Agenda

Ambassador Michele Cervone d'Urso took up the post of Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations and other organisations on 16 November 2024. Ambassador Cervone d’Urso is a career EU diplomat from the European External Action Service with 30 years year experience in diplomacy, international cooperation, peace building and developing partnerships. 

Ambassador Cervone d’Urso has served in various capacities, including as EU Ambassador for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar from 2016 to 2020; EU Special Envoy and Ambassador for Somalia and been extensively involved on Somalia's political transition from 2012 to 2016 and Ambassador for Yemen between 2008 to 2012 as the first European Union Ambassador to Yemen, where he was significantly engaged in the political settlement in Yemen, having his role recognised with the award of the “unity” medal. He previously held positions at the European Commission on Africa and supporting countries crisis response and recovery and served at the EU Delegation in Namibia. 

Immediately before joining the EU Delegation to the UN and other international organisations, he was Head for International Cooperation and Financing Instruments at the European External Action Service leading the team that has the strategic oversight over EU cooperation with partner countries and the response to global challenges. Michele Cervone d’Urso holds an MA (Hons) in Economics and international relations from St Andrews University and a post-graduate Master’s degree in the Economics of the European Union from Exeter University in the United Kingdom. 

H.E. Dr. Nallis Kry is currently serving as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Cambodia, where she leads initiatives on women’s economic empowerment and digital transformation. With extensive experience in both government and academia, H.E. Dr. Nallis previously served as Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovarion, and spent over seven years as Dean and Lecturer at university. Her expertise spans leadership, policy development, and innovation, with a strong focus on advancing women’s participation in economic and technological sect

Neema Lugangira is a globally recognized leader in digital governance, public policy, food systems, nutrition, and development finance, with over 20 years of experience advancing inclusive digital transformation, democratic governance, health systems, nutrition and food security, and human capital development across Africa and internationally.

She serves as Chair of the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG), which she founded in 2022 to strengthen parliamentary leadership on Internet governance and digital policy across Africa.

Neema is internationally recognized for her leadership in global digital cooperation, Internet governance, and emerging technology policy. In 2026, she was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General to serve on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG), having previously served on the MAG in 2023 and 2024. She also serves on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), representing APNIG in global Internet governance discussions.

She has played a leading role in shaping global and continental digital governance frameworks, including serving as Co-Rapporteur of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Resolution on Artificial Intelligence, and providing expert contributions to the development of the Association of African Election Authorities Guidelines on the Use of Digital Tools and Social Media in Elections in Africa, as well as UNESCO’s Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms. She also initiated the establishment of a permanent High-Level Parliamentary Track within the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum and was appointed a WSIS Gender Trendsetter since 2022. 

As a Member of Parliament in Tanzania (2020–2025), Neema championed major digital governance reforms, including advancing data governance, artificial intelligence policy, online safety, digital inclusion, affordable connectivity, and protections against technology-facilitated gender-based violence in elections. She also mobilized strategic international partnerships for Tanzania’s digital transformation agenda, including support for the national school connectivity mapping initiative under UNICEF GIGA. Through her strategic leadership and international engagement initiatives, she successfully facilitated Tanzania’s hosting of major continental and global digital policy platforms, including the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) 2023 and the Africa WSIS Annual Review Meeting 2024, significantly elevating Tanzania’s visibility and positioning within global digital governance discussions.

Neema is also the Founder of Omuka Hub, a grassroots digital inclusion and governance organization working to bridge the rural digital divide in Tanzania. Under her leadership, Omuka Hub received international recognition, including an award from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for advancing digital inclusion and digital literacy among older persons and underserved communities. Alongside her other leadership responsibilities, she serves as Strategic Advisor for Africa at Women Political Leaders (WPL), where she leads WPL’s Africa portfolio and flagship initiative, FEM AI Leaders Africa, advancing women’s political leadership and influence in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and digital policy across the continent.

Melissa Muñoz is the Managing Director of the Center for Public Intelligence (CPI), where she is driving the development of a Public AI Stack for Latin America. She holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Oxford. She previously served as Director of Innovation at OGTIC and Coordinator of the Innovation Cabinet of the Dominican Republic, where she led the creation of the region’s first National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in Central America and the Caribbean, and oversaw the implementation of the National Innovation Policy, managing 22 high-impact projects. With a Master’s degree in GovTech and a background in political science, public administration, and diplomacy, Melissa focuses her work on leveraging technology to transform governance and strengthen institutions. She is also a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Board, where she advises on global strategies for AI and digital inclusion

Professor Salma Abbasi is an internationally recognised senior executive, entrepreneur, and Professor of Ethical AI with more than 40 years of experience leading multinational organisations across the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. She has built a distinguished career driving innovation, digital transformation, sustainable development, and organisational growth, while delivering measurable economic and social impact across diverse sectors and geographies.

A pioneering technology leader, Professor Abbasi specialises in ethical artificial intelligence, cyber resilience, digital inclusion, capacity building, and sustainable economic development. She is widely respected for her ability to bridge technology, policy, business, and social impact, ensuring that innovation is implemented responsibly and aligned with human values, ethical principles, and long-term societal wellbeing.

Throughout her career, she has successfully worked with governments, international organisations, academia, industry leaders, and civil society, fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders to address complex global challenges. Her leadership has consistently enabled organisations and communities to strengthen resilience, improve service delivery, expand opportunities, and achieve sustainable growth.

Passionate about empowering women, young people, and underserved communities, Professor Abbasi champions the responsible use of emerging technologies to advance education, entrepreneurship, economic participation, and human development. She is a sought-after speaker, advisor, and thought leader whose work continues to shape international discussions on ethical AI, digital governance, cyber resilience, and sustainable development in an increasingly interconnected world.

Since February 2025, Sylvia Poll is the Senior Gender and Youth Advisor to the ITU Secretary General and the Head of the Gender and Youth Office in the General Secretariat of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

From 2020 to 2024, Sylvia Poll was the Head of the Digital Society Division in the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the ITU. This Division focused on digital inclusion, and digital innovation ecosystems. Before that, she was the Head of the ITU Project Support Division for five years. 

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 telecommunications 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 as 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 Olympic Games 2016, 2020 and 2024.  Ms. Poll holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) and an Executive Master in International Negotiations and Policy Making.

Kathleen Ziemann is an expert in digital development policy and AI governance at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). She works to ensure that artificial intelligence and digital technologies are used fairly, inclusively, and accessibly around the world, with a particular focus on countries in the Global South. Currently, she co-leads the GIZ Global Programme for Digital Transformation, financed by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation