WSIS

Malcolm Johnson is a seasoned information and communication technology (ICT) executive who has served in senior management positions at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) since 2007. Prior to his election as Deputy Secretary-General, he was Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.

Earlier, he served as International Coordinator at the United Kingdom’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), with chief responsibility for UK engagement with ITU and international regulators. As Director of the UK Radiocommunications Agency until 2003, he also acted as the European Coordinator for several World Radiocommunication Conferences.

The Rev. Dr. Liberato “Levi” C. Bautista is President of CoNGO—The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (2007-2011 and 2018-2025) and Assistant General Secretary for UN and International Affairs of the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church. Both organizations have consultative statuses with ECOSOC. He previously served as Chair of the Council of Organizations of the United Nations Association of the USA.

Bautista studied political science, history, and international studies at the University of the Philippines and religion and social and political ethics at Drew University (USA). He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He has travelled to some 80 countries around the world attending major United Nations, ecumenical, interreligious, civil society, and academic conferences. He participated in both the Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) phases of the World Summit on Information Society where he addressed the ethical implications of communications technology in the production and proliferation of information and knowledge.

Bautista has written and published essays and monographs on varied subjects, many based on his lectures and speeches on the work and role of civil society and non-governmental and grassroots organizations, in local, national, regional, international and multilateral arenas. His writings address Bautista’s concern for the organizational life of NGOs and civil society organizations characterized by consultative processes, collaborative approaches, and cooperative spirit. Such organizational values, elaborated in his writings, point to the importance of NGOs as a cohesive and effective force for change and transformation operating under proven principles of NGO good practice. Bautista’s NGO work total 44 years today.

Michael W. Hodin, Ph.D. is CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging, Managing Partner at High Lantern Group, and a Fellow at Oxford University’s Harris Manchester College. He has spoken internationally on the topic of aging, including at G20, APEC, Davos, and the World Knowledge Forum (WKF). He is also a blogger on Medium.

Mike is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and from 2010-2013, was Adjunct Senior Fellow with a focus on population aging. In 2013, Mike was invited by then-Committee Chairman Bill Nelson (D-FL) to lead a Members’ Roundtable with the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Mike was also the recipient of the 2012 Fred D. Thompson Award from the American Federation for Aging Research. He sits on the Boards of the Foreign Policy Association, Business Council for International Understanding, NYC Blood Center, American Skin Association, American Federation for Aging Research and Emigrant Savings Bank, where he is Chairman of its compensation committee. Mike was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Ageing. And he sits on the Advisory Board for the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging.

Tiffany Brar, a born fighter, did not let her disability stand as a hindrance in her moving forward.She became blind due to the sheer negligence of a doctor, soon after birth. Though her parents tried to rectify her condition, it  was to no avail and  she strongly believes that it is for a purpose that she is visually challenged and her disability is away to bring possibility for others like her.

She studied for her prime years in Great Britain, after which she returned to India and pursued her schooling. It  was the discrimination and segregation she met on account of her disability, that instilled in her a drive and a  determination to change the plight of her fellow blind brothers and sisters. She being forcefully made to sit at the  back of the class and not being allowed to participate in sports,only made her more determined to make a change.

She is a motivational speaker, a special educator, a social activist, ever ready to raise her voice for her community  and for other disabilities as well. Her organization has played an integral role in empowering the blind and blind women empowerment. The President himself addresses her as “THE COURAGEOUS DAUGHTER OF INDIA”, a this address to the country at  the United Nations International Day for Persons with Disabilities in December, 2017 where he also presented her with the“National Award for the Best Role Model”.