| Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head, ITU Office for Europe
Mr. Ponder is Head of the ITU Office for Europe at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (Geneva, Switzerland). Within the last years Mr. Ponder has been carrying out numerous projects, activities and initiatives at national, regional and international levels. He has been taking lead role in many international conferences and summits dealing with fostering ICT innovation and development of ICT ecosystem, information society, and advancements of digital economy worldwide, while setting strategies and ensuring their timely implementation.
Along the professional career Mr. Ponder held official positions in the public sector and was a contributor to the legislative projects having an impact on public policy. Since 2014 Mr. Ponder has been working for ITU, in the Market, Economics and Finance Unit (MEF/ITU), Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU/ITU), Project and Initiatives Department (PRI/ITU). From 2008 upon his former duties, he has acted as Europe Officer (EUR/ITU) as well as Project Manager for European Centres of Excellence Network (CoE-EUR). In August 2008 he was appointed as Coordinator for Europe. After successful recreation of the coordination for the region in 2009 he moved to the General Secretariat becoming Strategy and Policy Coordinator and one year later Senior Strategy and Policy Advisor with the objective to lead the ITU activities on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS; United Nation Process on ICTs) and its 10 year review, amongst the others successfully establishing prime platforms, i.e. WSIS Forum, WSIS Prizes, WSIS Stocktaking, and organizing WSIS+10 High Level Event (2014) that resulted in negotiated texts. In parallel, since 2011 he has been working as Coordinator for Europe strengthening coordination and implementation mechanism. In 2017 he became the Head of ITU Office for Europe, directing actions, projects, initiatives, and expert groups targeting 45 countries and representing ITU in Europe.
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| Ms. Carolyn Handschin, President, NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Geneva
Carolyn is currently the Vice President of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women at
the United Nations in Geneva. She is Vice- President of Women's Federation for World
Peace, International (www.wfwp.org), overseeing program development throughout the
22 National Chapters in Europe. She is the Director of the WFWPI Office for United
Nations Relations globally and has led their advocacy team at the United Nations in
Geneva for 26 years and sits on various committees and task forces. Carolyn guides the
leadership and advocacy training of young women and men in the WFWPI-UN Internship
Program in Geneva (2005-now) and remains active as Co founder and program director
of the "GIIA Model UN Interreligious Youth Council" Program (2009- now).
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| Ms. Belén Sanz Luque, Regional Director, UN Women Europe and Central Asia
A national of Spain, Belén Sanz has more than 20 years of experience in development policies, with special emphasis on gender equality and women's rights policies and evaluation of public policies in international fields. Prior to joining UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, Belén Sanz served as UN Women's Representative in Mexico between 2017 and 2024, where she led flagship initiatives to advance gender equality in partnership with Mexico, such as the historic Generation Equality Forum, the Global Alliance for Care, and the Spotlight Initiative to end femicide. Between 2013 and 2017, Belén Sanz served as UN Women's Representative in Colombia, where she accompanied the historic peace process in Colombia, supporting women's participation and promoting a gender-sensitive approach to peacebuilding. During February - August 2016, she served as the Resident Coordinator, a.i., of the United Nations System in Colombia. Before joining UN Women Colombia, Belén Sanz served as the First Evaluation Director of UNIFEM, and later UN Women, from the organization's headquarters in New York. Her main functions under this responsibility were the evaluation of policies and programs and creation of strategies in different regions of the world, including the consolidation of evaluation as an strategic function for accountability, learning and the definition of evidence-based policies. In addition to this, she assumed the role of the Chair of the United Nations Evaluation Group, promoting a human rights and gender approach in the United Nations system evaluation, which earned her many awards. Prior to joining the United Nations, she worked as Head of Development Policy Evaluation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, where she led the development of the Evaluation System in Spanish cooperation, and previously as Advisor of gender programs and policies in the same entity. Belén Sanz holds two Master's degrees, one in Anthropology from the University of London, and another in Public Policy Evaluation by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She graduated in Social Anthropology from the National School of Anthropology and History of Mexico. She has served as a speaker and a lecturer at various academic institutions and in international forums focusing on International Cooperation, Public Policy Evaluation, Human Rights and Gender Equality Policies.
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| Ms. Natalia Mochu, Regional Director, Regional Office for CIS, ITU
Ms. Mochu is the Regional Director of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). She represents ITU in the CIS region, overseeing actions, projects, and initiatives for 9 countries. Her portfolio focuses on developing infrastructure, promoting innovation, cybersecurity, smart cities, digital inclusion, and accessibility. Ms. Mochu holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and informatics, as well as a master's degree in information technology from the State University of Moldova. Prior to joining the ITU in February 2020, Natalia served as Senior Manager for Global Stakeholder Engagement for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). From 2012 to 2018, she held the position of Deputy Head of Laboratory at the Radio Research and Development Institute (NIIR) in Moscow. Between 2006 and 2012, Natalia worked for the Executive Committee of the Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications (RCC), notably as the RCC Executive Committee Deputy Director General from 2008 to 2012. She started her professional career with the Ministry of Information Development of the Republic of Moldova in 2002. Natalia has actively participated in ITU high-level conferences and meetings, including ITU Plenipotentiary Conferences, Councils, and Sectoral Conferences. She has also made significant contributions to the activities of RCC working bodies, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations and others.
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| Mr. Davit Khachatryan, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Mr. Davit Khachatryan has served as the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia since 2020, bringing over 18 years of experience across the financial, corporate, and public sectors.
He began his career in banking, holding senior positions in Armenia's leading financial institutions, before advancing to leadership roles in quality management and organizational development. He later held executive positions in an IT company and a government-affiliated foreign direct investment fund, focusing on corporate growth and project implementation. Mr. Khachatryan currently contributes to several national advisory bodies, including the Pension Guarantee Fund Management Board, the Board of Trustees of the “Nork" Technology Center, and the Council for Demographic Improvement.
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| H.E. Mr. Marcos Gómez Martínez, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Spain to the UN in Geneva Born 30.06.1965 in Artà, Balearic Islands, Spain. Married, three daughters.
Since July 2024: Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva 2021-2024: Ambassador of Spain to the Russian Federation. 2020-2021: Ambassador of Spain to Colombia. 2018-2020: Director General for the United Nations and Human rights. 2017-2018: Consul General of Spain in Guangzhou. 2012-2017: Deputy Consul, Consulate General of Spain, London. 2011-2012: Ambassador for Polar and Oceanic Affairs. 2008-2011: Ambassador to New Zealand (cross-accredited to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands). 2004-2008: Foreign Policy Advisor in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister. 2001-2004: Human Rights Counsellor, Spanish Mission to the UN in Geneva. 1998-2001: Counsellor, Spanish Embassy to Argentina. 1996-1998: Advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. 1996: Desk officer for Asylum and Refugees' matters, DG for Consular Affairs, MFA. 1993-1995: First Secretary, Spanish Embassy to the Russian Federation. 1991-1993: Desk officer for Eastern Europe, DG for Europe, MFA. 1990-1991: Deputy Head of the Human Rights Office, MFA. Ambassador Gómez trained as a lawyer. He majored in Spanish Law (Universidad Complutense of Madrid) and French Law (Université Paris-XI). He is a certified translator (English and Russian). He joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1990.
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| Ms. Helena Valas, Head, Department for equal opportunities, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the Republic of Slovenia Ms. Valas is the Head of the Equal Opportunities Division at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities with over 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. She is an active member of the HLG on Gender Mainstreaming and serves as the National Focal Point on Gender Equality. She has contributed to Horizon and CERV projects and has extensive expertise in IPR evaluation, business consulting, and business planning. Additionally, she has lectured on topics including innovation, intellectual property, patenting, and IPR portfolio strategy. With a Master's degree in International Business Law and a solid legal foundation, she is skilled in providing strategic insights and driving key initiatives forward.
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| Ms. Radka Sibille, Digital Affairs Advisor, EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva Radka Sibille works in the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva as an advisor on digital issues and new and emerging technologies in the context of multilateral and multi-stakeholder fora and processes. She is an experienced diplomat and foreign policy expert, with more than 15 years of work in international relations. Prior to this position, Radka served on multiple diplomatic postings, including as Head of Trade and Development Section in the Czech Embassy in Peru, Human Rights Expert at the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva, and Counsellor at the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. Radka has a Master's Degree from Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Strasbourg and the University of Economics and Business in Prague.
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| Ms. Lorraine McDowell, President of the Association and Planning Manager, Expanding Your Horizons Geneva Science has always been fascinating for Lorraine: from her first experiment in the school lab to today in the pharmaceutical industry, gathering human data from clinical trials to show whether a medicine will work. Lorraine graduated from the UK with a degree in genetics, but found the path to get there so devoid of girls, she had to be sent to an all-boys' school to complete her physics, chemistry and biology exams. Joining EYH in 2009, she saw the chance to offer something positive to girls who often find themselves alone at the lab bench. Lorraine lives in Geneva with her husband, son and two daughters.
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| Dr. Anja Kranjc Horvat, Educational researcher and project coordinator, EPFL Dr Anja Kranjc Horvat is an educational researcher in the field of physics and engineering education. For six years, she was working as an educational researcher and science communicator at CERN. Now, she is working as an educational researcher and project coordinator at EPFL on the EuroTeQ alliance that connects some of the top engineering schools in Europe. She is an active member of SEFI (European Society for Engineering Education) and IPPOG (international Particle Physics Outreach Group), both of which are very dedicated to increasing attractiveness of science and engineering within underserved communities (including underrepresented genders, nationalities, cultures etc.).
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