Meet the Decision-Makers: WSA’s Online Jury

Next week marks a new stage in the World Summit Awards – the Online Jury Process. With a commitment to democracy and transparency, WSA ensures a fair and diverse selection of global digital solutions. Once a digital solution is nominated, it undergoes an evaluation across multiple stages to potentially emerge as a WSA Winner or even Global Champion.

The WSA Jury Process:

  1. Nomination and Application: WSA National Experts, representing 182 UN member states, nominate up to eight digital solutions across 8 categories. The youth category welcomes open applications. Nominees completing their applications in the WSA online contest database are ushered into the Jury process.
  2. The Online Jury: An Online Jury, comprising international experts, meticulously reviews and evaluates all permitted applications. This distinguished panel pre-selects the top 15 to 18 products in each of the eight WSA categories, forming the Short List.
  3. The Grand Jury: For the solutions that make it through the initial stage, there is a second Jury that is done in person. This year, the Grand Jury will be held in Hyderabad, India. In this stage, dedicated Jury Panels, assigned by the WSA office, reassess the Short List. These committed Jury Members then select the five winners in each WSA category.
  4. Announcement & WSA Global Congress: The winners of the WSA Jury Process are publicly announced and then personally informed. Invitations are extended to join the WSA Global Congress, where winners seize the opportunity to pitch their solutions to an international on-site Jury panel. This presentation determines the one Global Champion in each WSA category, unveiled at the grand Award Ceremony and Gala. This year, the Global Congress will be held in Chile.

Learn more about WSA's Jury Process

The Online Jury Stage

Now, let's turn our focus to the faces behind the Online Jury stage. Comprising a diverse array of international experts, this esteemed panel plays a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of digital innovations. Their discerning eyes and vast expertise contribute to the meticulous shortlisting process, setting the stage for the grand unveiling of the best in global digital innovation.

Meet WSA's Decision Makers

Dritan Mezini

Senior consultant and Managing Director

DM Consulting Services

Albania

Rachel Downie

Founder and Director

Styme

Australia

Sachi Wickramage

Co-Founder and CEO

i4T Global

Australia

Christian Bauer

Manager

Bauer & Associates

Austria

Taghrid Elashkr

Scrum Master

SimCorp

Austria

Dudu Gencel

Startup Services

Vienna Business Agency

Austria

Mathias Haas

Founder and CEO

SuperSocial

Austria

Christoph Höbart

Interface- and Communication Designer | Entrepreneur

Austria

Kambis Kohansal-Vajargah

Head of Startup-Services

Austrian Federal Economic Chamber

Austria

Kristina Maurer

Expert of Digital Humanism

Vienna Business Agency

Austria

Brigitte Pfisterer

Program Manager

INiTS

Austria

Andrea Rauscher

Strategy

Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

Austria

Matthias Weichhart

Social Impact Expert

FFG

Austria

Jens Wirsching

Senior Advisor

Business Angel

Austria

Georg Woschnagg

Co-Founder

goood network

Austria

Ulduza Khalilova

Chief Executive Officer

“Digital Umbrella” LLC

Azerbaijan

Ahmed Al Hujairy

General Secretary

Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH)

Bahrain

Nawaf M. Abdulrahman

Head of Information Technology

Mohammed bin Khalifa Cardiac Center

Bahrain

Ubaydli Ubaydli

Chairman

Bahrain Technology Companies Society & Arab ICT Union

Bahrain

Rahat Hossain

Program Manager

AYAT

Bangladesh

Abdelaziz Lawani

Assistant Professor

Tennessee State University

Benin

Agang K. Diltlhogo

Co-Founder

The Clicking Generation

Botswana

Babak Fakhamzadeh

IT consultant, designer, developer

B's projects

Brazil

Tore Haugland

CEO

Ouvi

Brazil

Claudinei Martins

Innovation Technology Researcher and Project Coordinator

CPQD

Brazil

Cid Torquato

CEO

ICOM Libras

Brazil

Gica Trierweiler

Co-founder

Instituto Beaba

Brazil

Chris Georgiev

Co-founder & Head of Business Development

Imagga

Bulgaria

George Sharkov

Managing Director

ESI Center Eastern Europe

Bulgaria

David Shelters

Entrepreneur-In-Residence

Mekong Strategic Partners

Cambodia

Eileen Knowles

Sustainability Consultant

Columbia University in the City of New York

Canada

Denby Elizabeth Royal

Branding & Partnerships Lead

Arbor

Canada

Suzanne Stein

Lab Director

DMRII’s Super Ordinary

Canada

Carolina Rossi

ESNA Head of Network & Strategic Initiatives I SXSW Advisory Board Member | WSA Advisory Board Member I IE Business School Professor I SOSV Fellow

Europe Startup Nations Alliance

Chile

María José Urrutia Rivas

Co-Founder

Këtrawa

Chile

Yvonne Wong

GBA Strategic Partner

Shenzhen Hexcubes Group

China

Ana Brigovic

Business Development Manager

ACT Group

Croatia

Panayiotis Andreou

Assistant Professor in Computing

School of Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus

Cyprus

Irene Polycarpou

Professor of Technology and Innovation in Education, Head of the School of Sciences

University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus

Cyprus

Adam Montandon

WSA Online Jury 2023

Curator & license holder TEDxOdense

Denmark

Malisa Richards

Web Services Manager

BrainStreet Group Inc.

Dominica

Arturo López Valerio

Director

Cámara Dominicana de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación

Dominican Republic

SAMAR EL SHEIKH

Partners Development Unit Manager

ITIDA

Egypt

AHMED M. EL-SOBKY

Vice CEO

Information Technology Industry Development Agency “ITIDA”

Egypt

Amr Sobhy

CEO

PushBots, Inc.

Egypt

Liisi Org

CEO

Latitude59

Estonia

Alem Abreha

CEO

GoodayOn

Ethiopia

Dagmawi Lemma

Head of the Computer Science Department

Addis Ababa University

Ethiopia

Ilkka Kurkela

Director

Laurea University of Applied Sciences

Finland

Olga Kokshagina

Co-founder

Ninti I EDHEC I CNNUM

France

Poncelet Ileleji

President

Information Technology Association of the Gambia

Gambia

Ketevan Ebanoidze

Co-founder and Co-CEO

Impact Hub Tbilisi

Georgia

Dorothy Gordon

Consultant

ICT4Development

Ghana

Josué Reyes Mejía

Consultor en Innovación, Transformación Digital y Desarrollo de Ecosistemas de Emprendimiento

Impact Hub Tegucigalpa

Honduras

Balazs Horváth

Digital Strategist & Community Builder

Tech In The City

Hungary

MADANMOHAN RAO

SPECIAL AMBASSADOR FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT | Chief Researcher

Mobile Monday

India

Madanmohan Rao

SPECIAL AMBASSADOR FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT | Chief Researcher

Mobile Monday

India

Ehssan Riazi Esfehani

IT Consultant

Hamsafar eSolutions

Iran

Ali Hilli

The Youth & Entrepreneurship Consultant, Acting Head of CER Unit

Zain Iraq

Iraq

Savo Rasoul

Managing Director of Iraq | Ecosystem Growth

Five One Labs

Iraq

Martin Casey

Managing Director

Arekibo Communications

Ireland

Monica Nthiga

Regional Director - East Africa

Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team

Kenya

Michael Madara Ogot

Board Member

UbuntuNet Alliance

Kenya

Thanongsack Souksavat

CEO & Co-founder

Lao IT Development

Lao Peoples Democratic Republic

LISA MAHAJAN

Sustainability Manager I Academic I International Project Manager

Latvia

Hussein Ayoub

Director, Middle East & Africa

EDT & Partners

Lebanon

MAHA ZOUWAYHED

Associate Director, Talal and Madiha Zein AUB Innovation Park (Zein AUB iPark)

American University of Beirut

Lebanon

Ieva Žilionienė

Consulting Business Lead

NRD Companies

Lithuania

Isabel Holguera-Vera

Startup Advisor

Luxinnovation

Luxembourg

Vincent Kumwenda

Partner

BUMAS International

Malawi

Zikry Kholil

Chief Inciter

The Incitement

Malaysia

Kenneth Bone

Managing Director

Seasus

Malta

Rudy Laddaga Lopez

Chief Content Officer

Citizens Company

Mexico

Elma Hot Dervic

Postdoctoral Researcher MedUni Wien | CSH and ASCII | PhD, Data Science, Complexity Science

Complexity Science Hub Vienna

Montenegro

TATIANA ALVES PEREIRA

President

Mozdevz

Mozambique

Santosh Aryal

Project Manager

Nagarik App

Nepal

Jak Boumas

Managing Director

Electronic Media Reporting

Netherlands

Mujibor De Graaf

CEO

Fellow Digitals

Netherlands

Herman van Oorschot

Media enterpreneur

Fullmoon Interactive Solutions

Netherlands

Mahsa McCauley

Director

Auckland University of Technology & She Sharp

New Zealand

Charles Immanuel Akhimien

Doctor & Entrepreneur

Nigeria

Emmanuel Amos

Chief Software Architect / Ceo - Founder

mNCS, FIIM, Programos Software Group

Nigeria

Yemi Keri

Founder

Heckerbella

Nigeria

Natasha Lazarovska-Trajcheski

Co-founder and Executive Board Member

Startup Macedonia

North Macedonia

Marta A. Tomovska

Advisor to the Prime Minister of Serbia

Office of the Prime Minister

North Macedonia

THURAYA ALHARTHI

Acting Director

Information Technology Authority (ITA)

Oman

Jehan Ara

Founder & CEO

Katalyst Labs

Pakistan

Sana Nauman Chaudhry

Architect l Co-Founder BreatheIO

BreatheIO

Pakistan

Arletty Pinel

Silver economy evangelist, social entrepreneur & angel investor. WBAF International Partner, Aging2.0 Ambassador.

Panama

Vanessa Cañete

Managing Director at Willdom Paraguay | Bootcamp Product Manager at Programando Paraguay | Co-founder at Girls Code | GCL 2023

Willdom Paraguay

Paraguay

Katarzyna Klimek

COO

Fundacja MOST

Poland

Magdalena Kubów

PHD I Management

SWPS University

Poland

Sandra Fazenda Almeida

Executive Director

APDC – Digital Business Community

Portugal

Valon Nushi

Youth Innovation Specialist

UNICEF Sierra Leone Country Office

Portugal

Clara Tripodi

Social Franchising Project Manager

SPEAK Share your World

Portugal

Cristina Birsan

External Relations Officer

WHO Botswana

Romania

Christelle Scharff

Founder

MobileSenegal Hub

Senegal

Damjan Damjanović

Co Founder

Health Tech LAB

Serbia

Goran Pastrovic

Senior Program Manager

Equilibrium Int

Serbia

Abdulai Kemoh Conteh

CEO

Sensi

Sierra Leone

GEORGIE MIDGLEY

CEO

M4Jam

South Africa

Angela McCann

Founder

Black Square White

South Africa

Andreu Vea

Founder and Director

WiWiW.org (Who is Who in the Internet World)

Spain

Peumi Rodrigo

Vice President - Marketing & Corporate Communications

Wavenet

Sri Lanka

Fadwa Murad

Director, ICT Incubator

Syrian Computer Society, Syria

Syrian Arab Republic

Gloria Mangi

Founder and President

African Queens Project

Tanzania

Gia Gaspard Taylor

President

Network of Rural Women Producers Trinidad and Tobago (NRWPTT)

Trinidad and Tobago

Peace Oliver Amuge

Africa Regional Strategy Lead at the Association for Progressive Communications

APC - Association for Progressive Communications

Uganda

Irene Kaggwa-Sewankambo

Head, Research & Coordinator, Office of the Executive Director

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC)

Uganda

Carlos Abler

Consultant

United States of America

Tori Samples

Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer

Leaf Global Fintech

United States of America

Jon Mark Walls

Consultant

United Nations

United States of America

Laura Di Giovanni

Head of Cooperation Unit

National Research and Innovation Agency of Uruguay (ANII)

Uruguay

MATHEW TEMAR

Chief Technical Officer for IT Assist

Vanuatu Government

Vanuatu

Amir Richani

Consultant

Freelancer

Venezuela

Taonga Grace Banda

Founder

InnoGen

Zambia