Head of the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), linked to the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). Responsible for research projects to produce data on information and communication technologies (ICT) for monitoring national policies and international goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Coordinates capacity-building programs on survey methodologies in Latin America and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. Member of the Consultative Committee of the Brazilian Census (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics [IBGE]) and Board of Counselors of the Innovation Center for Brazilian Education  (CIEB). He was chair of the Expert Group on ICT Household Indicators (EGH) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), from 2012 to 2017, and is an expert at the OECD Working Party on Measurement and Analysis of the Digital Economy and Working Party on Artificial Intelligence Governance.

Holds a Ph.D. in business administration from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV, Brazil), a master’s degree in business administration from Bradford University (UK), a MSc in computer science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil), a BSc in electrical engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC Minas, Brazil), and conducted postdoctoral research at HEC Montreal (Canada).

Andrea Barone is an applied economist with over 20 years of experience in economic analysis and policymaking in the telecom and digital sectors. He joined the World Bank in 2018 as senior adviser to the Chief Economist for the MENA region, and in 2021 became senior economist in the Digital Vice Presidency. He is currently leading the development of the digital topics’ sections of several World Bank data platforms including the newly launched Data360. He is also participating in policy dialogue and lending operations in several countries.

Earlier in his career he worked at the Italian Competition Authority, where he carried out antitrust investigations, merger control analyses and market studies in different sectors (telecoms, media and broadcasting, e-commerce, banking and finance, payment systems, insurance, manufacturing, water and sanitation, waste management). In that period, he was also a Registered National Expert for EU competition and consumer protection law and policy within TAIEX, the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument of the European Commission.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence (Italy), a MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a BSc in Business and Economics from the University of Florence.

Dr. Caroline Gevaert is an Associate Professor at the University of Twente and a part-time advisor for the World Bank, specializing in geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) for sustainable development. After earning a BSc from Wageningen University, she pursued dual MSc degrees in Earth Observation (University of Valencia) and Geographical Information Systems (Lund University), followed by a cum laude PhD at the University of Twente. Her PhD research on drone-based GeoAI for slum upgrading received the prestigious NCG JM Tienstra Research Award and earned them a spot in the New Scientist top 15 Science Talents from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Rapidly advancing to Associate Professor within five years of her PhD, Caroline has secured major grants, including a personal research grant (NWO-Veni) for integrating Responsible AI into GeoAI and an NWO-MVI project with 510, an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross and UNICEF on ethical AI for disaster response. She is member of the Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) Dutch Young Academy and the Dutch Academy of Sciences Council for Natural and Technical Sciences. Her research focuses on developing GeoAI methods tailored to Low- and Middle-Income Countries, tackling challenges such as data scarcity, urban complexity, bias mitigation, and explainability to ensure these technologies support real-world decision-making in critical development contexts.

Daniel Taccari is the Chief of the Statistical Innovation and Dissemination Unit at ECLAC Statistics Division. Graduate in Statistics and Master in Biometry, he has worked as an educational statistics and evaluation expert, as well as project leader on indicators and statistical information systems in Argentina and for MERCOSUR, including several Latin America and the Caribbean countries as Regional Advisor at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In 2009, he joined ECLAC Statistics Division, coordinating activities related to MDG/SDG indicators and the development and implementation of statistics dissemination platforms. These platforms include the statistical data portal CEPALSTAT, the geospatial data portal CEPALGEO, the Statistical Yearbook, and the SDG Gateway, including statistical and geospatial data, satellite images products and qualitative data. Additionally, he coordinates ECLAC’s data governance program and data ecosystem within the framework of ECLAC’s knowledge management strategy.

Dániel Vértesy is an economist at the ICT Data and Analytics division of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecommunication Development Bureau, leading the work on measuring the affordability of ICT services, focusing on measuring and analysing digital development, and coordinating the work of the ITU Expert Group on Telecommunications/ICT indicators (EGTI). Previously, he coordinated research projects at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and was a research fellow at the United Nations University in Maastricht (UNU-MERIT).
His publications encompass innovation system dynamics and economics of technological change, the aerospace industry, the economic impacts of artificial intelligence, and measuring ICTs and digital development. He has supported international organizations (including EU institutions, OECD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNCTAD, UNECA, WIPO) with developing monitoring tools and statistically coherent indicator frameworks.
He holds a Ph.D. in Innovation Studies and Development from Maastricht University and UNU-MERIT, a Ph.D. in Economics and an MA in International Relations from the Corvinus University of Budapest.

Demi Getschko has been involved in international networking since 1987 and took part on the team that established the first Internet connection to Brazil. He has been a member of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) since its creation in 1995 and has served as administrative contact for the ccTLD .br since 1989. He played a critical role in the definition of the Brazilian DNS tree and in defining the rules that govern the Brazilian registry. Founding member of ISOC Brasil (Internet Society in Brazil), 1995.
He holds BSc, MSc, and PhD, degrees in Electronic Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He was selected for the ICANN Board by the ccNSO - Country Code Names Supporting Organization - in 2005. Currently he works as Associate Professor in Computing Architecture at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), a Board Member of CGI.br and CEO of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). In 2014 he was elected the first Brazilian to appear on the Hall of Fame of the Internet to "Global Connectors" category for his "key role in establishing the first Internet connection in Brazil." The ceremony was held in Hong Kong by the Internet Society.
He was awarded the Cristina Tavares Prize, by the Brazilian Computer Society. He was also awarded the "Personality of Technology in 2014" Prize by SEESP (Engineering Union of São Paulo State) in the category "Internet" in recognition of scientific and technological work and its dedication and commitment to the country development. He was admitted to the Communications Merit Order at the “Officer Degree” as a way of acknowledging his relevant services rendered to Communications.

Principal Researcher at the Society for the Development of Scientific Research (SCIENCE). Previously, she worked for many years at the National School of Statistical Sciences (ENCE) at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). She completed her PhD in Statistics at the University of Southampton and has over 35 years of experience as a survey methodologist. Additionally, she has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Denise is currently vice president of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), editor of the Statistical Journal of the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) and was president of the International Association of Survey Statisticians (IASS) in 2019-2021. Her main areas of interest are survey methods, official statistics, and statistical education.

Fernando Rojas has over 25 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. Since 2010, he has served in the Division of Productive and Business Development at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), where he specializes in telecommunications infrastructure and the digital economy.

In 2011, he assumed the coordination of the Regional Broadband Observatory (ORBA), a platform that supports Latin American and Caribbean countries in designing and monitoring public policies aimed at achieving universal broadband access. He is also part of the technical secretariat of the eLAC process, a regional political dialogue on ICT launched in 2005, where he leads the working group on meaningful connectivity.

Ergon Cugler de Moraes Silva holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Government (FGV EAESP), an MBA in Data Science (USP ESALQ), and a Bachelor's degree in Public Policy Management (USP EACH). He also completed a postgraduate specialization in Data Science for Social and Business Analytics at the Universitat de Barcelona. A researcher with over 600 publications, his articles have been featured in official educational materials and public examinations in Brazil. He currently serves as Head of Data Science at More in Common Brazil and as a researcher at the Laboratory of Studies on Informational Disorder and Public Policy (DesinfoPop/CEAPG/FGV), with research experience in groups at USP, UNB, and Oxford. He participated in the CGI.br Youth Program (2024). He has also worked as a researcher at the Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), contributing to the “Saúde com Ciência” Program and the Technical Communication Chamber of Brazil’s National Immunization Plan Disinformation Response Committee. He is a member of the Centro de Estudos da Mídia Alternativa Barão de Itararé and he is a free/libre software developer, advocates for open knowledge sharing, and makes tools and applications publicly available for scientific research.

Research Coordinator at the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), linked to the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). Researcher in the field of digital inequalities, is currently responsible for planning and implementing ICT-related research projects in Brazil, as well as cooperating with Latin America and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa to strengthen international comparability of indicators. Mr. Senne has integrated expert groups leaded by international organizations such as UNESCO, OECD, UN-ECLAC and PAHO-WHO. Mr Senne holds a PhD degree in Political Science from the University of São Paulo (Brazil), a Master Degree in Communication from University of Brasília (Brazil) and a BSc Degree in Social Sciences from the University of São Paulo (Brazil).

Giulia Tucci holds a PhD in Information Sciences (2023) from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT) and the School of Communication at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She has a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from COPPE/UFRJ (2011) and a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from PUC-Rio (2006). Since 2017, she has focused her studies on information flow in digital platforms. Her doctoral research investigated information flow (and disinformation) on Telegram during Brazil's 2022 electoral campaign. Her expertise encompasses computational social sciences, political studies, and digital methods. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in a joint program between IBICT and UFRJ, as well as a visiting researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, contributing to the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security program.

Social Scientist and researcher with over 23 years of experience, currently Coordinator of Sectoral Studies and Qualitative Methods at the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), a department of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br). From 2017 to 2022, she served as Managing Director of CEBRAP (Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning), where she also coordinated the Development Research Center. Her earlier roles include Senior Manager at Ipsos Public Affairs Brazil (2010–2015) and Researcher at CEBRAP (2001–2010). She was a Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex, UK, in 2004 and 2008. In 2015, she lectured in Research Methodology for Market and Public Opinion at the postgraduate program in Marketing and Communication at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo.

Since January 2025, Guilherme Canela is the Director of the Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation and Secretary of the Information for All Programme (Ifap) at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris.

As Chief of the Section for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists for five years (2020–2025), he was notably responsible for World Press Freedom Day, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, and the Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms.

Between 2012 and 2020 (eight years), he held the position of Communication and Information Regional Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at UNESCO Montevideo Office. During those years, he acted as Regional Coordinator of the UNESCO Initiative for the Promotion of Democracy and Freedom of Expression in judicial systems in Latin America.

He was also the Secretary of the Regional Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (MoWLAC), and focal point of the Organization for issues related to the safety of journalists.

He holds a B.A. in international relations from the University of Brasília (UNB) and a master’s degree in political science from the University of São Paulo (USP).

DSc in Statistics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2013), currently serving as a researcher and professor at the National School of Statistical Sciences (ENCE/IBGE). His areas of expertise include Bayesian statistics, statistical models for social networks, applied statistics, and spatial statistics. He previously held the positions of Undergraduate Coordinator and Substitute General Coordinator at ENCE, and currently serves as the institutional representative of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br) at the same institution.

Haoyi Chen works at the UN Statistic Division, is the Coordinator of the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys and leads the work on citizen-generated data and data integration. Before she joined the current position in September 2019, she led the programme on international migration statistics at the UN Statistics Division. She has also worked on various statistical areas including gender statistics, population censuses, civil registration and vital statistics. She holds a Ph.D degree in Statistics from the University of Florida.

Howard Bilodeau is an economist at Statistics Canada where he focuses on measuring the digital transformation of Canadian businesses and society. As part of this role, he manages existing technology surveys and works to develop new data products to address data gaps in the measurement of emerging technologies. He also works with international organizations such as the OECD and ITU to help facilitate global coordination and collaboration in the development of ICT indicators.

Julie Ricard is a researcher and PhD Candidate in Public Administration and Government at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV). She works on disinformation and public policies, with a focus on health, gender and democracy. Currently, she holds a scholarship from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), working as a researcher at the Center for Studies in Public Administration and Government (CEAPG) and the Laboratory for Studies on Informational Disorder and Public Policies (DesinfoPop) at FGV. Previously, she worked as a consultant for UNESCO, supporting the efforts to tackle disinformation on public health of the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Brazilian Presidency (SECOM) and as Director of the Technology and Democracy program at the Data-Pop Alliance.

Kleber Canuto - PhD in Strategy and Organizations and Director of Research and Analytics at Linked Data. UNDP consultant for the Brazilian government on governance and data sharing in digital government. Over 20 years of experience in research projects, data science, and innovation applied to competitive intelligence. Structuring and accrediting educational institutions and undergraduate and graduate programs in research methodologies and data science.

Luis González Morales is Chief of the Data Innovation and Capacity Management Section at the United Nations Statistics Division. He leads efforts to modernize global data infrastructures, integrate AI and data science into official statistics, and promote interoperability through open standards. His team focuses on making data more accessible, reusable, and policy-relevant, bridging the gap between innovation and institutional practice in the UN system.

Coordinator of Quantitative Methods, Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, Brazilian Network Information Center.
Responsible for the coordination of quantitative processes at Cetic.br, including large national sample design and selection, field data collection control and quality management, data processing, development of new methodologies including small area estimation projects and non-probability samples studies. Holds a master’s degree in Population Studies and Social Research and a bachelor’s degree in Statistics at the National School of Statistical Science (ENCE).

Marina M. Tavares is a senior Economist in the Climate Change Structural Reforms Division of the IMF’s Research Department. Before joining RES, Marina led the working group on the interconnections between macroeconomic policy and inequality under FCDO-IMF Collaboration. Her research interests include macroeconomics, labor markets, AI, climate change, gender, and inequality. Before joining the Fund, Ms. Tavares worked as an assistant professor at Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), and she holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Pedro Luis do Nascimento Silva was the President of the International Statistical Institute 2015-2017, and is Vice-President of SCIENCE. PhD. In Social Statistics (University of Southampton, 1996), Pedro’s main research interests are survey and sampling methodology, and the analysis of survey data.

Ravi Shankar leads the WHO GIS Centre for Health at WHO Headquarters, where he drives the strategic application of geospatial intelligence to advance global health outcomes. With over two decades of experience, he has played a pivotal role in integrating GIS and spatial data systems into public health decision-making, particularly in complex emergency and outbreak settings.

As the former GIS Technical Officer for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Ravi was instrumental in modernising geospatial tools to support surveillance and microplanning. During the West Africa Ebola outbreak, he led the development of WHO’s global mapping platform to deliver real-time situational awareness for coordinated response.

Earlier in his career at UNOSAT, Ravi supported emergency mapping efforts for the Haiti earthquake, Thailand floods, the Syrian conflict, and the Libyan war. A strong proponent of capacity building, he designed and taught a Master’s-level GIS course for disaster management at the University of Copenhagen. Originally trained as an architect and urban planner, he contributed to national master plans in Libya and the Andaman Islands.

Today, Ravi continues to champion innovation in geospatial data use, supporting digital transformation across health systems and contributing to global efforts to enhance the quality, availability, and interoperability of critical data for sustainable development.

Dr. Vuorikari is an independent expert with over 25 years of experience in digital skills and digital education. Between 2022-2024, she co-chaired EGH’s sub-group on ICT Skills. Between 2017-2022, she was a member of Eurostat’s Information Society Statistics Working Group while working at EU’s Joint Research Centre. In 2022, Dr Vuorikari led the EU’s update of its Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (2.2) and contributed to the Digital Skills Indicator 2.0. Today, she works as an independent expect collaborating with the ITU, World Bank and EU to enhance citizens’ digital competence.

Roland Hosner is a sociologist, migration researcher and statistician, currently working on the estimation of internal mobility and bias-adjustment of statistics derived from mobile phone data. He is Flowminder’s Senior Statistician and leads all work on survey design and analysis, as well as on data triangulation of mobile phone data, survey and census data, to produce mobility and population estimates for Haiti, the DRC and Ghana, and all other project and country work.

Trent D. Buskirk, Ph.D. is a Professor and Provost Fellow of Data Science in the new School of Data Science at Old Dominion University. Prior to this appointment, Trent was the Novak Family Distinguished Professor of Data Science and outgoing Chair of the Applied Statistics and Operations Research Department at Bowling Green State University. Dr. Buskirk is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and his research interests include big data quality, recruitment methods through social media, the use of big data and machine learning methods and Large Language Models for health, social and survey science design and analysis, fairness in AI models and interpretable ML methods. Trent has also been involved in various professional organizations serving as the President of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research in 2016, the Conference Chair for AAPOR in 2018 and as part of the scientific committee for the BigSurv series of conferences which began in 2018. Trent has also served as an Associate Editor for Methods for the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. When Trent is not geeking out over data science, big data or survey methodology, you can find him playing a competitive game of Pickleball!

Umar Serajuddin is a Manager at the World Bank’s Development Data Group, in charge of its Indicators and Data Services unit. He leads the Bank’s Open Data initiative and oversees the management of the World Development Indicators (WDI). He manages the teams that publish some of World Bank’s most prominent global public goods, including the global poverty numbers (PIP), the Statistical Performance Indicators (SPI), the World Integrated Trade Solutions (WITS)(opens in a new tab), the Microdata Library, and Open Data Catalogue (Development Data Hub). He also coordinates the Bank’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring initiatives and, most recently, the production of the Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals.

Previously, Umar worked as a poverty economist for the Middle East and North Africa and the South Asia regions of the World Bank. During that time, he led the World Bank’s efforts in poverty analysis and policy development in Jordan and Yemen.

Umar holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and has published work in the fields of poverty, inequality, and social protection.

Víctor Andrés Arévalo is currently the coordinator of the SDG group at DANE. He is a philosopher from the National University of Colombia.

He was a Carolina Foundation scholar for his master’s studies in Social Studies of Science and Technology at the University of Salamanca in Spain. He served as an advisor to the Colombian Air Force on Knowledge Management and Air Doctrine.

Affiliated with DANE for over 10 years, he has worked in statistical research and regulation, as well as in the monitoring and follow-up of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. Mr. Arévalo is also a professor of quantitative methodology, mathematical logic, and formal linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at the National University of Colombia.

Vladimir Klyuev is Advisor in the Statistics Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In that role, his primary focus is on communication, on supporting country teams, and on analytical work in the department. Since joining the IMF in 2000, Vladimir has worked in several area departments on countries as diverse as Belize, Canada, Colombia, Slovak Republic, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and the United States, among others; as well as in the Research Department, the Institute for Capacity Development (where he taught a variety of courses), and the Strategy, Policy and Review Department. Vladimir possesses considerable experience in policy issues, bilateral and multilateral surveillance, and program work as well as a strong record of policy-oriented research. Vladimir holds a Master of Science (equivalent) degree from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute; a Master of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University (Bloomington); and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University.

Wagner Meira Jr. is professor of Computer Science at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil. He obtained his PhD from the University of Rochester in 1997. Wagner is a top-level CNPq productivity researcher, coordinator of the Center for AI Technology for Health at UFMG, and vice-coordinator of IAIA - Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology on AI. He has published over 300 articles in relevant journals and is co-author of the books Data Mining and Analysis - Fundamental Concepts and Algorithms and Data Mining and Machine Learning - Fundamental Concepts and Algorithms, both published by Cambridge University Press in 2014 and 2020, respectively. His research focuses on the scalability and efficiency of large-scale parallel and distributed systems, from massively parallel to Internet-based platforms, and on data mining and machine learning algorithms, their parallelization and application in areas such as healthcare, information retrieval, bioinformatics, e-governance, and cybersecurity, among others.

Researcher at Cetic.br, where he leads the Methodological Innovation Lab. Bachelor in Public Administration from FGV-SP. Extensive experience in survey methodology in the fields of Digital Inclusion, Meaningful Connectivity, Privacy and Data Protection, Digital Transformation, and Internet Governance.