Agenda

Dr Chafic Chaya is a senior Internet governance and public policy professional with 30+ years of experience translating how the Internet works into practical, implementable policy. He works at the intersection of infrastructure, regulation, and multistakeholder cooperation, with a consistent focus on universal and meaningful connectivity that is resilient, secure, and sustainable.

As Regional Manager for Public Policy and Government Affairs (Middle East) at the RIPE Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), one of the five Regional Internet Registries, he supports governments, regulators, and national stakeholders in developing evidence-based approaches to Internet and telecommunications infrastructure. A key part of his work is convening diverse stakeholder groups and turning technical data and operational realities into actionable public policy options. 

Dr Chaya is deeply engaged in the WSIS process since 2003 and its follow-up, contributing to discussions on implementation pathways, the role of multistakeholder cooperation, and how global outcomes can translate into national and regional impact. Within the IGF ecosystem, he is an active contributor to global IGF dialogues and a strong supporter of National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs), helping strengthen inclusive convening, bridge technical and policy communities, and connect local priorities to global debates.

In 2025, Dr Chaya was nominated by the Council of Ministers of Lebanon to serve on Lebanon’s delegation to the United Nations WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting (UN General Assembly), contributing to negotiations of WSIS+20 on digital cooperation and advancing national and regional priorities related to digital inclusion, meaningful connectivity and an open, secure and stable Internet. He chaired the Lebanese MAG in 2023 and still serves as a member of the Lebanese 
and Arab IGF MAGs.

His academic background reinforces this bridge-building role: he holds a Doctorate in Business Administration focused on Internet governance, an MBA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering, and has lectured at the graduate level on information systems and telecommunications. He also contributes to policy research and community initiatives through engagement with GigaNet and the IGF Policy Network on AI (PNAI), and participates in national and regional Internet governance efforts, including the Global and Arab IGF and the Lebanon IGF. 

Sandra Maximiano, Chairwoman of ANACOM's Board of Directors since 15 December 2023, holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Amsterdam. She is an Associate Professor of Economics at ISEG - School of Economics & Management, University of Lisbon, where she is co-coordinator of XLAB - Behavioral Research Lab and of the Master's Degree in Economics program. She was previously an Assistant Professor at Purdue University and a Research Fellow at the University of Chicago in the United States. She has also taught at Amsterdam School of Economic, Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, Nova School of Business and Economics and Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra. 

Her academic research spans several areas: experimental and behavioral economics, organizational and labor economics, public policy, and information management. Her research explores issues related to social and moral preferences in individual decision making and in strategic and competitive environments, gender differences in economic decisions and the dynamics of information in competitive and co-operative situations. Maximiano primarily uses laboratory and field experiments to study human economic behavior and to collect data. Her work has been published in journals such as Review of Economic Studies, Economic Journal, Experimental Economics and Games and Economic Behavior. He is currently the Associate Editor of the Portuguese Economic Journal.

From 2006 to 2023, she was the author of opinion columns in the Portuguese press, most notably the column “A Economia somos nós” (The Economy is Us) in the Expresso newspaper.

Pavel Popescu serves as Vice President of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) in Romania, appointed by Parliament on October 10, 2023, for a six-year term. He oversees regulation of telecommunications, the electronic communications market, postal services, Digital Services Act compliance, cybersecurity and space cooperation. 

Previously, he chaired the Defense and National Security Committee and served two terms as a Member of Parliament, while also holding a Vice President position in the National Liberal Party (PNL). During this time, he promoted Romania's legislation on 5G, cybersecurity and foreign direct investment (FDI). He promoted the first European law requiring telecom operators to remove Chinese equipment from networks, as well as Romania's FDI screening mechanism, modeled after the U.S. CFIUS process. He also backed $3 million in funding for the Victims of Communism Museum in Washington, D.C.  

A supporter of NATO and transatlantic security, he has worked to address Chinese and Russian interference in Romania and Europe. He helped establish the Romanian National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) and supported salary increases for its specialists. Recognized for his work in 5G, national security, cybersecurity, and FDI, he speaks at international events.

In his current role, he has collaborated with SpaceX and Starlink to explore reforms to EPFD (Equivalent Power Flux Density) regulations, positioning Romania in the evolving space economy. 

Dr Gift Kallisto Machengete is the Director General of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ),having been appointed to the position in December 2016. He is a member of the ITU Digital Innovation Board, and currently serves on the Boards of several institutions in Zimbabwe. 

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe, a Master of Business Administration Degree (MBA) from Southern Cross University, Australia, and a Doctorate in Business Administration also from Southern Cross University, for which he graduated with a distinction, and was awarded the University Plaque for outstanding achievement.  
He has over forty-four (44) years of working experience, having worked as an Economic Counsellor at the Zimbabwe Embassy in China, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Ambassador to Malaysia and Director of  Administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet, before joining the POTRAZ in 2016. 

He is a former part-time lecturer for the Master of Business Leadership and  Master of  Security and Intelligence Degree programmes at Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE). This included working as a Research thesis Moderator. He currently serves on the Boards of several institutions in Zimbabwe.

Paul Gaskell previously served in the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, where he specialised in EU policy, and international security and data issues. This included postings in Vietnam and Kuwait. Subsequently, in the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, he led data adequacy discussions with the European Commission during EU exit negotiations and later worked on tackling online harms and the Online Safety Act. In the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, he is now leading UK policy on global internet governance, digital technical standards and digital trade. He has been UK Head of Delegation previously to bodies such as the UN International Telecommunication Union, the Internet Governance Forum, and ICANN.

PROFIL INSTITUTIONNEL & STRATÉGIQUE 

Haute responsable publique et cadre dirigeante, actuellement Directrice Générale Adjointe du Fonds de Développement du Service Universel (FDSU). 

Spécialisée en gouvernance des TIC, économie numérique inclusive, coopératio internationale et mécanismes innovants de financement du développement. 

Solide expérience dans l’élaboration, la mise en œuvre et le pilotage de politiques publiques et programmes structurants impliquant gouvernements, agences onusiennes, secteur privé et société civile. Habituée aux cadres multilatéraux et multi acteurs, avec une capacité avérée de représentation institutionnelle et de prise de parole stratégique. 

FONCTION ACTUELLE : GOUVERNANCE NUMÉRIQUE 

Directrice Générale Adjointe (DGA) du Fonds de Développement du Service Universel 
(FDSU), RDC | 2025 – présent 

• Contribution à la définition et à la mise en œuvre des politiques publiques nationales en 
matière de TIC et d’inclusion numérique. 
• Supervision stratégique, technique et administrative des programmes de connectivité, 
d’accès universel et de réduction de la fracture numérique. 
• Appui à la mobilisation, à la gestion et au suivi de financements dédiés aux 
infrastructures et services numériques. 
• Coordination des relations institutionnelles avec les ministères sectoriels, les 
régulateurs, les opérateurs, les partenaires techniques et financiers. 
• Contribution aux initiatives de coopération régionale et internationale en matière de 
développement du numérique. 

GOUVERNANCE DES TIC & ÉCOSYSTÈME DE L’ÉCONOMIE NUMÉRIQUE 
Présidente – Femm’In Tech (ONG) | 2019 – présent 

• Leadership et orientation stratégique d’une organisation dédiée à l’inclusion numérique, 
au renforcement des capacités et à l’innovation. 
• Mise en œuvre de programmes de formation en intelligence artificielle, cybersécurité, 
développement logiciel et transformation digitale. 
• Coordination de projets en partenariat avec des acteurs internationaux, notamment 
UNICEF. 
• Plaidoyer pour l’intégration des femmes et des jeunes dans l’écosystème numérique. 
Directrice Afrique Centrale – LafricaMobile | 2022 – 2023 
• Développement et déploiement de solutions numériques à impact économique. 
• Structuration de partenariats publics-privés dans le secteur des TIC et des services 
digitaux. 
• Contribution à la croissance d’écosystèmes numériques locaux et régionaux. 

FINANCEMENT DU DÉVELOPPEMENT & COOPÉRATION INTERNATIONALE 
Business Development & Suivi-Évaluation – Adamantis | 2022 – présent 

• Structuration de projets de développement à fort impact socio-économique. 
• Mobilisation de financements publics et privés et interaction avec bailleurs et 
investisseurs. 
• Suivi-évaluation et analyse de performance des projets financés. 
Audit, Risk & Fraud Manager – Fonds Social Européen (Union européenne) | 2017 – 
2021 
• Gestion financière et contrôle de programmes publics européens pluriannuels. 
• Supervision d’audits, gestion des risques et conformité. 
• Renforcement de la gouvernance et de la transparence des mécanismes de financement 
du développement. 

AUTRES EXPÉRIENCES PROFESSIONNELLES 
Consultante Emploi – ACTIRIS (Belgique) 

Dirigeante & Associée – Global & MD Security

Co-fondatrice – Krolletjes Belgium

Project Manager – Union des Femmes Africaines mbassadrice – African Professional

FORMATION ACADÉMIQUE 
Master - Ingenieur Commercial – Marchés et Risques Financiers | ICHEC Brussels 
Management School 
Bachelier en Gestion d’Entreprise | ICHEC 
Bachelier en Marketing | Haute École Libre de Bruxelles (HELDB) 
CERTIFICATIONS & DOMAINES D’EXPERTISE 
Gouvernance et audit des fonds publics et de développement 
Gestion des risques, fraude et conformité 
Financement du développement et partenariats public-privé 
Politiques publiques TIC et économie numérique 
Gestion des parties prenantes (multi-stakeholder governance) 

LANGUES 
Français : langue maternelle 
Anglais : courant 
Néerlandais : courant 
Swahili : courant 
Lingala : courant 

Jennifer Chung is the Vice President, Policy for DotAsia Organisation. She served as the co-convenor of the Informal Multistakeholder Sounding Board for theWSIS+20 review. She was appointed to the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (2025, 2018-2020), and the Expert Working Groups (2022, 2026) that developed recommendations on strengthening the 
to the IGF. She serves as the Secretary and heads the IGF Support Association Secretariat which provides support
IGF and grants to National, Sub-regional, Regional and Youth Initiatives. She serves in the APrIGF Secretariat and amplifies Asia Pacific contributions onInternet governance.

Ms. Chung represents .Asia Registry at ICANN and is the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Vice Chair and topic lead on DNS Abuse mitigation policy development, and part of the Standing Committee on Continuous Improvement. Previously, she headed the ICG Secretariat that oversaw the IANA stewardship transfer from the US to the global multistakeholder community.

A strong proponent of youth capacity building and leadership training, Ms. Chung represents one of the founding partner organisations (DotAsia), and part of the faculty of the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Forum (APIGA) since 2016. Ms. Chung is a mentor and lecturer (since 2014) at one of the earliest youth Internet governance programs, Netmission.asia (established in 2009). The youth-led Internet governance and policy advocacy network started with an Academy program and the alumni cohort has since produced two UN IGF Observatory.

MAG members, created 8 Youth IGFs in the APAC region, and established the Asia Pacific Policy
Ms. Chung is on the ISIF.asia Committee that awards grants supporting Internet and digital development in APAC. She is in the core Secretariat of Technical Community Coalition for Multistakeholderism (TCCM), a group of critical Internet infrastructure technical operators dedicated to strengthening the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance. She works on Internationalized Domain Names policies and supports Universal Acceptance, a foundation for a multilingual Internet.

   Positions held:

·      Prof. NK Goyal, a senior ICT professional & educationist, Post Graduate in Science   is the President of CMAI Association of India (CMAI), which is Asia’s largest ICT Association with 48,500 members and 74 MOU partners worldwide. 

·      Chairman Emeritus of Telecom Equipments Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA), oldest Association in India for Telecom established in 1990.

·      Founding Member of Governing Board, Telecom Equipment & Services Export Promotion Council, (TEPC) established by Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of Communications, Government of India.

·      Vice Chairman, ITU-APT Foundation of India -   International Telecommunication Union Asia Pacific Tele community (ITU APT)- UN affiliated Body of ITU Geneva. 

·      Chairman, LITD 26, BIS and Member of about 40 LITD and LITDC

·      Member of Minister (Telecom) Stakeholders Committee headed by Minister of Communications. 

·      Advisor to Vice Chancellor, Chandigarh University, GTU, North Guj Univ, 

·      Professor Practice at Chandigarh University.

·      Former Advisor to Vice Chancellors of Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad, Kota Open University, North Gujarat University and others. 

·      Chairman, India Trade Promotion Services, Dubai.

·      President, National Technical Education Empowerment Committee formed by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

·      Chairman, Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), India

·      Ambassador for India and South Asia, Commonwealth Telecom Organization, UK

·      President, Cyber Security Association of India (CSAI)

·      President, Association of Educational Institutes and Universities (AEIU)

·      Founder World Electronics Forum, USA; Asia Electronics Forum, Singapore; Asian Telecom Industries Forum, Taiwan

·      Founder and owner of CMAI ICT Education and ICT International World Communications Awards, being organised in Geneva, USA, France, Singapore, Taiwan, China, African Countries and India. And also National Telecom Awards, National Cyber Security Awards, International Education Awards, International Excellence Awards, National CSR Awards.

·      Founder of National Skill Qualification Educational Framework ( NSQEF) by Ministry of HRD/AICTE

Past Positions:

·      Former Director on the Board of Directors of National Fertilizers Ltd, PSU, Nominee of Government of India. 

·      Former Director of National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Ministries of Industries, Government of India. 

·      General Manager, HP Govt Electronics Development Corporation, Shimla.

Contributions: 

·      Known as Bhism Pitamaha of Telecom/ICT sector, very well connected at highest level for policy formulations of Telecom, ICT, Education Cyber Security, International Trade.

·      Known globally as the only person having joined Ribbon Cutting of World’s largest Electronic Show called Consumer Electronics Show (CES), LV, USA for consecutive 13 years since 2009, 

·      Known as author and expert of Government procurement manuals, Make in India policies, PPP MII policies, Trusted products policy, MTCTE-Mandatory testing, BIS Testing policies, new technology standards and specifications etc.

·      Prof. Goyal   served as General Manager (Development) of State Electronic Development Corporation Ltd., Government of Himachal Pradesh. He served as President (Operations), India’s largest Telecom Solution Provider Company. He served as Consultant to a Telecom Multinational Company. 

·      He is a member of more than one hundred and eighty committees/groups formed by Government. He is actively involved in the   policy formulation and development of industrial policies specially related to education, telecom and mobile, cybersecurity, ICT and skills development sector. 

·      He has presented several papers internationally on topics of public concerns like Telecom IT, Environment Management viz e-waste, radiation, manufacturing, global peace and wellbeing, excellence in performance, etc. 

·      Today, after 52 years in the world of telecommunication he finds himself at the centre stage of burgeoning telecom revolution in India, performing various pivotal roles in the process, spreading his activities all over India and the world.

·      Associated with several Universities and Colleges as a Guest Lecturer for IT, Mobile, Cyber Security and Motivational/Inspirational speeches. He is involved with various Universities and Education Institutes for promotion of entrepreneurship and Incubation Centres and he is organizing summits PAN India.

·      As a President & Member of National Technical Education Empowerment Committee in All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) actively involved in the promotion of Skill India, Vocational Qualification and Empowerment to physically challenged and Schedule Tribe persons.

·      As TEPC, officially promoting foreign exhibitions and promoting manufacturing and exports in telecom/ICT sector.

·      As ITU APT, advocacy and policy formulation for telecom spectrum related matter in close coordination with ITU, Geneva- UN Body.

·      Industrial experience in HFCL, Motorala etc. responsible for introduction for CDMA, Cordect, Mobile technologies, 2 GHZ Digital Microwave Radios in India.

Others:

Known as Philosopher, Evangelizer of Digital Technology, Human Technologist, Teacher for spiritual life, meditation, yoga, Reiki, Spiritual therapy, psychic healing, excellence in life, Conflict/Stress management, personality development etc.