of Da Hora Research Institute and a Columnist for MIT Techology Review Brasil.

Member of TikTok Brazil's Security Council and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE)’s Transparency Council, Researcher on ethics in AI, responsible technology and cyber defense at Cyberbrics CTS/FGV and Domain Specialist Thoughtworks.

Special reporter for Folha de S. Paulo and commentator for TV Cultura. She has been awarded the Maria Moors Cabot Prize at Columbia University and the International Press Freedom Award.

Professor at both Universidad de Chile and Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB) in Chile. He has been the principal investigator in several publicly funded projects, including the Kids Online Chile Project.

He has provided consultancy to prominent organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Save the Children, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Ministry of Education (Chile), among others.

Currently, he is leading research initiatives that address issues such as cyberbullying, children's well-being, computational thinking, and digital citizenship. His research focuses on the role of digital skills in fostering social inclusion, participation, civic engagement, and collaborative learning, with a particular emphasis on how these skills contribute to the development of competencies for the 21st century.

He is Full Professor at the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo (IFUSP) and coordinates the Center for Sustainable Amazon Studies (Ceas) at USP. He is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations (UN) and has developed his career working on environmental issues and global climate change.

He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo (Aciesp). He also serves as Vice President of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC). Additionally, he is the President of the Scientific Council of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam) and a board member of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), and the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), among other institutions. He is also a member of the National Council for Science and Technology (CNCT).

He has received several awards, including the Scientific Applause Mention from the Federal Senate for research in the Amazon (2004), the TWAS Award for Earth Sciences (2007), the title of Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit (2010), the Admiral Álvaro Alberto Award (2016), and in 2021, the Confap Science and Technology Award. He was included in the Clarivate Analytics list as one of the most cited researchers in the world over the past 10 years.

Executive Director of the Latin American Internet Association (ALAI) since 2020. He previously served as Vice President for Global Engagement at Internet Society (ISOC) and was also member and Chair of the Board of Trustees of ISOC. He was one of the founders of the Internet Addresses Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC) and CEO of LACNIC for 12 years.

He has also served in other positions, such as in the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), the Uruguayan delegation to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). He was Co-chair of the Executive Committee of NetMundial and Co-chair of Netmundial+10, as well as member of the steering committee of the IA Action Summit, France

Currently serves in several volunteer positions in organizations like: the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), CETIS, Global Cyber Alliance, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Internet Society-Uruguay (ISOC-UY).

Raúl has been recognized with national and regional awards for his outstanding contribution to the development of the Internet and for his work in the digital transformation both in Uruguay and Latin America: “Trayectoria” award presented by LACNIC in 2014, “Julio Granato” award in 2014 presented by the Uruguayan IT professionals Association and eCommerce Institute award in 2024.

Journalist. She is the coordinator of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) and Special Advisor to the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. President of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br).

Graduated in social communication from Faculdade Cásper Líbero (2003). Ph.D. student in the Communication Sciences Program at the School of Communication and Arts of the University of São Paulo (PPGCOM-ECA-USP).

Economic Affairs Officer and the Officer in Charge of the Digital Transformation Unit at the Division of Production, Productivity and Management at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Their main research areas are industrialization, innovation, production structure dynamics, digital transformation, trade and development, being responsible for different projects of the Division, related to dynamics of innovation and digital technologies.

Senior Economist and Head of the Data and Analytics Division at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). He joined ITU in 2020 after spending 15 years at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in various roles. As Head of Research and Benchmarking within the Forum’s Centre for the New Economy and Society, he oversaw several key benchmarking studies and initiatives, including the flagship Global Competitiveness Report and Global Gender Gap Report series, and led the development of a dozen composite indicators. He also headed the Centre’s competitiveness practice for Asia and the Pacific and was responsible for technical assistance and capacity-building activities. Mr. Geiger previously worked for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Caterpillar Inc., and co-founded Procab Studio, a Geneva-based IT company. A Swiss national, he holds a BA in Economics from the University of Geneva and an MA in Economics from the University of British Columbia. He was also a Fellow of WEF’s Global Leadership Programme.

Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.

He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in computer science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from UFMG. He has held visiting positions at several universities and research labs, including Harvard University, New York University (NYU), Boston University, the Santa Fe Institute, and HP Research Labs.

From 2011 to 2015, Virgilio served as National Secretary for Information Technology Policies under the Brazilian government. He was also chair of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) from 2011 to 2016 and chaired the NETmundial, held in São Paulo in 2014. Virgilio is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). He is also co-author of the book Algorithmic Institutionalism: The Changing Rules of Social and Political Life, recently published by Oxford University Press (OUP).

His research interests include digital governance, algorithmic systems, Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance, and the social and political impacts of digital technologies.

Graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, she is the Director of the Information Society Area of the Agency of Electronic Government and Information Society of Uruguay (Agesic) and member of the Executive Council of the Public Information Access Unit and the Regulatory and Control Unit of Personal Data, exercising delegated powers.

She is the national focal point for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) since 2011, when Uruguay joined the Alliance.

Among her responsibilities are the coordination of multidisciplinary work teams, strategic definition and leadership in projects related to Open Government, Digital Citizen Participation, Personal Data Protection, Access to Public Information, Digital Citizenship, unified government sites (Gub.uy), Digital Agenda and Information Society Observatory. She leads the development of the Uruguay Digital Agenda, as well as its monitoring and evaluation processes. She is part of the steering committee responsible for leading the processes of design, development and approval of the National Strategies for Artificial Intelligence and Data, carried out by Agesic with the participation of multiple stakeholders at the national level.