Agenda

Stephen Bereaux is the Deputy to the Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau since 7 March 2020.

Mr. Bereaux is an experienced regulator, with more than 20 years of executive and senior management experience in regulatory bodies in the Caribbean region. Prior to joining ITU, Mr Bereaux was Chief Executive Officer of the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), Bahamas which regulates the ICT and Electricity sectors, advises the Government on policies relating to those sectors, and represents The Bahamas at international sector related organisations such as the ITU.

Prior to joining URCA in 2010, Mr. Bereaux served in senior management roles at the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) from 2004. Before becoming a Regulator, Mr. Bereaux, an Attorney by profession since 1996, practiced law at multinational firms based in London and Hong Kong, specialising in Information Technology and Telecommunications Law.

Professor Raymond Saner is Titular professor at Basle University (Economics Department) and teaches at Lüneburg University, Germany  (environmental sciences). He is reviewer and partner of research projects and co-founder of CSEND, a Geneva based NGRDO with ECOSOC accreditation and consultative status (since 1993).

Since January 2020, Sylvia Poll is the Head of the Digital Society Division in the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This Division focuses on digital inclusion, ICT applications and digital innovation ecosystems. Before that, she was for five years the Head of the ITU Project Support Division.

Sylvia Poll was the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland from 2010 to 2014, where she was the main focal point for Costa Rica, on sport for development and peace, as well as ITU, WIPO, WHO and IOM. Prior to this position, she was the Latin America Regional Manager of Executive Programs at the INCAE Business School and a manager at a Costa Rican communications company.

Ms. Poll was also an accomplished elite swimmer. She represented Costa Rica in two Olympic Games, Seoul, Korea 1988 and Barcelona, Spain, 1992. She won a silver medal, the first Olympic medal ever at that time, for Costa Rica and Central America, in addition to winning over 600 medals at national, regional and world swimming competitions. She was chosen the Best Athlete in Latin America two years in a row, in 1988 and 1989. Since 2010 she is a Member of the international organization “Peace and Sport”, as one of their “Champions of Peace”, a special Sport Ambassador, to help build sustainable peace through sport. She has also written on sport in different media outlets and worked as an expert swimming commentator during the broadcasting of the recent Rio Olympic Games 2016. Ms. Poll holds a Master in Business Administration and an Executive Master in International Negotiations and Policy Making.

Dr. Salma Abbasi is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of the eWorldwide Group, an international social enterprise focusing on innovation, sustainable development and security, working with Governments and Development agencies to achieve the SDGs. 

A former Senior Vice President, Chief Quality Officer for Lucent Technologies, she has over 35 years’ experience in the field of technology, innovation and customer centric design. Dr. Abbasi is a graduate of Civil Engineering (BSc), Electrical Engineering (MSc) and a PhD in Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Development. This diverse engineering and technology background has given Dr. Abbasi a unique foundation to innovatively resolve complex problems at both the strategic and tactical levels, in the Public and Private Sectors.

In addition, Dr Abbasi is activity engaged as an Advisory Board member for several international organizations, focusing in the space of innovation, development, education and cyber resilience.

She is also a member of a series of UN and IEEE committees, contributing to the development of new policies, industry standards and guidelines in the broader context of online safety, internet addiction from social media, gaming and gambling and ethical AI for humanity and social good.

Martin Frolander – Founder & CEO of Junoverse.

Martin Frolander is an international citizen with +20 years of business experience ranging from founder of multiple companies, top leadership positions in multinational companies as well as advisor to international Boards and CEO´s.

Martin has a proven track record of building and scaling successful companies in the Health-, Age- and EdTech industry. He is the Founder and CEO of Junoverse, a company with a mission to reimagine the future of better longevity through the most comprehensive retirement platform ever built.

Martin is Swedish by birth, but grew up in Mozambique. He is also a Humanitarian engaged in non for profit organisations and an optimistic force for good.

Experienced international relations specialist with a demonstrated 15+ years history of working with the UN system for the governments and intergovernmental organizations in New York, Belgrade and Geneva. Skilled in policy making, negotiations, strategic planning, event management, and creative communications. International civil servant with Master of Law focused on ICT policy making, and BA in International Studies and Mathematics, focused on understanding global economy, international politics, and multilateral relations within the UN system. Dedicated to promoting international sustainable cooperation, meaningful use of technology, advancing UN goals and ITU’s objective to connect the world. Since 2014, coordinating the World Summit on the Information Society. 

Sophie is an Associate Director at the HLG Geneva office. She holds a dual degree Master of International Affairs from the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, New York. At HLG she focuses on clients active in global health policy, aging and energy. Previously, Sophie consulted with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), mapping the clean cooking sector in Uganda and reforming tendering and grants allocations, and with the Resource Mobilization Division at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. At ICRC, Sophie contributed to a project aiming at boosting the fundraising potential of the whole Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as part of the ‘Grand Bargain,’ an initiative by the UN Secretary-General to address the humanitarian financing gap. Originally from France, Sophie holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Geneva and speaks French, English and German.

Narjes is a Junior Project Officer at the WSIS team in ITU, where she is responsible for the Youth Track and coordinating various prizes, including the Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize 2023. Coming from a legal background and having a keen interest in technology and innovation, she initiated the WSIS x Generation Connect Youth Prize, which encourages international dialogue about technology and the inclusivity of the youth. She graduated with a Bachelor of Law from the University of Geneva and is currently pursuing a double LLM in International Business Law and French and European Law at Sorbonne Law School and Queen Mary University of London.

Sofia Quadrini is an international relations student at the University of Geneva. She is also co-president of Popaedia International, an international student association that aims to connect youth worldwide, give them access to global opportunities, and build a network of cross-cultural collaborations.

Lucille Binninger is a Global Health Master student at the University of Geneva. She has an academic background in neuroscience research, and is now particularly interested in the intricacies of global governance, policy making and diplomacy in the field of health. She therefore decided to join student associations such as Popaedia International as Project Officer to promote youth engagement in global discussions.