Agenda

Paola is a recognised expert in AI and digital technology policy, with over a decade of experience delivering strategic advisory and leading high-impact initiatives across the private sector, public institutions, and multilateral organisations. Her work has directly shaped national and international digital agendas, influencing regulation and capacity building. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford and has been appointed to two prestigious UNESCO networks: AI Experts Without Borders and Women for Ethical AI. Her academic journey includes serving as AI Ethics Fellow at Globethics. Paola’s passion for ethical AI practices favoring minorities has earned her recognition as a sought-after keynote speaker at global conferences.

His Excellency Professor Muhammadou M.O. Kah is the Ambassador & Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the UN Office at Geneva, World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other offices in Geneva. He currently Chairs the Africa Group of Ambassadors at Geneva (April 2021-June 2021) and is the Vice Chair for UNCTAD's Commission on Science and Technology Development's 25th session and a member of the Advisory Board of the UNCTAD TDB Advisory Body (June 2021-July 2022). Ambassador Prof. Kah is also one of three Ambassadors designated as Friends of the Chair of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) General Assembly. 

Prior to his appointment in Geneva, Professor Kah served as the Founding Chairman of Zenith Bank, The Gambia, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Africa Consulting & Trading Group (ACT), Dakar, Senegal and as the first Gambian-born third Vice Chancellor of The University of The Gambia (UTG) from 2009- 2015 and recently appointed as a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Prior to becoming UTG's Vice Chancellor/Rector in 2009, Professor Muhammadou M.O. Kah spent 4 years in Nigeria as the Founding Dean of the School of Information Technology and Communications at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) where he doubled for a year as Interim Dean of the School of Business & Entrepreneurship. Professor Kah was appointed as Vice President of Academic Affairs & Provost (DVC) and Professor of Information Technology & Computing at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Adamawa State (2017-2020). He also served as Vice Rector for Technology & Innovation; Professor and Founding Dean of the School of Information Technology & Engineering at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan (2015-2017). He served at the Board of Trustees and Governing councils of the American University of Nigeria and the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria. 

Professor Kah has held teaching and leadership positions in the USA, Africa, the Middle East (Gulf countries) and Eastern Europe (Caucuses). A regular contributor to the “Africa Module" in the Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) at Cambridge Judge Business School, he was appointed as an honorary Fellow of the Judge Business School and the Digital Innovation Centre, University of Cambridge (2016-2017). Professor Kah is passionate about advancing and strengthening computing, engineering, science, and leading strategy & innovation in organizations. To complement that he also provides thought leadership in information technologies & computing education in higher education whilst also serving as a member of international panels such as the Malabo Montpellier Panel, the Euro Science Forum 2018, Africa Europe Foundation, amongst others.

Rachel Adams, PhD, is the Founding CEO of the Global Centre on AI Governance. She is the author of The New Empire of AI: The Future of Global Inequality (Polity Press, 2024). She is a Senior Research Associate of the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, and an Honorary Research Fellow of The Ethics Lab at the University of Cape Town. She holds degrees in English Literature, International Human Rights Law and Philosophy. Her PhD was published as a book: Transparency: New Trajectories in Law (Routledge, 2020). 

Rachel previously served as the Director of AI and Global Programmes at Research ICT Africa. Before joining RIA, she spent five years at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa, where she led various projects on AI in Africa and was the lead author of the book Human Rights and the Fourth Industrial Revolution in South Africa (HSRC Press, 2021). Prior to her appointment at the HSRC, Rachel was the Senior Researcher for Civil and Political Rights at the South African Human Rights Commission. 

Rachel serves on numerous international expert committees including for UNESCO, the UN, UNDP, WEF, the Gates Foundation and the Global Partnership on AI.

Primo Amrein is the AI National Skills Director for Switzerland at Microsoft Philanthropies. In the past 19 years at Microsoft, Primo had different roles in Sales & Marketing,  Team Leadership and Cloud Program Management. He previously worked for a strategy / management consultancy and a technology start-up. He holds a Technology Management Master of University St.Gallen and an international CEMS Certificate.

Nathchaya currently serves as the senior advisor to the government of Thailand on emerging digital policies and strategies to drive Thai economy and society forward. She pioneered some digital policies including Cloud First Policy, digital infrastructure, renewable energy security, platform and AI governance.

She established Southeast Asia’s first data center industry and has been a digital inclusion and responsible AI advocate as a visiting professor in good governance and sustainable business at universities globally. 

Previously she served a trusted policy advisors to many organization such as Amazon, the World Bank, US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington DC. She has a master degree in Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, USA.