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Getachew Mengisitie Alemu
Getachew Mengisitie Alemu is an intellectual property (IP) consultant and lends his expertise to a wide range of countries and organizations. He has worked in over 20 countries implementing IP projects supported by the European Commission, the World Bank, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), UNDP, and UNECA working with professionals in multicultural and multiethnic environments. He drafted the national IP policies, development plans and laws of a number of African countries, and he has implemented projects aimed at demonstrating the use of IP as a tool for development. These include branding of Ethiopian Fine Coffees and Ugandan Vanilla with the aim of changing marketing position of growers and small traders…
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Smita Rakesh
Smita Rakesh is a Partner at Social Alpha, an initiative to drive economic growth, social justice, and climate action through the power of entrepreneurship and market-creating innovations. As the head of Climate and Sustainability practice, she is also responsible for building and deploying a portfolio of science and technology innovations across sectors in climate change mitigation, adaptation, and ecosystem restoration for a socially and ecologically just transition. Smita has been deeply engaged with the global climate and clean energy ecosystem for the last 15 years, designing and implementing institutional programs in public, private, and development sectors. Smita is passionate about catalyzing large-scale and inclusive social change through responsible investments and…
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Sasha Brown
Sasha Brown is an expert in the ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI). She is Head of Ethics Foresight at Google DeepMind—Google’s world leading AI research lab—and now works to ensure that DeepMind’s research, and the applications it powers, have a positive impact on humanity. She has stewarded the ethical analysis of groundbreaking machine learning projects and led research on topics such as privacy, transparency and fairness; AI morality and values; governance and accountability; misuses and unintended consequences of AI development; and economic impact of AI. Her work—which draws on aspects of moral philosophy, political history, economics, and computer science—aims to understand how technical advances will impact society, and create and…
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Ann Thomas
Ann Thomas is Senior Advisor, Sanitation and Hygiene at UNICEF. She is an environmental engineer with over two decades of development experience, within the UN system and aid organizations in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Her passion is driving strategic policy decisions in the WASH sector – an often-overlooked investment-multiplier in emerging economies – that translate directly to improved health and economic development outcomes. Ann has served as advisor to national governments across Africa and Asia, aligning national strategies for water and sanitation with global best practice, climate change considerations, and innovative financing opportunities. Ann’s work is motivated by front line experiences in disasters and cholera outbreaks, witnessing the disproportionate…
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Leonid Volkov
Leonid Volkov is a Russian politician of the Russia’s Future Party. Leonid was campaign manager and chief of staff for Alexei Navalny’s 2013 mayoral campaign for Moscow, as well as Alexei Navalny’s attempt to get registered for the 2018 presidential election. Currently, Leonid oversees all regional political operations of the Russia’s Future Party over Russia’s 11 time zones. He is a former deputy of the Yekaterinburg City Duma and the head of the central election committee of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council. Leonid has over 20 years of experience as an IT professional, running and consulting several of Russia’s largest software firms. Together with Fyodor Krasheninnikov he published three editions…
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Diana Tsui
Diana Tsui has served as Head of Global Philanthropy for Asia Pacific at J.P. Morgan since 2014, working to develop grant-making and corporate responsibility strategies across 14 countries in the region. Previously, Diana was the Head of CSR and Diversity for KPMG China and Hong Hong. In 2008, Diana also oversaw the establishment of and served as CEO of the KPMG Foundation. Her previous positions include working as Managing Director of Mercy Corps East Asia, and as Head of Community Affairs for Nike's Asia Pacific region. She has worked closely with multinationals, governments, and international organizations such as the European Commission, ILO, Asia Development Bank, and the World Bank China,…
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Huzir Sulaiman
Huzir Sulaiman works across different media, art forms, and genres telling stories that allow people to access complex ideas in simple, personal, human ways. A celebrated Malaysian-born playwright, his plays include the internationally acclaimed satire Atomic Jaya (1998), which asks what would happen if Malaysia decided to build an atomic bomb, and the award-winning The Weight of Silk on Skin (2011), a meditation on women, beauty, love and loss. He heads Studio Wong Huzir, a creative consultancy, and is a Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre, which the Financial Times (UK) called “a repository of much of [Singapore’s] best stage talent.” Huzir also writes for film, television and newspapers, and…
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Ibrahim "Ben" Suffian
Ibrahim "Ben" Suffian is an entrepreneur and innovator in the public polling sector where he has contributed significantly to better governance, policy development, citizen outreach, and democratic processes within Malaysia’s political system. He co-founded the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research in 2004. The Center has become a central player in Malaysian national politics by improving the quality of public debate, widening public participation in the political process, and contributing to the formation of a more coherent civil society.
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Patrick Struebi
Patrick Struebi is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, and founder and CEO of the Fairtrasa Group, a pioneering social enterprise that lifts marginalized small-scale farmers out of poverty. Fairtrasa is one of the largest organic and fairtrade exporters from Latin America with a vertically integrated business structure, impacting over 40,000 direct beneficiaries. He is also the co-founder of Blooom, a cutting-edge AgTech platform with the goal of lifting 1 million farmers out of poverty by 2023. For his work with Fairtrasa, Patrick has been selected an Ashoka Fellow, an Endeavor high-impact Entrepreneur, and a Gabelli Fellow. Furthermore, he has been named four times Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the…
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Sisonke Msimang
Sisonke Msimang is a writer and activist who works on race, gender, democracy, and politics. Sisonke works on human rights and Democracy with the Sonke Gender Justice Network, which has been a leading advocate of working with men and boys in promoting gender equality. She has global, regional, and national experience, having worked for the United Nations as well as within the civil society sector and in private philanthropy. Until November 2012, she led George Soros’ philanthropic efforts based in Johannesburg as the Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. She is also the author of a weekly column at the Daily Maverick, a leading South African…
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