<p class="x_MsoNormal" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Frederic Werner is a recognized leader at the intersection of artificial intelligence, technology, and global development. As the Head of Strategic Engagement at ITU, the United Nations’ specialized agency for Digital Technologies, and Chief of Strategy and Operations for AI for Good, Frederic drives initiatives that shape the future of AI’s role in solving humanity’s greatest challenges.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Frederic is a co-creator of the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit, a landmark platform connecting AI innovators with real-world problem owners to collectively advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under his stewardship, AI for Good has become a global hub for innovation, collaboration, and actionable solutions, redefining how AI is used for social good.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">At ITU, Frederic leads transformative strategic initiatives, driving global collaboration in digital transformation and standards development to address critical challenges. His leadership ensures the organization remains a leader in setting international standards and leveraging AI to advance the SDGs.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Before joining ITU, Frederic held pivotal roles that shaped global ICT collaboration. As Communications & Program Director of ETIS in Brussels, he established a pan-European network of CIOs and cybersecurity leaders. Earlier, as Head of Marketing and Communications at the European Organization for Conformity Assessment, he spearheaded capacity-building projects with the European Commission, strengthening ICT infrastructures in EU candidate countries.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">A recognized figure in the AI sphere, Frederic is a regular keynote speaker and panellist at global tech and AI events, such as Davos, Vivatech, SXSW, World AI Festival Cannes, AI Africa Expo, World AI Summit Amsterdam, AWS Reinvent and GITEX to name a few. His insights on AI capacity building, governance and standards have led to numerous interviews and features across international media, books, and podcasts.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Academically, Frederic holds a B.A. in Business & Human Resources Management with a Communications Minor from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, an MBA in International Business from United Business Institutes, a Technical MBA in Telecoms Technology from Informa Telecoms, and a certificate from the MIT Sloan School of Management on AI’s Business Strategy Implications.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Having lived in diverse countries such as Belgium, Senegal, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Austria, Turkey, Hungary, and Switzerland, Frederic brings a unique and global perspective to his partnerships and collaborations.</p>

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dr. Reinhard Scholl is former Deputy to the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) since September 2002. Previously he has been with Siemens in Munich, Germany and with ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). He has also served on the ICANN Board. He received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois, USA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Kseniia Fontaine currently serves as the Senior Business development and operations manager at ITU, the United Nations' specialized agency for ICTs. As a key member of the AI for Good team, she is focused on connecting AI innovators with problem owners to collectively advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining ITU, Kseniia served as Project Manager at ISO, International Standards Organization. In particular, she managed external relations with ISO members and rendered technical support to optimize their performance and participation. Kseniia holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Geneva and is currently pursuing an MBA from the SBS Swiss Business School in Zurich. Additionally, she completed an executive course from the MIT Sloan School of Management on Strategic Business Implications of AI. Kseniia is fluent in English, French, Russian and Ukrainian, and has a basic understanding of Spanish.

Ayda Dabiri is AI for Good’s Business Analytics and Online Community officer. Ayda has been on the AI for Good team since its inception in 2017, working on the annual in-person events, as well as the “all year, always online” programme that started in early 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic and the content and community platform, the “Neural Network”, that launched in 2022. Additionally, Ayda was a member of the Secretariat of the ITU/WHO Focus Group on AI for Health (FG-AI4H) from 2018 to 2022. Her experience with ITU also includes supporting the ITU Telecom World conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2016, and completing an internship with the organization in 2015. Prior to rejoining ITU to work on AI for Good, Ayda was a Business Intelligence Analyst at GSMA in London, UK, where she provided data analytics and strategic insights for two of their Mobile for Development programmes working on health and agriculture. Ayda holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Canada and a Certificate of Higher Education in Infection and Immunity from the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education.

<p style="font-weight: 400;">Theadora Mills is a creative communications manager specializing in strategic outreach, digital marketing, website content creation, SEO, and social media management.</p>   <p style="font-weight: 400;">She is a dedicated professional with over 10 years of experience at United Nations’ agencies and NGOs bringing together her passion for connecting people, storytelling and sustainable development. As the Digital Marketing Manager at AI for Good, she leverages her skills and expertise to bridge the gap between technology, policy, and social impact with the aim to drive positive social change.</p>   <p style="font-weight: 400;">She holds her M.A. in Communication and Culture from York University and B.A. in Communications and Business from Wilfrid Laurier University. Her academic foundation in cross-cultural communication combined with international experience in Thailand, Taiwan, Canada, USA, and Switzerland enables her to connect with diverse communities. She is committed to empowering others and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.</p>   <p style="font-weight: 400;">Outside of work, Theadora is passionate about outdoor adventure and supporting animal rescue activities. She is an Advanced Scuba Diver, a bike-to-work enthusiast, and a proud and busy new mom.</p>

With a strong belief that ICT can connect and bring better life to people, <strong>Jinu Um</strong> joined the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2016. He works in the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) and is looking into new trends such as artificial intelligence, digital finance, and smart cities to find possibilities for human good. Before joining ITU, Jinu has started his professional career at the Korea Communications Agency (KCA) in 2001. His main focus was on global cooperation and international organization in the field of ICT. In coordination with Korean government and Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), he has established an international training program on spectrum management for decision makers from developing countries. He also played a role as project management officer to support administering national projects on "Next Generation Broadcasting". From 2012, he worked for the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Republic of Korea and was one of the core organizing member of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 (PP-14) and OECD Science & Technology Ministerial Meeting 2015. Jinu was awarded "Prime Minister Citation, Republic of Korea" for international cooperation in 2015. He holds BSc in Electronic Engineering and received master's degree in Media Communication & Interactive Media from Sogang University, Republic of Korea.

<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">Guillem is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics Programme Officer at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for digital technologies. His mission is to connect AI and robotics innovators with problem owners to collectively advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">With over a decade of experience in robotics, Guillem has participated in major international robotics tournaments across Asia, Europe, and North America. At just 15 years old, he co-founded ROBOCAT, an educational robotics competition that promotes learning in robotics and coding among youths from diverse backgrounds, irrespective of their gender, socio-economic status, or academic ability. He led it for over 8 years, nurturing it from a grassroots project into a leading open-source robotics championship that engages thousands of young students annually.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Before joining ITU at the age of 23, he served as the EU Policy Assistant at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union, and as the International Relations Assistant at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to Switzerland. He also worked as a legal trainee at Montesinos Abogados.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Guillem is a European Commission Expert Evaluator and Reviewer, a Global Shaper, a Sigma Squared Society Fellow, and a Nova member. He has been an Ambassador for EU Careers (European Personnel Selection Office), EUTOPIA European University, POLITICO's EU Studies and Career Fair (POLITICO Europe), and UNICAT (Ministry of Research and Universities) and a member of the 1st EUSALP Youth Council. He has also been a DIPLOCAT Scholar.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">On the academic front, Guillem holds a double bachelor's degree in Law and Business Management and Administration from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. He also participated in the one-year Swiss-European Mobility Program in Law at the University of Geneva, where he earned the Certificate in Transnational Law. He also completed a master’s degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva, and the 59th Graduate Study Program at the United Nations Office in Geneva.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">He has been a speaker at leading global tech, AI and robotics events, such AI and Big Data Congress Barcelona, AI Expo Africa, AI Policy Summit, AI House Davos, European Robotics Forum, EmpoderaLIVE, GAIN Summit, Geneva IP and Digital Law Career Forum, Smart City Expo World Congress, WSIS, Swiss Robotics Day, iREX, and Youth Mobile Festival.</span></p>

<span class="ui-provider ceb cec bfg ced cee cef ceg ceh cei cej cek cel cem cen ceo cep ceq cer ces cet ceu cev cew cex cey cez cfa cfb cfc cfd cfe cff cfg cfh cfi" dir="ltr">Robert is a Digital Media Producer & Videographer for AI for Good at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for ICT’s. He has 3 year’s experience producing and managing digital media & video content for both AI for Good and ITU-T's major public facing events. He recieved a Distinction in his Diploma in Art and Design Foundation Studies - Media, Film and Photography at Arts University Bournemouth. Robert has a background in freelance film-making with experience across all 5 phases of production.</span>

<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">My 30 year career journey has been and continues to be as a member of the United Nations ITU team, committed to improving lives through technology. This means I get the opportunity to work with ICT leaders from governments, especially from least developed and developing countries, as well as from private sector large corporates, international organizations, innovation hubs/accelerators and an impressive set of tech startups and SMEs.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It is inspiring to be part of some amazing heart-warming success stories arising from key ITU events, most notably its AI for Good – I’m so proud to be a part of this dynamic team!</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I believe innovation is the driver of socio-economic development and feel privileged to have worked with some brilliant people whose innovative tech solutions with social impact are taking us closer each day to advancing global challenges.  Such entrepreneurship is making the world a better place for us all to live and work in, by leveraging technology to reduce pollution, improve education, good health/well-being, boost economic growth and more.</span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">If you have AI solutions with social impact and would like to be seen supporting the leading UN platform identifying AI applications to address global challenges, gain insights on the AI evolution, network with our multistakeholder and influential audience and showcase your AI for good talent, then let’s discuss the impactful AI for Good sponsorship opportunities! </span></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It is only through collaboration that we can create a better world for all.</span></p>

Within the AI for Good team Julien plays a pivotal role in managing the intricate logistics of the AI for Good Global Summit, as well as the technical delivery of all virtual webinars including the seamless operation of the neural networking platform, ensuring a dynamic and interactive virtual experience. Julien's career journey has seen him travel the world, directing and managing events of all sizes and budgets. He began his journey as a Technical Production Manager, where his meticulous attention to detail and technical skills established him as a trusted expert in orchestrating flawless event experiences. Progressing in his career, Julien assumed the role of a Global Account Director, cultivating robust client relationships with industry giants such as HP, Oracle, and Microsoft, delivering unique and tailor-made events. Julien has also demonstrated his leadership skills as a Regional Office Manager, guiding teams to success both locally and on a global scale. Throughout his career, Julien has consistently delivered excellence, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to client satisfaction. His wealth of experience and expertise makes him a driving force in the dynamic worlds of technology, events, and client relations.

<span lang="en-CH">Thomas Basikolo works with the ITU coordinating and managing </span><span lang="EN-US">the AI for Good’s ML5G activities and as an advisor of the ITU-T Focus Group on Autonomous Networks</span><span lang="en-CH">. He received a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Yokohama National University, Japan. During his studies, he was awarded the Japanese Government (Monbukagakushō) scholarship. He was also a recipient of grants for Non-Japanese Researchers from the NEC C&C Foundation, and a visiting researcher at the NEC Data Science Research Laboratories. Prior to joining ITU, he worked as a Research Engineer in the Engineering Department of Microwave Factory Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan.</span> <span lang="en-CH">He is recipient of multiple Best Paper Awards, the IEEE AP–S Japan Student Award and the Young Engineer of the year award by IEEE AP–S Japan in 2018. He has co-authored peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, predominantly in the areas wireless communications and antenna engineering. He serves as a Reviewer of IEEE and IEICE Journals. His interests includes, machine learning, deep learning and network science, and their applications in wireless networks.</span>

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vijay Mauree works at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), since 2010 and has over 27 years of experience in project management and cybersecurity. He is the focal point for Digital Finance and Fintech at the Standardization Bureau in ITU.  He leads the Digital Financial Services Security Lab at ITU. The Lab conducts security audits on mobile payment applications used in emerging economies and collaborates with DFS regulators and providers to enhance security of digital finance and adoption of international standards and best practices for security of digital financial inclusion and fintech. In addition, Vijay coordinates the secretariat for the ITU-T Focus Group on Costing Models for affordable data services and the Digital Currency Global Initiative which is a collaboration between ITU and Stanford University Future Digital Currency Initiative. The Digital Currency Global Initiative is investigating areas where technical standards for Central Bank Digital Currency, Stablecoins and cryptocurrency are required. He coordinated the work of the ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services and ITU-T Focus Group Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency and also the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) from 2017 to 2021. FIGI was a joint programme of the ITU, World Bank, Bank for International Settlements and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He led the FIGI Security, Infrastructure and Trust Working Group which  investigated the security threats to the DFS Ecosystem and developing technical reports and guidelines to enhance trust in DFS. He was previously responsible for the implementation of projects under Bridging the Standardization Gap programme and undertaking research for production of Technology Watch reports. He published four Technology Watch reports on Optical networks, Smart Water Management, Privacy in the Cloud and Mobile Money. Vijay received his first degree in Computer Science with Electronic Engineering from University College London, UK and obtained his Masters degree in Information Technology from Imperial College, Science and Technology, UK. He holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in UK. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<p>Since 2020 I am part of AI for Good, where my primary focus involves conceptualizing, designing, and implementing cutting-edge web-based applications and platforms infused with AI capabilities. I collaborate with multidisciplinary teams within the organization, including AI specialists, designers, and domain experts, to craft user-centric solutions.</p> <p>With a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Tirana, my journey in the field of technology began with a passion for problem-solving and a commitment to mastering the complexities of software development.</p> <p>My dedication to staying at the forefront of industry best practices led me to achieve certifications in <em>ITIL</em> and <em>TOGAF</em>, demonstrating my proficiency in IT service management and enterprise architecture frameworks.</p> <p>Driven by a passion for innovation and a deep-seated curiosity for emerging technologies, I continue to explore new avenues to contribute meaningfully to the ever-evolving landscape of software engineering.</p>

Alexandra currently serves as the Social Media Officer and Young AI Leaders Programme Lead for the AI for Good team at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency dedicated to information and communication technologies (ICTs). Alexandra’s expertise spans social media, communication, and digital marketing content creation initiatives, with a strong linguistic background in four languages. Her expertise in communication and digital marketing is underpinned by an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University and a Master’s in International Management with a specialization in Digital Marketing from Geneva Business School. With a strong interest in strategic management, Alexandra is pursuing a PhD in Strategic Management at the European Center for Peace and Development (ECPD), associated with the United Nations-established University for Peace. Driven by a passion for strategic management and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, Alexandra developed and now oversees the <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/young-ai-leaders-community/">Young AI Leaders Community</a> launched in 2024. This initiative aims to harness AI’s evolution for global good, empowering a worldwide network of young individuals with the skills, platforms, and support needed to lead in creating a more inclusive and sustainable digital future. Through efforts like these, AI for Good ensures that young people are at the forefront of digital innovation and societal progress.

Celia is a Junior Communications and Social Media Officer in the International Telecommunication Union's AI for Good team. Her role focuses on executing the marketing and communications strategy for the AI for Good Global Summit and its ongoing online programs. Her responsibilities include event promotion, audience engagement through social media and website articles, content creation, and the analysis of engagement metrics to refine strategies. Her work supports the mission to leverage AI and technology for global positive change. Celia's background is distinguished by her multilingual and multicultural capabilities. She holds an M.A. in Translation and Specialized multilingual communication from the University of Geneva. Proficient in five languages, she adeptly integrates her linguistic skills into her role. Since joining the AI for Good team in 2022, Celia has developed a keen interest in using AI as a means to overcome communication barriers and promote global collaboration, aligning with her passions for languages, technology, and building international relationships. Further distinguishing her background, during her undergraduate studies, Celia was an active member of an association dedicated to promoting Hispanic culture. Through organizing and participating in various cultural events, she not only celebrated but also deepened her commitment to fostering understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures. This experience has been instrumental in shaping her approach to global communication and collaboration.

<div data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">With a strong belief that human-centered digital technologies are a key resource for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Min Young joined the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in April 2024 as a member of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB).</div> <div>Before joining ITU, Min Young began her professional career as a lawyer in 2005, advocating for women’s and children’s rights. In 2007, she transitioned to public service, joining the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) in the Republic of Korea. There, she focused on improving the business environment for IT companies by reforming regulations and providing financial support, with a particular emphasis on radio standards and regulatory improvements in healthcare, transportation, and telecommunications.</div> <div>Min Young holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Law from Korea University, Republic of Korea.</div> <div>Her dedication and achievements earned her recognition as an outstanding public official in 2016, when she received the Presidential Award of Korea. In early 2024, she was further honored for her exceptional contributions to regulatory reform with the prestigious Order of Service Merit (Geunjeong Medal), one of the highest honors awarded to public officials in Korea.</div> <div>She is honored and excited to join ITU in advancing the achievement of the UN SDGs, contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable digital future, and collaborating with outstanding team members to achieve these shared goals.</div>

Silvia Vacchi currently serves as a Training Development Officer and as the Program Lead for the AI Skills Coalition within ITU’s AI for Good team. In this role, she is dedicated to designing and developing a comprehensive capacity-building pillar aimed at advancing AI literacy. Her work focuses on supporting Member States and key stakeholders in building AI-related skills and knowledge, contributing to the broader mission of responsible and inclusive AI development. Silvia holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has an extensive professional background in training, multilateral diplomacy, and instructional design. She brings over seven years of experience as a training expert at UN agencies in Geneva, where she specialized in delivering high-impact learning programs for diplomats and other professional audiences.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dr. Reinhard Scholl is former Deputy to the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) since September 2002. Previously he has been with Siemens in Munich, Germany and with ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). He has also served on the ICANN Board. He received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois, USA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Markus Reichstein is Director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, and Professor for Global Ecology at the University of Jena. He is founding co-director of the ELLIS (<a href="http://www.ellis.eu">www.ellis.eu</a>) program “Machine Learning for Earth and Climate Science” and the recently established ELLIS Unit Jena (<a href="http://www.ellis-jena.ai">www.ellis-jena.ai</a>) within the Michael-Stifel-Center Jena for Data-driven and Simulation Science Jena. and member of the German National Committee Future Earth for Sustainability research. He has been serving as lead author for the IPCC, as member of the German Committee Future Earth on Sustainability Research, and the Thuringian Panel on Climate for advising the state on climate protection and adaptation. Markus’s main research interests revolve around the response and feedback of ecosystems (vegetation and soils) to climatic variability with an Earth system perspective. Of specific interest is the interplay of climate extremes with ecosystem and societal resilience. He is addressing these topics with a combination of artificial intelligence and classical modelling approaches to exploit the wealth of experimental, ground- and satellite-based Earth observations together with theoretical knowledge. Recent awards for his research include the Piers J. Sellers Mid-Career Award by the American Geophysical Union (2018), and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Preis by the German Science Foundation (2020). He is also Principal Investigator in the European Research Council Synergy Grant USMILE dedicated to the development and application of machine learning for a better Earth system understanding and modelling. Furthermore, Markus is chairing the Global Research Program and Knowledge-Action Network “Emergent Risks and Extreme Events – Reducing Disaster Risks under Environmental Change” (<a href="http://www.risk-kan.org">www.risk-kan.org</a>). Markus is excited about linking system thinking with data-driven science and artificial intelligence for understanding complex systems, such as the climate-environmental-societal system and believes that such approaches can help societies become more resilient and sustainable.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My general focus is on identifying and developing emerging and transformative technologies that can impact society in significant and exponential ways. I do this by helping create interdisciplinary frameworks for understanding and planning new developments and the funding required to bring new innovations to market.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I help start, grow, and run innovative ventures, and focus on working with startups and growth-oriented companies on products and initiatives that could trigger significant breakthrough with substantial economic and societal impact. Particular emphasis on machine learning and predictive systems, IoT, knowledge sharing and crowdsourcing, Education, and digital health. I usually help teams on initial market opportunity validation, product roadmap strategy, pricing and business model, go-to-market operations, fundraising and mentorship, Mergers and high-growth partnerships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I also have managed a few private and public technology investment and venture capital funds and know how to establish fund operations and their overall strategies and requirements.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I enjoy teaching and have been a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at UC Berkeley, HEC Paris, Chapman University, Claremont McKenna College, and UC Irvine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<p class="CDt4Ke zfr3Q" dir="ltr">Maria is currently a <em>Ramón y Cajal</em> Senior Researcher at the <span class=" aw5Odc"><a class="XqQF9c" href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fisp.uv.es&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AOvVaw2YiCbIliB2mb9YEEvBkfTE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Image & Signal Processing group (ISP)</a></span>, <em>Universitat de València</em>, in <em>València</em>, Spain. Her research interests include microwave remote sensing, estimation of soil moisture and vegetation biogeophysical parameters, and development of multisensor techniques for enhanced retrievals with focus on agriculture, forestry, wildfire prediction, extreme detection, and climate studies.</p> <p class="CDt4Ke zfr3Q" dir="ltr">She is deeply involved in research projects that use machine learning to exploit Earth Observation data in Earth and Climate Sciences. She is particularly interested in the development of data-driven models that respect physical laws, in causal inference and in learning and explaining feature representations. She is IEEE senior member (2019) and ELLIS Fellow (2021).</p>

Gustau Camps-Valls (born 1972 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia">València</a>) is a Physicist and Full Professor in Electrical Engineering in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Valencia">Universitat de València</a>, Spain, where lectures on machine learning, remote sensing and signal processing. He is the Head of the <a href="http://isp.uv.es/">Image and Signal Processing (ISP) </a>group, an interdisciplinary group of 40 researchers working at the intersection of AI for Earth and Climate sciences. Prof. Camps-Valls published over 250+ peer-reviewed international journal papers, 350+ international conference papers, 25 book chapters, and 5 international books on remote sensing, image processing and machine learning. He has an h-index of 78 with 29000+ citations in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6mgnauMAAAAJ">Google Scholar</a>. He was listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2011, 2020 and 2021; currently has 13 «Highly Cited Papers» and 1 «Hot Paper», Thomson Reuters ScienceWatch identified his activities as a <a href="http://archive.sciencewatch.com/dr/fmf/2011/11mayfmf/11mayfmfCamp/">Fast Moving Front research (2011)</a> and the most-cited paper in the area of Engineering in 2011, received the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_classic_articles&hl=en&by=2006&vq=eng_remotesensing">Google Classic paper award (2019)</a>, and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000918">Stanford Metrics</a> includes him in the top 2% most cited researchers of 2017-2020. He publishes in both technical and scientific journals, from IEEE and PLOS One to Nature, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and PNAS. He has been Program Committee member of international conferences (IEEE, SPIE, EGU, AGU), and Technical Program Chair at <a href="https://www.igarss2018.org/">IEEE IGARSS 2018</a> (2400+ attendees) and general at AISTATS 2022. He served in technical committees of the IEEE GRSS & IEEE SPS, as Associate Editor of 5 top IEEE journals, and in the prestigious <a href="https://www.grss-ieee.org/community/distinguished-lecturers/">IEEE Distinguished Lecturer</a> program of the GRSS (2017-2019) to promote «AI in Earth sciences» globally. He has given 100+ talks, keynote speaker in 10+ conferences, and (co)advised 10+ PhD theses. He coordinated/participated in 60+ research projects, involving industry and academia at national and European levels. He assisted the aerospace industry in Advisory Boards; Fellow Consultant of the <a href="https://blogs.esa.int/philab/">ESA PhiLab</a> (2019) and member of the EUMETSAT MTG-IRS Science Team. He is compromised with open source/access in Science, and is habitual panel evaluator for H2020 (ERC, FET), NSF, China and Swiss Science Foundations. He coordinates the ‘Machine Learning for Earth and Climate Sciences’ research program of <a href="https://ellis.eu/programs/machine-learning-for-earth-and-climate-sciences">ELLIS</a>, the top network of excellence on AI in Europe. He was elevated to <a href="https://www.uv.es/gcamps/cv.html">IEEE Fellow member (2018)</a> in two Societies (Geosciences and Signal Processing) and to ELLIS Fellow (2019). Prof. Camps-Valls is the only researcher receiving two European Research Council (ERC) grants in two different areas: an <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/647423">ERC Consolidator (2015, Computer Science)</a> and <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/855187">ERC Synergy (2019, Physical Sciences)</a> grants to advance AI for Earth and Climate Sciences. In 2021 he became a Member of the ESSC panel part of the European Science Foundation (ESF), and in 2022 was elevated to Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc), Fellow of the Academia Europeae (AE), and Fellow of Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA).

Joachim Denzler is a full Professor of Computer Vision at the University of Jena. He has been the founding Director of the Michael-Stifel-Center Jena for Data-driven and Simulation Science and recently established the ELLIS Unit Jena (<a href="http://www.ellis-jena.ai">www.ellis-jena.ai</a>) as well as the Director of the Institute of Data Science of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Joachim's main research interests revolve around the analysis, prediction and understanding of complex dynamical systems, including applications from medicine, psychology and earth system sciences. Fine-grained object classification, active learning and causal inference for time-series analysis are of particular interest. He addresses these topics with the development and application of machine learning methods, including deep learning, and aspects from explainable AI. Joachim is a member of the board of the Thuringia Center for Learning Systems and Robotics (<a href="http://www.tzlr.de">www.tzlr.de</a>) with the mission to transfer research results from AI to industry. Joachim is excited about the potential of using applications as drivers for basic research, especially to contribute to our society's urgent and pressing problems, like climate change and biodiversity loss. Joachim published more than 500 papers at international conferences and journals with around 10000 citations and an h-index of 45, according to google scholar. He is a PC member and reviewer of major conferences (NeurIPS, ICCV, ECCV, CVPR, ICLR) and Journals (IEEE TPAMI, IJCV, etc.). His group consists of 15 PhD students and receives funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Federal Ministry of Science (BMBF), and EU, as well as from industrial projects. He is a member of IEEE and IEEE Computer Society.

Philip Stier is Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford. He also heads the <a href="https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/climate-processes">Climate Processes Group</a> and serves on the steering group of the Oxford Climate Research Network. Philip's research addresses physical climate processes in the context of anthropogenic perturbations to the earth system as the underlying cause of climate change and air pollution. His key interests lie in aerosol and cloud physics, their interactions and their role in the climate system. Aerosols are small liquid or solid particles suspended in air of both anthropogenic and natural origin. Cloud droplets form on aerosol particles, so man-made changes in aerosol (precursor) emissions also affect the physics of clouds. He is also Principal Investigator for a <a href="https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/climate-processes/projects/recap">European Research Council</a> project on the highly uncertain effects of aerosols on precipitation, and he leads the new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network <a href="https://imiracli.web.ox.ac.uk/">iMIRACLI</a>, which brings together leading climate and machine learning scientists from academia and industry across Europe to educate a new generation of climate data scientists. Philip is passionate about the power of interdisciplinary approaches to address complex questions around the causes and impacts of climate change. Through the Climate Processes Group, Phillip combines work on global climate models, earth observations from satellites and surface and aircraft based in-situ measurements, as well as detailed process models with theory to improve our understanding of the climate system.

Duncan Watson-Parris is an atmospheric physicist working at the interface of climate research and machine learning to investigate the effect of anthropogenic aerosols on the climate. Using cutting-edge machine learning techniques to combine global aerosol models with novel observational constraints he looks to better understand complex aerosol-climate interactions and improve projections of climate change. He is also keen to foster the application of machine learning to climate science questions more broadly and convenes the Machine Learning for Climate Science session at the European Geosciences Union (EGU), and co-convenes the UN AI for Good ‘Climate Science’ Discovery series. Duncan is an Assistant Professor at the University of California San Diego.

Lihui Wang is a Professor and Chair of Sustainable Manufacturing at KTH, Sweden. He is also the Director of Centre of Excellence in Production Research (XPRES) - one of the five national strategic research centres at KTH. He has served as the President (2020-2021) of North American Manufacturing Research Institution (NAMRI) of Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), and the Chairman (2018-2020) of Swedish Production Academy. In 2020, he was elected one of the 20 Most Influential Professors in Smart Manufacturing by Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He received his PhD and MSc from Kobe University (Japan) in 1993 and 1990, respectively, and BSc in China in 1982. He was an Assistant Professor of Kobe University and Toyohashi University of Technology (Japan) prior to joining National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in 1998, where he was a Senior Research Scientist before moving to Sweden in 2008. His research interests are presently focused on real-time monitoring and control, human-robot collaboration, brain robotics, digital twin, cyber-physical and sustainable production systems. His research work has won one Best Poster Award in Switzerland (2003), four Best Paper Awards in Germany (2002), USA (2016), Serbia (2020) and Sweden (2020), and two Outstanding Paper Awards in Mexico (2008) and USA (2016). In 2021, he received the Best Paper Award of Journal of Manufacturing Systems. He is also an eight-time winner of NRC Institute Awards on Excellence and Leadership in R&D, Multidisciplinary Collaborative Research, Global Reach, and Outstanding People. Professor Wang has published 10 books, 15 conference proceedings and 32 journal special issues. He has authored or co-authored in excess of 600 scientific articles in archival journals, books, and peer-reviewed conference proceedings in the above research areas. In addition to the research work, he is actively engaged in various committee and community activities. He was the Conference Chair of FAIM 2004 and CIRP CMS 2018, a member of Grant Selection Committee (GSC-20 for Industrial Engineering) of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (2004-2007), the Chair of the Scientific Committee of NAMRI/SME during 2016-2018, and a member of Technical Committee 282 (Machinery Safety) of Swedish Standards Institute (2014-2017). He is the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Manufacturing Research, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Manufacturing Systems, Editor-in-Chief of Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Editor of Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing (2007-2019), Associate Editor of International Journal of Production Research, and an Editorial Board Member of other 17 international journals. He is also a Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), a Fellow of The International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP), a Fellow of SME, a Fellow of ASME, and a registered Professional Engineer in Canada.

Degree with honours in Physics, PhD in Geodesy and Cartography. She is Professor of “GIS” and “The Copernicus Green Revolution for sustainable development” at Politecnico di Milano (PoliMI) and a member of the School of Doctoral Studies in Data Science at “Roma La Sapienza” University. From 2006 to 2011 she lectured GIS at the ETH of Zurich and from 1997 to 2011 she was the Head of the Geomatics Laboratory of PoliMI (Campus Como). From 2011 to 2016 she was the Vice-Rector of PoliMI for the Como Campus. Currently, she is the coordinator of the Copernicus Academy Network for the PoliMI and the Head of the GEOLab, the Interdepartmental Lab to which 7 Departments of POLIMI are contributing.   She is Vice President of the  ISPRS Technical Commission on Spatial Information Science, a former member of ESA ACEO (Advisory Committee of Earth Observation); co-chair of the United Nations Open GIS Initiative, chair of the UN-GGIM (Global Geospatial Information Management) Academic Network, mentor of the PoliMI Chapter of YouthMappers (PoliMappers), one of the three curators of the geospatial series of the AI for Good, organized by ITU in partnership with 40 UN Sister Agencies.   Her research activity is in the field of geomatics. Her interests have been various, starting from geodesy, radar-altimetry and moving later to GIS, webGIS, geospatial web platform, VGI, Citizen Science, Big Geo Data, geoAI. She is participating and leading research on these topics within the frameworks of both national and international projects and scientific networks. One of her main interests is in Open-Source GIS, where she plays a leading worldwide role.

Dr. Nadine Alameh is the CEO of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) – a collective problem-solving body convening the global community of geospatial experts and users to make Location information Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) via open consensus-based standards, collaborative innovation projects, and industry partnerships. Dr. Alameh is a recognized leader in creating and applying open geospatial/mapping standards in a multiple of domains including Aviation, Earth Observations, Public Safety and Defense. Prior to OGC, she held various roles in industry from the Chief Architect for Innovation in Northrop Grumman’s Civil Solutions Unit; to CEO of an Aviation data exchange startup; to senior technical advisor to NASA’s Applied Science Program. Nadine has a contagious passion for collaboration, innovation, and making an impact by accelerating the community's impacts with the power of geospatial/location interoperability! Nadine graduated from MIT with a Ph.D. in Information Systems Engineering, and 2 Master’s Degrees in Civil Engineering and Urban Planning with a concentration in Geospatial Information Systems. She holds a BS degree in Computer Engineering from the American University of Beirut.

<span class="TextRun SCXW170545790 BCX4" lang="EN-GB" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="none"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW170545790 BCX4">Barbara Ryan is the Executive Director of the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC). Ms. Ryan has previously worked with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). Ms. Ryan also serves on several boards and advisory committees at various national and international organizations such as the Jane Goodall Institute. She has been a Policy Advisor at WGIC since January 2019. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW170545790 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span>

Vishnu has hands-on experience in the field of Telecom industry for more than 25 years, developing and implementing standards, and holds many international granted patents. Vishnu currently works as an independent consultant, is a Vice Chair of ITU Focus Group on Autonomous Networks and the co-convener of ITU Correspondence Group on datasets. Previously, he was a co-editor of ITU-T Focus Group specifications on Machine learning in 5G. His current passion includes coordinating standards initiatives, industry bodies, open source and academia, mentoring student projects and coordinating the ITU “AI/ML in 5G“ Challenge across the globe. He also curates and moderates webinars under the ITU Machine learning 5G webinar series and AI for Good. Vishnu was nominated as Scientific Advisory Board Associate (SABA) member of Motorola Networks and is a senior member of IEEE. He holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Wojciech Samek is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Technical University of Berlin and is jointly heading the Department of Artificial Intelligence at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), Berlin, Germany. He studied computer science at Humboldt University of Berlin, Heriot-Watt University and University of Edinburgh and received the Dr. rer. nat. degree with distinction (summa cum laude) from the Technical University of Berlin in 2014. During his studies he was awarded scholarships from the <a href="https://www.studienstiftung.de/en/">German Academic Scholarship Foundation</a> and the DFG Research Training Group GRK 1589/1, and was a visiting researcher at <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/ames">NASA Ames Research Center</a>, Mountain View, USA. Dr. Samek is associated faculty at the <a href="https://bifold.berlin/">BIFOLD - Berlin Institute for the Foundation of Learning and Data</a>, the <a href="https://ellis.eu/units/berlin">ELLIS Unit Berlin</a> and the <a href="https://bioqic.de/">DFG Graduate School BIOQIC</a>, and member of the scientific advisory board of <a href="https://ideas-ncbr.pl/">IDEAS NCBR</a>. Furthermore, he is a senior editor of <a href="https://cis.ieee.org/publications/t-neural-networks-and-learning-systems">IEEE TNNLS</a>, an editorial board member of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLoS ONE</a> and <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/pattern-recognition">Pattern Recognition</a>, and an elected member of the <a href="https://signalprocessingsociety.org/community-involvement/machine-learning-signal-processing/mlsp-tc-home">IEEE MLSP Technical Committee</a>. He is recipient of multiple best paper awards, including the 2020 Pattern Recognition Best Paper Award, and part of the expert group developing the <a href="https://www.mpegstandards.org/standards/MPEG-7/17/">ISO/IEC MPEG-17 NNR standard</a>. He is the leading editor of the Springer book <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030289539">"Explainable AI: Interpreting, Explaining and Visualizing Deep Learning"</a> (2019), co-editor of the open access Springer book “xxAI – Beyond explainable AI” (2022), and organizer of various special sessions, workshops and tutorials on topics such as explainable AI, neural network compression, and federated learning. Dr. Samek has co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers; some of them listed by Thomson Reuters as "Highly Cited Papers" (i.e., top 1%) in the field of Engineering.

Isaac Kohane, MD, PhD is the inaugural Chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics and the Marion V. Nelson Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School. He develops and applies computational techniques to address disease at multiple scales—from whole healthcare systems as “living laboratories” to the functional genomics of neurodevelopment with a focus on autism. Kohane’s i2b2 project is currently deployed internationally to over 120 major academic health centers to drive discovery research in disease and pharmacovigilance (including providing evidence on drugs which ultimately contributed to “boxed warning” by the FDA). Dr. Kohane has published several hundred papers in the medical literature and authored a widely-used book on Microarrays for an Integrative Genomics. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Matthias Groeschel graduated with an MD-PhD from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He conducted his PhD thesis at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Research Center Borstel which comprised experimental work and genomic analyses of pathogenic bacteria. He then joined the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School to study <span lang="EN-US">antimicrobial resistance and transmission of</span> tuberculosis <span lang="EN-US">causing bacteria</span>. Dr Groeschel supports several AI for Health projects at ITU, including AI for Good webinars and the Focus Group on AI for Health. <span lang="EN-US">He is currently a resident physician in pulmonary medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, and a research fellow in biomedical informatics at Harvard Medical School.</span>

Mike Gill is the Director of NatureServe’s Biodiversity Indicators Program, an Honorary Fellow of UN Environment’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the former Co-Chair of the Group on Earth Observations – Biodiversity Observation Network. For the past three decades, Mike has led the design and implementation of user-driven and results-oriented biodiversity conservation, research, and monitoring programs.  These programs have spanned the planet and have involved partnerships with aboriginal, national and sub-national governments, academia, industry and NGOs. Mike has advised multiple governments, senior officials, and Environment Ministers on biodiversity conservation policy and published over 60 scientific publications. His current work focuses on the design and implementation of biodiversity monitoring and reporting systems in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, the Tropical-Andes, sub-Saharan Africa and the Arctic.

María Cecilia Londoño is a biologist from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, with a Master’s degree and PhD from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Her professional trajectory has focused on the use of environmental data for supporting decision-making process for different stakeholder groups, focusing on the achievement of three main objectives: 1) Identify and monitor essential variables for understanding socioecological change, 2) implement an observation systems for socioecological monitoring, and 3) lead comprehensive analysis for guiding the production of transformative knowledge. Maria Cecilia work is built on the principle of participatory process with heterogeneous stakeholders that share and build knowledge leading to social appropriation of biodiversity. María Cecilia Londoño works as a researcher in the Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring Program at the Humboldt Institute in Colombia since 2012 and co-chairs the Group of Earth Biodiversity Observation Networks (GEO BON).

Professor Sarah Hammer is Executive Director at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, leading financial technology initiatives as well as Wharton Cypher Accelerator, which supports leading global businesses that are leveraging financial technology. Hammer is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Hammer is also Affiliated Scholar at the Penn Program on Regulation.   Previously, Hammer was Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Director of the Alternative Investments Program at Wharton. Hammer also led the launch of the University of Pennsylvania’s first digital asset, unique 3D intellectual property that memorializes the invention of the mRNA technology which enabled the COVID-19 vaccines.   Hammer is also a board member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at the United Nations. The ITU is the UN specialized agency responsible for information and communication technology. She is also an advisor at the World Economic Forum, the Dubai International Finance Centre, and the Digital Dollar Project for Central Bank Digital Currency.   Previously, Hammer was Acting Secretary of the Department of Banking and Securities for Pennsylvania, having led the Department through the banking crisis of March 2023. The Department regulates and supervises ~290,000 bank and non-bank financial entities, totaling $3.5 trillion in AUM.   Hammer was also previously Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and Director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy at the US Department of the Treasury. In this role, she led the Department’s policy responsibilities involving financial institutions, as well as oversaw the Federal Insurance Office and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy (cybersecurity).   While at U.S. Treasury, Hammer also led the cross-functional team conducting a full review and report on the financial regulatory framework. Hammer also served on the board of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and assisted the U.S. Treasury Secretary in fulfilling responsibilities on the board of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).   Hammer has held various leadership positions throughout financial services in general management, portfolio management, trading, marketing, research, and analytics at the Vanguard Group, PIMCO, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Tudor Investments.   Hammer earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, and a Master of Studies from Oxford University.

Serial entrepreneur, investor, and futurist, Stephen’s accomplishments and global leadership positions with more than 100 programs / organizations and 300+ recognitions are too numerous to list. His leadership roles working daily with <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenibaraki/?sh=58f6a463aafa">more than 1 million CEOs, Investors, Scientists</a> with the world’s leading CEO, scientific, technical and financial organizations allow him a unique vantage point to oversee where transformative innovation and investments are heading in the coming years. Stephen is the visionary behind REDDS whose tireless work has positioned REDDS to take advantage of the globally unique superior intelligence received by the group.  As a small sampling representing under 1% of Stephen’s current activities, he is the: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/AI/Pages/ibaraki.aspx">Founder of UN ITU, AI FOR GOOD,</a> adopted by <a href="https://vl.dk/2021/03/he-teaches-governments-and-leaders-to-use-ai-to-create-a-better-world-and-business/">governments</a>, corporations, and academia, with 3+ billion reach, as the world’s largest AI innovation solutions program, startup Innovation Factory, and daily summit driving AI top innovative business solutions such as generative AI (BingAI, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, GPT4-5) across 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and empowering CEO-led impact programs for the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/knowledgeimpactnetwork_shareknowledge-scaleimpact-shapetheworld-activity-7046900606879367168-MCxD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop">benefit of humanity and Earth Ecosystems such as with KIN</a> (Knowledge Impact Network) and <a href="https://stephenibaraki.com/ieee-tems/interviews/v0923/stephen_hecht2023_ieee-tems.html">Million PeaceMakers</a>. Ongoing judge and Grand Finale judge from the founding of the #AIForGood Innovation Factory with the last Grande Finale winner announced at the July AIForGood 2023 in this <a href="https://aiforgood.itu.int/scaling-up-global-action-on-sustainable-development-winning-ai-start-up-awarded-at-ai-for-good-global-summit/">news release</a>.</li> <li>Founding member of WFP Innovation Accelerator advisory council in 2017 and with the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sibaraki_earthshotprize-innovation-technology-activity-7127713777646505984-H0rR?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop">November 2023 announcement of two portfolio startups winning the 1 million UK pounds prize each</a>, top innovation Earthshot Prize. WFP is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, multiple awardee of Apple, Good, Fast Company awards for innovation.</li> <li>From 2009 serving in roles as: current ACM practitioner board (PB) and past chair / current ACM PB chair professional development committee (PDC) / current board PDC TechTalks committee / current board ByteCast committee / current board working group head on startups-entrepreneurship; ACM is the world’s largest computing organization. From 1989 serving in roles as: past CIPS President and Chair; CIPS founding fellow advising CEO; CIPS is Canada’s national ICT organization. From 2007, serving in roles as: founder and current vice-chair IFIP IP3, founder and current chair IFIP Industry Council; IFIP is the UNESCO-founded independent federation of national and international ICT organizations with CIPS, ACM, IEEE as some of the founders. From 2004 serving in roles as: NPA board member, NPA founding fellow; NPA is a global infrastructure ICT organization. From 2016 serving in roles as: IEEE CS board committee member; current IEEE TEMS board committee member and active keynote in IEEE TEMS conferences/summits; current IEEE RASSE conference organizer/designer and opening keynote for industry forum in 2021, 2022, 2023; advisor to IEEE Entrepreneurship; IEEE is the world’s largest technology organization.</li> <li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/04/17/is-financial-services-ready-for-broad-5th-machine-age-technology-adoption/?sh=364081ad76cf">Founder of Fintech Ideas Festival, Technology Advisory Council</a>, providing industry solutions ten years into the future for the top 100 CEOs representing nearly US $100 Trillion in managed assets where the CEOs invested in all the transformational tech solutions and startups identified from Stephen 2015 including blockchain, digital identities, mobile financial services, AI/ML, cybersecurity, biometrics, 5/6G, quantum computing, future of fintech, future of the workforce, privacy and data analytics, personalization and precision services, new user/consumer experience from the confluence of the digital / physical / biological. Stephen directed the CEOs into execution focused working groups, monthly innovation forums, private summits. The public facing parts of this private work is captured in an article Stephen wrote for IT World in January 2017, “<a href="https://www.itworldcanada.com/blog/top-ceos-and-futurists-on-the-future-of-financial-services-and-technology/389899">Top CEOs and futurists on the future of financial services and technology</a>”, a <a href="https://youtu.be/FODUBJBDsGA">rare public video</a> from January 2017 private CEO summit, where Stephen provides his foresight insights to questions. The President and chair of the CEOs technology group introduces Stephen, <strong>“<em>Introduce Stephen Ibaraki. Stephen is the entrepreneur and chairman of the Fintech Ideas Festival, a tremendous help and a lot of the people are here today came through Steve’s connections and his work in the industry. Steve’s has a fantastic executive leadership career, distinguished advisor for startups and global fortune 500 companies and governments specifically on strategy, most recently organizing the current AI for Good Summit in Geneva in June 2017 with the United Nations ITU and XPRIZE.</em>”</strong> There is a joint article written for the CEOs which also appeared with the United Nations in 2017, “<a href="https://news.itu.int/trending-ai-in-finance/">Trending: AI in finance</a>” by Stephen Ibaraki, founding chairman FSR technology advisory council and Hari Gopalkrishnan, managing director, platforms and technology Bank of America. Article from Forbes in 2019: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/04/17/is-financial-services-ready-for-broad-5th-machine-age-technology-adoption/?sh=46d1cec376cf">https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/04/17/is-financial-services-ready-for-broad-5th-machine-age-technology-adoption/?sh=46d1cec376cf</a> Is Financial Services Ready For Broad 5th Machine Age Technology Adoption?</li> <li>Founding chair YPO Impact Advisory Board and <a href="https://www.ypo.org/about-ypo/">YPO</a> EU Impact Summit Advisory Board, creating workable business solutions for the world’s largest opportunities/challenges and focused on purposeful leadership / business / capital & investments / innovation. YPO: 35K CEOs, US $9 Trillion annual revenue (ranking 3^rd in GDP if considered a country) across 150+ countries, 500 chapters, employing 22 million. With work underway since May 2019, the <a href="https://www.ypo.org/eis/">first summit Oct 2020</a> and continuing as <a href="https://www.ypo.org/profile/stephen-ibaraki/">chair impact advisory board</a> with first global impact summit (<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenibaraki/2022/12/29/2023-top-4-global-impact-narratives-with-hansen-hecht-kemmerich-rocha/?sh=3805fb793e69">YPOGIS2023 in Feb 2023</a>) and continuing in <a href="https://stephenibaraki.com/ieee-tems/interviews/v0923/stephen_hecht2023_ieee-tems.html">2024</a> and beyond;</li> <li><a href="https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/33272?fullName=Stephen%20Ibaraki">Recipient of 21 Microsoft Global Awards</a> (18 MVP Awards), 40+ overall recognitions, with six years MVP 2018-2023 in AI, with the world’s largest and top corporation in technology and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6950120910011973633/">advising Microsoft under NDA since the 1970s</a>, recognizing decades of lifetime achievement, global–leadership, entrepreneurship, investments, disruptive innovation. As noted by <a href="https://www.ipthree.org/stephen-ibaraki-awarded-microsoft-mvp-ai-for-2020-2021/"><em>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in award citations</em></a><strong><em>, </em></strong><strong><em>“We recognize and value your exceptional contributions and commitment to technical communities worldwide. By sharing your real-world expertise and technical skills, you demonstrate outstanding technical community leadership. Thank you.”</em></strong> Judging as MVP, the largest youth innovation Award program, the Imagine Cup which empowers 2+ million students over 20 years. From <a href="https://educationblog.microsoft.com/en-us/2023/06/announcing-the-global-winners-for-microsoft-imagine-cup-junior-2023-students-developing-the-ai-skills-needed-for-the-future-world-of-work">Microsoft news release in Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior 2023</a>, <strong><em>“The Imagine Cup Junior is more than a competition. It is a learning journey that empowers students to develop their skills in AI and other technologies. These students have shown us how AI can be used for good, to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems and create a better future for everyone. I’m proud to be a part of this journey and congratulate all the competitors – and winners -- for their remarkable achievements." Stephen Ibaraki, Founder, UN AI for Good and Imagine Cup Junior 2023 judge. Spotlighted by the </em></strong><a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mvp-communities-blog/meet-the-startup-student-career-mentor-microsoft-mvps/ba-p/3919403">Microsoft’s MVP program in 2023 for Stephen’s mentorship global contributions in serving startups, innovation and entrepreneurship<strong>:</strong></a> <strong><em>“</em></strong><strong><em>Stephen's mentorship initiatives have been pivotal in propelling entrepreneurship and innovations that yield significant societal benefits. His dynamic involvement spans a wide spectrum of communities, including CEOs, UN agencies, scientific/engineering entities, investors, media outlets, social media platforms, and more.</em></strong> <strong><em>He says, “Mentorship, or ‘support’ for innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups occurs at many levels. Initially, building awareness, directing freely available resources and open startup platforms, helping grow the startups presence, providing advice, supporting investment, helping startups to scale”…</em></strong> article continues with examples from Imagine Cup, #AIforGood Innovation Factory, WFP Innovation Accelerator, CEO Leadership Alliance, non-profit organizations IEEE TEMS, ACM, CIPS. Invited advisor, mentor, investor for the <a href="https://foundershub.startups.microsoft.com/signup">Microsoft Startup Founders Hub</a>, founded in 2023.</li> <li>Active investor, investment / innovation / foresight advisor, serving on investment committees. Examples: Global Chair and managing general partner REDDS Capital; Adastral Funds; Southern California Master Fund (SCMF-CEO led funds of Funds); DTGO/MQDC; T&B Media Global; Terasaki Institute Biomedical Innovation (TIBI); serving on the investment selection committee for the new Canadian government sovereign funding renewed venture capital catalyst initiative (VCCI) adding up to 1.4 billion in the VC ecosystem. Canada in ranked in the top 5 in VC in the 38 countries of the OECD. Government announcements on the renewed VCCI: <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/sme-research-statistics/en/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative">VCCI</a> , <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/sme-research-statistics/en/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative-selection-committee">Funds of Funds selection committee</a> , <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2022/10/minister-ng-announces-new-venture-capital-investments.html">Minister announcement of Fund of Funds</a> , <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2023/10/minister-valdez-announces-new-investments-to-help-diverse-entrepreneurs-grow-their-businesses.html">Minister announcement on Inclusive Growth Stream Funding</a>.  For VCCI, examples of current contributions: Member of the Canadian government’s renewed Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) selection committee for the fund of funds and inclusive growth streams. See a letter of thanks outlining his work <a href="https://reddscapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Ibaraki-Letter-from-the-Hon.-Minister-Valdez-2023-09-08-1.pdf">here on the Inclusive Growth stream 1</a> and <a href="https://reddscapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Letter-to-Stephen-Ibaraki-2023-05-05.pdf">here on the Funds of Funds stream</a>. From the Minister<strong><em>,” I would like to personally thank you for your participation on the renewed Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) selection committee for the inclusive growth stream. Your report to the Deputy Minister of Economic Development was provided to me for my consideration and review. I appreciated the recommendations the committee developed on the selection of funds for the VCCI program, which demonstrated thoughtful deliberation and consideration. I particularly welcomed the recognition of the significant role of enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in Canadian venture capital as part of a market-driven investment program. As a member of the selection committee, you took on an important role contributing your expertise, insights, and leadership. Your industry experience provided a valuable lens through which to assess the applications, supporting the Government of Canada in its efforts to enhance access to capital to support Canadian entrepreneurs. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my thanks and extend my personal appreciation for the time and effort you committed to support the renewed VCCI.” </em></strong></li> <li>Examples of recent activities (at the time of profile creation: 23-11-13) for fall 2023: Host/moderator supporting organizer for <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7118579619636641792/">O’Reilly Generative AI for Government</a> superstream summit; opening keynote and conference organizer/designer <a href="https://2023.ieeerasse.org/industry-forum">IEEE RASSE 2023 Conference Industry Forum</a>; MC for the private YPO UNGA summit; moderator/speaker for <a href="https://www.leadersonpurpose.com/2023-ceo-summit">6^th Annual CEO LOP Summit co-hosted by Salesforce</a>; Mentor and AMA (Ask Me Anything) for CEO  Leadership Alliance OC AI region AI course; <a href="https://www.unaoc.org/2023/10/2nd-global-dialogue-artificial-intelligence/">Plenary speaker at UNAOC’S 2nd Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence</a> “Towards the World of #OneHumanity” on Human Centered AI</li> <li>Contributor to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/people/stephenibaraki/#7d8cad4d71ae">Forbes</a> / Cognitive World and <a href="https://www.itworldcanada.com/author/sibaraki">IT World Canada </a>on leading new investments, innovation, entrepreneurship.</li> <li>Stephen conducts interviews with global experts since the 1970s appearing with news channels, Forbes, IT World Canada, ACM, IEEE/IEEE TEMS, IFIP, NPA, CIPS, KNVI, The Brand Called You (and their 20+ platforms) and more.</li> </ul> More here on lifetime achievement for innovation, investments, entrepreneurship as <a href="http://www.cips.ca/stephen-ibaraki">CIPS Founding Fellow</a> and in <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sibaraki/">LinkedIn</a>.

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bussemaker is a business community builder with a passion for bringing people together in the Digital Age. His goal is to explore the interaction of Information Technology, Innovation and Impact. He has initiated and helped run a number of (international) communities focused on linking Information Technology, Innovation and Impact. His current responsibilities include chair of the ‘Institute for Accountability in the Digital Age’ an association set up at the instigation of UNESCO. He has been working in the International ICT industry since the 80s. He started with a Dutch start up working in the international oil and gas industry. Since then held various marketing and alliance positions with consultancy-, software firms and associations including: CIONET where he was the Secretary General International Relations a community of over 7000 CIOs where he represented the community with international institutes like the European Commission. He is the initiator of the Global Digital Leader Alliance linking over 20.000 Digital Leaders from the China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia, South America and the US. He does (pro deo) work for number of (international) organizations and communities including YPO’s Global Impact Board and iPoort an association to discuss digitization with members of the Dutch parliament. He is a founding member and vice-chair of the outreach committee of the ITU ‘AI for Good Global Summit, Geneva. He is a regular speaker and chair at international events and has spoken in Australia, China, Europe, Ghana, India, New Zealand, South-Korea, Sri Lanka and the United States. He has an MSc in Engineering Geophysics from Delft University.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<p class="contentpasted0"><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">Neil Sahota (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; background: white;">萨冠军</span></span><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">) is the CEO of ACSI Labs, United Nations (UN) AI Advisor, IBM Master Inventor, Professor at UC Irvine, and author of award-winning Best Business book of 2019, <b>Own the A.I. Revolution</b>. With 20+ years of business experience, he works with organizations to create their core business strategy, enter new markets, and develop next generation products/solutions powered by emerging technology. His work experience spans multiple industries including legal services, healthcare, life sciences, retail, travel and transportation, energy and utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media/communication, and government. Moreover, Neil is one of the few people selected for IBM's Corporate Service Corps leadership program that pairs leaders with NGOs to perform community-driven economic development projects. For his assignment, Neil lived and worked in Ningbo, China where he partnered with Chinese corporate CEOs to create a leadership development program.</span></span></p> <p class="contentpasted0"><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">In addition, Neil partners with entrepreneurs to define their products, establish their target markets, and structure their companies. He is a member of several investor groups like the Tech Coast Angels,</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;"> <span class="contentpasted01">advises venture capital funds like Miramar and CerraCap, and helped create the UN’s Innovation Factory, a global program for social impact entrepreneurs. Neil also serves as a judge in various startup competitions and mentor in several incubator/accelerator programs.</span> </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;"><span class="contentpasted01"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black; background: white;">He actively pursues social good and volunteers with nonprofits. Neil cofounded the UN's AI for Good Initiative and is actively helping them building out their ecosystem of strategic partnerships. He is currently helping the Zero Abuse Project prevent child sexual abuse as well as Planet Home to engage youth culture in sustainability initiatives. Over the last twelve years, he has served as a Board Director to several non-profit organizations such as the Inteleos and Cancer Computer as well as corporate boards from around the world like Legalmation, Lingmo, and Shineville. </span></span></p>

Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei is a pioneering force in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology, with a wealth of experience spanning both government and the private sector. Her exceptional expertise in artificial intelligence, supercomputing, telecommunications, semiconductors, technology governance, advanced technology, and strategic innovation has positioned her at the forefront of AI leadership globally, earning recognition among <strong>H2o.ai's world's top 100 AI leaders</strong>. As a thought leader, entrepreneur, and patent inventor, Dr. Almazrouei has been instrumental in pioneering cutting-edge AI models and fostering global AI policy frameworks. Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei plays a key role in shaping AI strategies and frameworks, and building international collaborations on a global scale. She serves as <strong>Chairperson</strong> of the <strong>United Nations AI for Good Impact Initiative</strong> and as a <strong>Senior AI Consultant</strong> for the <strong>International Telecommunication Union (ITU)</strong>, playing a critical role in <strong>shaping global AI policies, technology governance, and regulation frameworks</strong>. Dr. Almazrouei's exceptional contributions have garnered her notable honors, including the <strong>Leading AI Women in the World list</strong>, the <strong>Global Leadership Women in Tech® MENA Award</strong>, and a spot among the <strong>Top 100 Global Tech Speakers</strong>. She also holds various advisory roles and board memberships across various international organizations. As the <strong>CEO and Founder of AIE3</strong>, Dr. Almazrouei continues to drive AI innovation, developing scalable AI solutions, building capacity, and leading industry-wide advancements. She previously held senior executive roles, including <strong>Executive Director, Acting Chief AI Researcher,</strong> and <strong>Founder of the AI Cross Center Unit (AICCU)</strong> at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). She established and led the AI Cross Center, driving strategic planning and development. Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei directed and spearheaded the development of the <strong>Falcon Large Language Models (LLMs)</strong>—Falcon 7B, 40B, and 180B. These AI models have made significant strides in AI research and development in the world, particularly in open-source generative AI models. Additionally, she developed NOOR, the first and the largest Arabic LLM in 2022. Dr Ebtesam Almazrouei is the first Emirati woman to hold a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence for Wireless Communication Engineering and Computer Science. Her vision is to leverage AI to address global challenges and drive meaningful societal impact.

World-renowned musician and BBC TV broadcaster LJ Rich presents on the international technology show, BBC Click. In the last year she's delivered lines at 75mph from the UK's tallest thrill ride, performed to a drone in the sea off the Welsh Coast - and learned to rap on camera thanks to a mind-reading AI headset. LJ's many innovative projects coupled with a wide knowledge of tech trends bring a unique spark to her professional speaking engagements. A highly accomplished pianist, she uses music to connect the emotional and rational minds of audiences, unlocking creative thinking and solving real-world problems. She believes AI/Machine Learning can be a companion to creativity and regularly uses it to enhance her original works. LJ also loves eating and singing, trains and planes, and solving difficult puzzles.

Harry Yeff is a London-born Creative Director and founder of R100 Studios. Yeff has forged a partnership with ITU, seeking out artists who push the boundaries of human and machine collaboration. Specialising in a blend of grassroots emergent curation and strategic insight for global arts and cultural initiatives and institutional collaboration. His research delves into how art, fueled by emergent technologies, can prepare society for present and future opportunities in a new creative and work landscape.