Agenda

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY

Nandini Chami is Deputy Director and Fellow – Research and Policy Engagement at IT for Change. She co-leads the organization’s work track on exploring feminist imaginaries of the governance of the digital economy, with specific attention to governance of the data commons and digital public goods. Nandini is one of the co-convenors of the DAWN-IT for Change global working group on feminist digital justice. She is actively engaged in IT for Change’s advocacy efforts at the intersections of techno-governance, human rightsand development justice, particularly its work in the Global Digital Justice Forum.  She has contributed to IT for Change’s expert inputs into the UN Trade and Development’s Data for Development Report (2024), the GPAI’s report on Diversity and Gender Equality in Artificial Intelligence (2024), and was a member of the writing committee of the Paris Peace Forum’s 21 member expert group on algorithmic governance (2021) and represented the organization on the Karnataka state government’s  committee on SDG-9 indicators (2019). She holds a Masters in Urban and Rural Community Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and has 15years of experience in development research. 

KEY PROJECTS 
• Co-lead, Research project on Ethical Governance of Digital Public Infrastructures (ongoing)
• Co-lead, Pathways to Gender Equality in the Platform Economy (2024)
• Co-lead, Research project on Re-wiring India’s Digitalizing Economy for Women’s Rights and Wellbeing (2020-24) supported by the European Union
• Co-lead, Research study on Platform Planet: Development in the Intelligence Economy, supported by IDRC Canada (2017-19).
• Co-lead, development of training modules for policymakers in the Asia-Pacific on e-government and gender equality, with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2016-18)
• Research Associate, a multi-country action research project Women-gov, funded by IDRC, in India, Brazil and South Africa that interrogated the possibilities of the network society, for bringing marginalised women to the centrestage of local governance processes (2012-2014)

PUBLICATIONS 
• Gurumurthy, A. and Chami, N. (2023). Charter of Feminist Demands from the Global South: A global Digital Compact for Gender Equality, FES. 
• Gurumurthy, A. , Chami, N. and Kumar, R. (2022). Recasting Land Tenure Rights in the Data Epoch: Insights from a Country Case Study of India, Case study for FIAN International.
• Gurumurthy, A., Chami, N, Bharthur, D. (2021). Platform Labour in Search of Value. ILO
• Chami, N., Bharati, R., Mittal, A., and Aggarwal, A. (2021). Data subjects in the Femtech Matrix: A feminist political economy analysis of the menstruapps market, DAWN and IT for Change. 
• Gurumurthy, A., Chami, N. (2021). Towards a Global Digital Constitutionalism: A Radical New Agenda for UN75, Development: Springerlink. 
• Gurumurthy, A., Chami, N. and Thomas, S. (2016) Digital India: Whose India? Whose Agenda?, Journal of Information Policy, Vol 6 (2016), pp 371-402,
• Gurumurthy, A and Chami, N. (2016) Internet governance as 'ideology in practice’: India's 'Free Basics' controversy, Internet Policy Review, DOI: 10.14763/2016.3.431 
• Gurumurthy,A. and Chami, N. (2016), E-government for women’s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCAP. 
• Gurumurthy, A and Chami, N. (2015). 'ICTs and political participation'. In: Peng Hwa Ang and Robin Mansell. ed.  The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society. UK: Wiley Blackwell. 
• Gurumurthy, A, and Chami, N. (2014). New readings of the tea cup: revisiting gender justice in the information society. Backgrounder for the Post-2015 Women’s Coalition. 
• Gurumurthy, A. and Chami, N. (2014). Gender Equality in the Information Society: A review of current literature and recommendations for policy and practice, UK: BRIDGE.
• Chami, N. (2013). 'Activism with a new Face(Book)? Exploring the potential of social media for political activism'. In: Yojana Vol 57, pp.57-60 

POLITICAL CAREER
2023 – 2025 Member of Parliament Buriram Province
2024 –Present Secretary-General Bhumjaithai Party
Present Member of Parliament (Party-list) House of Representatives, Thailand
Present Minister of Digital Economy and Society Government of Thailand

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
▸ National Digital Policy Development — Formulating strategies to strengthen Thailand's digital infrastructure and international competitiveness.
▸ Cybersecurity & Data Protection — Establishing legal and technical frameworks to safeguard national digital assets and citizens' privacy.
▸ Digital Economy Promotion — Supporting innovation ecosystems, technology startups, and e-commerce to drive sustainable economic growth.
▸ ICT Infrastructure Expansion — Ensuring equitable access to broadband and digital services for all citizens nationwide.
▸ Public Sector Digital Transformation — Implementing e-Government initiatives to improve administrative efficiency and governmental transparency.
▸ International Cooperation — Representing the Kingdom of Thailand in bilateral and multilateral forums on digital economy and emerging technologies

Honourable Tatenda Annastacia Mavetera has served as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services since 2023.  

She is an elected Member of Zimbabwe’s Parliament for Chikomba West Constituency. At the continental level, Honourable Tatenda Annastacia Mavetera currently serves as the President of the Smart Africa Council of Ministers in Charge of ICT, following her election at the 8th Council Meeting on 24 March 2026, providing continental leadership on digital transformation and policy coordination. In addition, she is one of only seven African Ministers appointed to the inaugural Smart Africa Artificial Intelligence Council, a high-level ministerial body established by Smart Africa in collaboration with the African Union and the International Telecommunication Union to guide Africa’s approach to AI policy, governance, ethics, and innovation. 

Upon her appointment to Zimbabwe’s Cabinet, she assumed the Chairmanship of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU), a position she holds until March 2026, providing continental leadership on postal sector modernisation and digital transformation. 

Hon. Mavetera is widely recognised as a leading champion of youth and women empowerment, having successfully initiated the Youth Caucus in Zimbabwe’s 9th Parliament. 

She has overseen the completion of Zimbabwe’s National AI Strategy, making Zimbabwe one of 17 African countries with such a framework. She is leading the finalisation of the national cybersecurity strategy and child online safety policy. She 
has also guided amendments to the Postal and Telecommunications Act to reflect developments in the sector. She has presided over multiple free digital skills training programs, including the Digital Skills Ambassadors Program, the 1.5 Million Coders Program, and the Cybersecurity Training Program, reaching a huge number of Zimbabweans in the initial phase. 

Hon. Mavetera has received numerous awards recognizing her leadership and advocacy, including the ICDL Africa Recognition Award (2024), the Zimbabwe Achievers Award (2025), for advancing women and youth leadership, the Youth 
Champion Award at the Eminence Business Awards (2024), inclusion among Zimbabwe’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential Young Business Leaders (2024) by the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Marketing Champion Leadership Award (MAZ, 
2024), and recognition as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Zimbabwe (ICDZ). 

She holds an Honours Degree in Management and Marketing, and a Master’s in Strategic Marketing, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Leadership at Midlands State University. Hon. Mavetera brings extensive experience in the ICT sector, having dedicated over a decade to advancing digital transformation, innovation, and inclusive technology in Zimbabwe.
 
 

Gatis Ozols is a Deputy State Secretary for Digital Transformation and a Government CIO at the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia. He is responsible for national and government digital transformation policy, strategy development, and steering. His responsibilities include Information society policy and Digital identity, EU Digital iD Wallet, Data and public service governance, Government ICT governance, and AI policy. Additionally, Mr. Ozols is a Member of the EU AI Board.

Dr.Ohoud is an aspiring Emirati who has scripted her success story with relentless determination and commitment towards promoting the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Industry in UAE. The Government at the “UAE Pioneers Award” has recognized her pioneering role and she continues to inspire success.

She holds many academic qualifications to her credit, a bachelor’s degree of Software Engineering (Information Technology, 2005), a Master's of Business Administration (2011), a Doctorate degree of Business Administration (2021) and lately a second Masters of Strategic and Security Studies (2022).

Her experience and expertise in the ICT industry has earned her many keynote speaking and proactive panelist opportunities on global platforms such as UN.

Currently, she is leading the team of Department of digital Ajman as their Director General. She is also serving as a member in many high esteemed committees across the UAE such as: a member of Ajman Executive Council, a member of the Artificial Intelligence and Block Chain Council of UAE, a member of the National Cybersecurity Council, a member of the Advisory Board of the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of Sharjah, and a member of the Board of Ajman University Innovation Center. In addition to the membership of the Board of Directors of Air Arabia”. Her career path is dotted with remarkable achievements and milestones in all the government positions she has served.

A strong believer in the spirit of teamwork, her leadership qualities are reflected in her impeccable work ethics and empowered team that grows with her vision. Her exceptional management and strategic planning abilities has resulted in UAE being represented in local, regional and international forums of the ICT industry. The exemplary achievements of the Ajman Digital government are ideal case studies presented on such platforms to showcase the remarkable accomplishments.

Her principle of life and work “Realize the ambitions of our visionary leaders, determination of a will for a great nation rooted in the wisdom of our culture and traditions of our beloved country, WE, Emiratis make success a way of life, wherever we go, whatever we pursue”

Thibaut Kleiner is Director at the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) of the European Commission, in charge of future network technologies -including 5G and 6G, cloud computing, software, open source, blockchain, Internet governance, Web 4.0, and digitalisation of mobility, energy and agriculture. 

Thibaut Kleiner started his European Commission career in 2001 in the area of competition policy, where he worked until 2011. Since then, he has been mostly active in the digital field, covering a wide range of areas - from cybersecurity, data, and research strategy to international affairs - as Head of Unit and subsequently Director in DG Connect. He served as adviser in Vice-President Kroes’ Cabinet, and as Deputy Head of Cabinet under Commissioner Oettinger. An economist by training with a Master’s degree from HEC Paris and a PhD from the London School of Economics, he is also a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe. 

Sri Atul Sinha is a distinguished officer of the Indian Telecommunications Service (1991 batch), with over 30 years of exemplary experience spanning all major facets of the telecommunications and ICT sector. Renowned for his strategic vision and hands-on leadership, Mr. Sinha has served in pivotal roles within the Department of Telecommunications, the National Communications Academy, and on deputation to the Government of Bihar. His tenure in Bihar included a remarkable transformation of the state PSU, BELTRON, as well as a significant upliftment of technical education and e-Governance infrastructure.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Sinha conceptualized and implemented pioneering solutions such as the Covid-19 Quarantine Alert System (CQAS) and the Bulk Migrant Tracking System (BMTS), which became vital tools supporting State Governments in managing the crisis.

He is widely credited with planning and executing several state-of-the-art e-Governance projects, including the creation of a City Wi-Fi network with the world’s longest continuous stretch of 20 km. His deep grassroots experience and citizen-centric approach have left a lasting mark on public digital services.

Currently serving in a dual role as Director General, National Communications Academy and Head of the Business Transformation Unit in the Ministry of Communications, Mr. Sinha is the principal architect of India’s forward-looking digital policies. As the visionary force behind India’s Samriddh Gram Phygital Village project, he pioneered the seamless integration of broadband connectivity, digital services and grassroots innovation to empower rural communities. His exceptional leadership has culminated in the project being honored as a WSIS 2026 Champion project.