Deemah AlYahya

Secretary-General, Digital Cooperation Organization

Deemah AlYahya is a digital economy expert and a tech diplomat who serves as the Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO).

The DCO is the world’s first standalone intergovernmental global organization focusing on accelerating digital transformation and advancing the digital economy, while empowering women and youth.

As the Secretary-General, AlYahya is an advisor, connecting heads of state, government ministers, and private sector digital economy leaders together. She facilitates multilateral, multistakeholder digital cooperation to bridge the gap, bringing all digital economy key stakeholders to co-design high-impact initiatives to ensure every country, business, and person has a fair opportunity to prosper in an inclusive and sustainable digital economy.

AlYahya is an Edison Alliance champion for digital inclusion, advocating for equitable access to technology for all. As a Commissioner with the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, she is committed to fostering digital cooperation to ensure universal connectivity and bridge the digital divide.

Dr. Constantinos Kombos

Minister of Foreign Affairs (Cyprus)

Dr. Constantinos Kombos was born in 1976 in Lemesos. He has studied Law and holds a postgraduate degree in EU Law (LLM University of Cambridge) as well as a PhD in European Constitutional Law (PhD University of Hull). He was elected at the Department of Law of the University of Cyprus in 2006, of which he is a founding member. He has served as chairman of the Law Department and as member of the Senate. He has published 6 books and numerous articles and chapters in scientific magazines and collective volumes. Part of his work has been translated and published in 6 languages. He has also has participated and delivered speeches in numerous international conferences.

He was appointed member of the Board of Judges by the Supreme Court. On behalf of the Republic of Cyprus he appeared before the Court of Justice of the European Union and has made recommendations to the House of Representatives on issues of EU Law and the Cyprus Constitution.

He was appointed member of the Cyprus Problem negotiating team in 2014 and has participated in all stages and levels of the negotiation process, Geneva I, Crans-Montana, Geneva II.

H.E. Munir Akram

Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations

H.E. Munir Akram assumed his position as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on 01 November 2019. He was subsequently elected the seventy-sixth President of the Economic and Social Council on 23 July 2020.

Ambassador Akram previously served as Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York for six years between 2002 and 2008, after serving as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva for seven years from 1995 to 2002.

During his first term at the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram served twice as President of the Security Council in May 2003 and in May 2004; President of the Economic and Social Council in 2005; Chairman of the Group of 77 and China (developing countries) in 2007, and Facilitator on UN Administrative Reform in 2006.

Among the positions he held in various intergovernmental organizations were: Member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament; Chairman of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body; President of the Conference on Disarmament (June 1996).

Between 1988 and 1992, Munir Akram was Pakistan’s Ambassador to the European Council, Belgium and Luxemburg. Ambassador Akram joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1967, holding various positions in the Foreign Ministry as Additional Foreign Secretary and Director-General dealing with the United Nations.

Abdallah Al Dardari

UN Assistant Secretary General

UNDP Assistant Administrator

Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States

On 14 March 2023, the UN Secretary General appointed Abdallah Al Dardari of Syria as the UN Assistant Secretary General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States.

Al Dardari served as UNDP Resident Representative in Afghanistan since 2019, when joining from the World Bank, where he was a Senior Adviser.

He started his professional career in 1986 as an international affairs writer and bureau chief of the pan – Arab newspaper “Al Hayat” and then became the Economist at the London office of the League of Arab States.

From 1994 to 1997, he served as Programme Officer in UNDP Syria country office and then joined the Arab Trade Financing Programme/Arab Monetary Fund group as Chief of the Trade Promotion section.

He was appointed in 2003 as Chairman of the State Planning Commission in Syria, a function he held until 2005, when he became Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.

He further served as Chief Economist with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in 2011 and later, Deputy Executive Secretary, where he led the efforts for understanding conflict dynamics in the Arab region.

Eng. Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh

Vice Governor of Shared Services, Digital Government Authority

Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh, built up throughout his 20 years of experience a vast amount of expertise in Change management, Organizational Development, Financial Management, Resource Management, and various technological specializations.

Currently, he serves as the Vice Governor of the Shared Services Sector in the Digital Government Authority since November 2021. In addition, he is a Board of Trustees Member of the King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries and the official and supervisor of the Digital Government Authority Transformation Program. Moreover, he serves as a member of many committees and joint programs inside and outside the Communications and Information Technology System.

Anna Ekeledo

Executive Director of AfriLabs

Anna Ekeledo is the Executive Director of AfriLabs, a Pan-African network organization of over 500 technology and innovation hubs spread across more than 225 cities in 53 African countries and the diaspora. She leads the AfriLabs community to achieve its vision of a thriving innovation economy in Africa and heads a pan-African team to develop initiatives and build multi-stakeholder partnerships that support African innovation hubs and other stakeholders in raising high-potential entrepreneurs that unlock Africa’s vast potential and stimulate economic growth and social development in Africa.
In addition to her role at AfriLabs, Anna is the founder of Timbuktoo, an initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Timbuktoo aims to address critical gaps and work with African governments, investors, corporates, and universities to support the African startup ecosystem¹.
Anna is an international speaker, trainer, innovation ecosystem builder, and advisor. She holds advisory roles as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Technology Policy, a member of the NESG Strategic Group on Mining and Manufacturing, and a judge and mentor for the Cartier Women’s Initiative, a global program that supports women entrepreneurs.

Josephine Mukesha

Director General, National Identification Agency (Rwanda)

MUKESHA Josephine is the Director General at the National Identification Agency (NIDA), one of the agencies under the Ministry of ICT and Innovation in charge of Identification and Population Registration. Ms. MUKESHA holds a master’s degree in information technology from Carnegie Mellon University. With over 15 years of expertise in Database Management, Information Systems, Networking, Project management, and People management, she has effectively spearheaded the modernization of Rwanda’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System, achieving complete digitalization of the 9 vital events. Currently, she is leading the implementation of Rwanda’s Single Digital Identity project for an inclusive identity proofing across both public and private sectors. Her experience, technical skills, and strategic vision have enabled the National Identification Agency to deliver innovative solutions that advance Rwanda’s development goals.

Amir Dossal

President & CEO, Global Partnerships Forum

Amir Dossal is President & CEO of the Global Partnerships Forum – a not-for-profit knowledge platform providing changemakers with tools to build innovative partnerships for the SDGs.

Amir is co-founder of the Pearl Initiative, and a founding Commissioner of the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. Amir co-founded the Blockchain Commission for Sustainable Development and serves as Executive Vice Chair. He co-founded the Coalition for Better Health at Lower Cost with the Stetson Family Office to focus on prevention of chronic diseases. Amir has served as a Distinguished Fellow with the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Health and Healthcare.

Amir works globally across the economic and social spectrum.  He is an accomplished diplomat, with a deep understanding of international affairs and extensive experience in global development and humanitarian issues, including managing complex technical assistance projects in emerging markets.  By nature, a social entrepreneur and innovator, his work is an endeavor to bond the power of the private sector, governments, and civil society, in order to better serve the greater good.  These include initiatives on women’s empowerment, engaging media in sustainable development, and innovative use of technology for positive social change.  Amir is also a champion for the UN’s Safe Ground Campaign.

Amir is a 25-year veteran of the United Nations and served as Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships until September 2010, which he established in 1998 to manage the $1 billion gift by media mogul Ted Turner. During his tenure at the UN, Amir founded several new initiatives.

Prof. Akiko Yamanaka

Special Adviser to the President of ERIA

Professor Akiko Yamanaka has been active in both academia and the political arena. She currently serves as the Special Adviser to the President of ERIA and President of the International Tsunami Disaster Prevention Society. As an academic, she has been a By-fellow of Churchill College and a Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Cambridge University, and a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Hokkaido University as well as at the United Nations University. She has also been a Senior Visiting Researcher at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, Harvard University and at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the USA. In the political arena, she has served as Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Member of the House of Representatives, Director of the Committee of Foreign Affairs and Director General of the Women’s Bureau of LDP. She also served as a Special Ambassador for Peace building. Her areas of expertise include Human Security, Preventive Diplomacy and International Negotiation and Strategic Studies. She has written and lectured extensively. She has published many books including ‘Think, or Sink: Preventive State Theory’, ‘Toward the Future: Human Security’, The 23 Most Fabulous Women in the World’. She was awarded the OISCA prize for ‘Contribution to Asia’ and International Soroptimist Japan’s prize for her contributions to international understanding. She is currently working on Human Security especially water security, food security and energy security as well as Preventive Diplomacy on Natural Disaster Prevention/Mitigation and Pandemics Prevention/Preparation in addition to Human Induced Disasters such as war and conflict Prevention.

Alaa Abdulaal

Chief of Digital Economy Foresight, Digital Cooperation Organization

Alaa Abdulaal is the Chief of the Digital Economy Foresight at the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), a multilateral organization established in 2020 to work towards a world in which every country, business and person has a fair opportunity to prosper in the global digital economy.

At the DCO, Alaa harnesses her international digital economy, strategy, digital transformation and international cooperation experience to help create better technology policies for member states and beyond. She spearheads research that informs government technology policy development, assesses the effectiveness of government technology systems, and supports public and private sector initiatives that raise digital and technology literacy. She is also a tireless advocate of collaboration among governments, the private sector and civil society entities to enable the development and implementation of policies that help emerging technology companies solve the problems of tomorrow.

Before joining the DCO, Alaa served as the Director of IT Strategy for the Ministry of Transport and Logistics of Saudi Arabia. She also worked in several technical and executive capacities at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as Database Unit Leader, Technical Operation Strategist, and Strategic Planning and Development Manager. She began her career as a Database Administrator of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and has also worked in a private technology company in Toronto, Canada.

Dima Al-Khatib

Director, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation

Dima Al-Khatib is the Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. She has more than 27 years of leadership, management, and sustainable development experience in several duty stations. Prior to her current function, she served as the UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova (2019-2023), Programme and Policy Coordinator at the UNDP Regional Hub in Amman (2018-2019), UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kuwait (2013-2018), UNDP Deputy Country Director in Libya (2012-2013), UNDP Headquarters (2004-2012) as Regional Programme Advisor with the Regional Bureau for Arab States, preceded by her function as Human Resources Manager with the Talent Management Group of the Office of Human Resources and as Sustainable Energy Specialist with the Bureau for Development Policy.

Matis Pellerin

Vice President, Global Government Affairs, Oracle Corporation

Matis Pellerin is Vice President for Global Government Affairs at Oracle Corporation, an American based multinational company providing cloud services, software and hardware solutions in over 140 countries worldwide.

He leads the Oracle global team dedicated to working with governments on policy issues relevant for Oracle business, including digital sovereignty, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Data and Privacy. He is based in Paris.

Alexandre Pinho

Global Lead for the United Nations and International Development Sector at Microsoft

Alexandre Pinho is the Global Lead for the United Nations and International Development Sector at Microsoft, leading digital empowerment of UN organizations and the international development sector. He focuses on empowering UN organizations through digital capabilities and AI, driving digital development initiatives in lower-income countries, and spearheading strategic philanthropic partnerships to address pressing societal challenges. With a distinguished career in management consulting and a focus on public health and international development, Alexandre is committed to creating a positive global impact.

Hassan Nasser

Chief of the Cabinet of the Council, Digital Cooperation Organization

Hassan Nasser currently serves as the Chief of the Cabinet at the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO). DCO is a global intergovernmental organization founded in 2020 that aims to enable digital prosperity for all by accelerating the inclusive and sustainable growth of the digital economy. To date the organization brings together 16 Member States across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

As the Chief of Cabinet, Hassan is leading the development of the institutional relations between the General Secretariat and the DCO Member States and Strategic Partners. He also led the strategic dialogue with the United Nation and key stakeholders involved int eh Global Digital Compact.

Hassan is a seasoned professional with over two decades of global and regional leadership experience within Fortune 500 companies, public sectors, and international organizations, His responsible leadership, negotiation skills and ability to communicate compellingly have been pivotal in navigating complex issues, resulting in strong public-private collaborations.