Agenda

Philip Lee is General Secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and Editor of its journal Media Development. His publications include Communication for All: New World Information and Communication Order (1985); The Democratization of Communication (ed.) (1995); Many Voices, One Vision: The Right to Communicate in Practice (ed.) (2004); Public Memory, Public Media, and the Politics of Justice (ed. with Pradip N. Thomas) (2012); Expanding Shrinking Communication Spaces (ed. with Lorenzo Vargas) (2020), and Communicating Climate Justice (ed. with Lorenzo Vargas) (2021).

Ila Schoop Rutten is the Information Integrity Lead at the CDAC Network. She facilitates a monthly online Community of Practice, bringing together representatives from CDAC’s diverse members—including UN agencies, media development organizations, and humanitarian NGOs/INGOs—to exchange insights, discuss emerging developments, and explore the latest research and case studies on harmful information in crisis settings. Ila is also the host of CDAC's upcoming podcast, set to launch in Spring 2025, which will focus on humanitarian responses to harmful information. As misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech increasingly influence communication ecosystems, especially in crisis situations, Ila works closely with CDAC’s members to investigate and develop training programs and response frameworks.

Anriette Esterhuysen was the chair of the UN Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Committee from 2020 to 2021. From 2000 to 2017 she was executive director of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and together with many other APC members staff has been active in the World Summit on the Information Society process since its inception. She continues to work with APC in a consultancy capacity and convenes the African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG). She was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2013 for her work with APC to extend internet connectivity in Africa and received the EFF Pioneer Award in 2014. She is a member of the South African Tertiary Education Network (TENET), the advisory board of the Digital Empowerment Foundation and the executive committee of the IGF Support Association.

Lorenzo Vargas is a communication rights and community media specialist. He coordinates WACC’s Communication for Social Change Program, which supports grassroots sustainable development initiatives in the Global South. He holds degrees in international development and communication from York University and McGill University and is pursuing a PhD in Communication at Toronto Metropolitan University where he is engaged in research on the intersection between climate justice and communication rights in the Amazon region of South America. Canada Graduate Scholar 2022-2025. International Development Research Center (IDRC) Doctoral Research Award 2024-2025.