Agenda

Kathleen Ziemann is the Co-Lead of the GIZ Global Programme “Digital Transformation” an expert in AI, digital inclusion, and international digital policy. Her work focuses on shaping a human-centered and equitable digital transformation that strengthens social participation and expands digital opportunities for all. She is particularly committed to addressing inequalities in the digital sphere, especially through DPI and services for governments. A key focus of her work is advancing gender equality, reducing digital access barriers, and fostering the responsible development and use of digital technologies.

Carolina Anselmino is a digital transformation strategist with over 10 years of experience at the intersection of technology, policy, and international development.   
At ITU, she works on Digital Transformation of Education under Giga – the joint ITU-UNICEF initiative to connect every school to the Internet by 2030. 
Her current work focuses on supporting countries in translating school connectivity into meaningful, system-wide digital transformation in education; bridging the gap between policy principles and practical implementation. 
Carolina has worked across multilingual, multicultural environments, contributing to impactful initiatives within leading international organizations. She holds degrees from the Polytechnic of Milan and IE University of Madrid, and is passionate about fostering equity, connectivity, and innovation through digital solutions. 

Krisstina Rao is a digital policy specialist working across research, policy design and strategy for digital governance. She has led the DPI Map at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, steering a global research and policy team and co-developing measurement frameworks that translate principles of inclusion, privacy, competition and accountability into practical metrics for governments, funders and implementers. She furthered this work as a Working Group member of the Universal Safeguards for Inclusive DPI (2025-26). Her leadership builds on hands-on work with public agencies, development partners and civil society in India and Germany, where she worked across public health, inclusive education and technology adoption in developing contexts.

Balasubramanyam Pattath (Balu) is an Economist at the Global Development Network and the research lead for the Inclusivity Measurement Project at GDN, supported by CoDevelop. His work at GDN involves developing the digitalisation portfolio, having previously been programme manager for the 3-country pilot evaluating the socioeconomic impact of Digital Public Infrastructure and programme development officer contributing to securing the Open Transactions Networks programme funded by the Gates Foundation. Balu is also a final year Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the Graduate Institute, Geneva as well as an instructor at Smith College in Geneva and a Research Fellow at the International Institute of Migration and Development in Thiruvananthapuram. Balu's research focuses on migration, public finance, and household behaviour in developing countries and he has published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, ranging from Vaccine to the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. He has also worked at institutions such as the World Bank, NORRAG, and the Indian School of Business.