PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES

Participant Biographies

Lungile Sigaza | South Africa
I am an Information Systems Honours student at Rhodes University currently working on my first research project with a focus on Civic Technology. I have a deep interest I media and ICT specifically the efficient provision of technology to people who have historically had limited access to ICT infrastructure, particularly in low income areas in Southern Africa.

Tineca John | Trinidad and Tobego
Tineca John possesses a BSc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of the West Indies (UWI) with a specialization in communication systems. She is currently a youth envoy and intern with UWI’s Caribbean ICT Research Programme (CIRP) and past panellist for CIRP’s Caribbean Communications for Development Fireside Chat Series. She is also currently assisting with the development of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) Youth Internet Governance Forum (IGF) which aims to engage and empower youth to develop and harmonize policies, join discussions on internet governance and become changemakers in the internet governance space. She recently participated in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s Generation Connect Global Youth Summit, with its focus on bridging the digital divide, in Rwanda. Tineca is an aspiring advocate for gender equality in ICT and STEM related fields, with a keen interest in decision and policy making. Her goal is to couple related activities with skills in various fields of digital technology and human-computer interaction, to improve work, communications and learning for underserved communities.

Ressa Ria | Indonesia
Ressa Ria Lestari was born in Bandung on January 1, 1991. She graduated from the Department of Anthropology, Padjadjaran
University in 2015. She has expertise in social and market research, as well as community development and environmental issues, with a keen interest in health, livelihood and gender issues. She initiated a community space called "Samahita" for gender-based violence in 2015. She has currently joined the Common Room Network Foundation as a Program Coordinator.

Shafali Jain | India
By training, Shafali is a new media designer and a computer science engineer. She is currently building her practice in the space of community, technology and now, policy. As a part of Janastu collective, she works with archives to bring out
diverse narratives and stories and with young women in rural areas to explore feminist spaces.
As a fellow with the Harris School of Public Policy (Chicago), she’s pursuing research on community networks and how they can foster a space for co-creating the internet keeping feminist values and care practices in mind. As a new media artist
and designer, her work critically questions the existing systems.

Heri Cihimba | DRC
I am Heri Cihimba, a Congolese citizen from the South Kivu province / Eastern DRC. CN peer representative from 2020-2021 on behalf of La Difference and Pamoja Net, an operational CN on the Idjwi island. I worked as a business mentor in the incubator program with La Difference’s partners and social entrepreneurs to help them strengthen the foundations of their social enterprises and develop innovative solutions. I led technology workshops to help our partners understand business models and economic sustainability models. Currently responsible for Fundraising at La Difference where I mainly search for potential funding opportunities and partners. Worked on the elaboration of multiple Pamoja Net projects and led their funding campaign. Have engaged with local authorities, community and civil society leaders, internet providers, innovators, ..., Working on a policy strategy to engage with the ministry of digital and telecommunication to plead for CN licensing regulation induction in DR Congo. I am at my first experience managing a project: Community radio’s internet integration and journalist’s empowerment (Sept 2021 – March 2023). I speak, write and understand the following languages: Swahili, French and English.

Yulisda Ainun | Indonesia
I am 38 years old, I am a women activist who works on issues concerning the protection of women and children in my village. I've been working on this issue for almost 5 years and I'm interested in learning more about how to protect women and children in my village and everywhere.

Grace Martins | Nigeria
I am 30 years old, lost the use of my lower limbs due to childhood polio infection. I have completed my Advanced Teachers College Training, as well as the Diploma in Digital Literacy at the Fantsuam Academy. I provide perspectives of a disabled person for all Fantsuam Programs as part of their Mission to eliminating poverty and disadvantage among women and youths through integrated development programs.

Adriane Panduro Gama | Brasil
Teacher, biologist and researcher at the School of Community Communication Networks for the Saúde e Alegria Project. Founder of Project Puraqué, environmental consultant for the journal Cidadania Digital of Projeto Puraqué, Free Knowledge workshop on Environment, Technology and Digital Waste, produced Environmental Theater Shows with Puraqué students,
coordinator of the ReciCLIQUE program – Selective collection and environmental education, speaker of the Puraqué webradio program, audio, video and blog workshop, using Free Software tools, consultant in educational informatics at SEMED, art educator in riverside communities and educommunicator in the Saúde e Alegria Project (http://www.redemocoronga.org .br), editor of the blog and newspaper of Rede Mocoronga. Tutor of the Federal Program for Digital Inclusion Telecentros Br. She coordinated the Casa Brasil Unit in Santarém, a space for digital digital culture and citizenship, promoting workshops on meta-recycling, robotics, audiovisuals, community radio, cineclubism, coordinator of the programs Melhor Idade Digital and Curumim Digital, as well as developing media productions on the blog (http://casabrasilstm.wordpress.com). Adviser of the Pontão de Cultura Digital do Tapajós and worked in the training of volunteers, intellectual collaborators, in infocenters and telecenters in Santarém. Mother of Jadh and Gustavo, Master's student in Education and PhD student in Environmental Sciences at UFOPA with the research Bioeconomy of the forest.

Bukola Oronti | Nigeria
Bukola Oronti is a Network Administrator at the University of Ibadan, experience and skills range from network setup and deployment to server administration. She volunteers with the Internet Society as a tutor and has trained over a hundred learners on Network Operations (NetOps 1.0) and Designing and Deploying Computer Networks (DDCN). Bukola is a member of the ISOC Nigeria chapter executive council. She alongside her colleagues at the Internet Society are advocates of community networks and they are working on a setup in one of the northern towns in Nigeria. Bukola advocates for community networks as a means of bridging the digital divide and supporting digital inclusion.

Neo Magoro |  South Africa

Karen Cruz Araya | Costa Rica
I am a second year student of Software Engineering, I am Facilitator and Project Manager of the Cooperative Sulá Batsú for more than 5 years. Since I joined the cooperative I work in the coordination, implementation and facilitation of projects with emphasis on working for local development; with a greater experience in rural areas and indigenous women; this, through contribution through Information and Communication Technologies; as with experience in research, use and appropriation of Digital Technologies as social tools. I have worked with very diverse populations such as girls, young and adult women, migrants, refugee and refugee claimants, indigenous and afro women; with a focus on gender, equity and human rights.
Currently I have focused more on the creation, collection and analysis of data from the perspectives of women, cybersecurity, community networks, gender and human rights.

Kamogelo Joy Matshaba | South Africa
I am 19 years of age, born in October the 16th. I currently reside in South Africa, Johannesburg. I am a student at the first South Africa School of community network,and my community network is called Soweto Wireless User Group.I am a digital
artisan and leadership couch,I have gained this experience over the past 12 months.My interest are having inspirational
conversations with different people to learn from one another as I believe we are one.I want to become an entrepreneur, I am
curious with conspiracy theories and I enjoy social gatherings to escape reality when needed.

Immaculate Laker | Uganda
Immaculate is an Information Technologist with great experience in and passion for community networks with keen interest in creating and innovatively coming up with solutions to community challenges especially using ICT. Immaculate envisions a world with equal practical opportunities for women in ICT especially in the rural communities and very passionate about cybersecurity and advocacy for community networks.

Indri | Indonesia

Noxolo Patricia Mbokoma | South Africa
Noxy’s passion and dedication to education, training and development began at a young age, inspired by her grandmother, who was a proponent of female empowerment and development. As a result, Noxy spent time after school and weekends volunteering in various areas. Her motto or saying that she lives by is “all things are possible, with the right person”. Through Noxy’s appreciation and experience of how important education was, she is a B Com graduate with 22 years’ experience in the Financial Services Sector and an MBA graduate from Rhodes Business School conferred April 2021. She also attended and passed MBA modules at Loughborough University, London UK. She passed with 4 distinctions on Professionalism, Failing Forward, Ethics and Project Management NQF level 9. She has a database of more than 200 SMME’s, Co-operatives trained on Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Financial Literacy, Customer Service, Human Resources, Business Plan, Banking Advisory Services, Coaching and Mentoring. Noxy was featured by Financial Afrik, a publication based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in celebration of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on 19 November 2019 by Entreprenium Foundation, as one of 50 African Women demonstrating “it’s possible”.

David Ramirez Garcia | Venezuela
Originally from Carabobo, Venezuela. Teacher of Free Technologies, co-founder of Colectivo Carabobo Libre, a socially owned organization, promotes together with teachers in the region the educational program #SemilleroEstudianTIL an alternative for learning free software and technical-productive training in children and young people in the community. Organizer of international online events such as the Latin American and Caribbean Days of Self-training in Free Technologies. He is a graduate of the ITU International Training Program for technical promoters in indigenous communities for the generation, development and maintenance of communication and broadcasting network technologies.

Maimunat Haruna | Nigeria
I am 34 years old, mother of three children. I am at present attending the Advanced Teachers College while completing my diploma studies in digital literacy at the Fantsuam Academy. I coordinate activities for the new Community Network in my community.

Lizeka Ntsikeni | South Africa
I am a youth environmental activist from Bizana in the Eastern Cape.  I fall under Amadiba AA,  Eastern Pondoland.  I am the founder of a growing NPO called  Imbo of Mpondoland, which focuses on women's rights, protecting biodiversity, climate change,  agroecology, and the protection of medicinal and indigenous plants.  I have worked as a research assistant with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), and am a graduate of the Rights and Remedies Course run by the Centre for Environmental Rights. Being raised and living in a community where people understand the importance of the environment but doesn't know how to protect it is the reason I took on that responsibility, to protect and fight for the environment at large. I also grew up in a community where there are rumours about a special stone that needs to be mined which is another reason why I saw the need to protect the environment. I love my community and its environment, and believe that we need to treat the environment well so that it can also treat us well. I am currently studying at school of community network powered by Zenzeleni community network.  We're a group of three from my community and we're planning to start our own community network as soon as we get the equipment which we're planning to power it by solar panel. In my community we're having a very bad signal which is one of problem that we're facing and with this community we're hoping to make change. I am currently a grant Committee at Environmental Justice Fund.

Jackline Akello | Kenya
Jackie is a leading expert in corporate and Information Technology (ICT) Law and global tech policy. Her interest lies at the intersection between the law, technology, digital rights and human rights. She is currently a fellow with Article 19 under the Internet of Rights Fellowship Program where she is currently writing a paper on the sustainability of community networks in Kenya in the advent of the 2021 Kenya Licensing and Shared Spectrum Framework. Prior, she worked at the Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) at Strathmore Law School where she developed findings for needs assessment research to produce the Africa ICT Policy Manual resource providing an open format (CASEDATA data model) for the publishing of ICT legal data in Africa. As a thought leader in technology governance, human rights and data policy, her work centers around conducting empirical analysis, assessing and providing legal research to non-profit organizations such as Paradigm Initiative, Lawyers Hub Kenya, Internet Society, and the policy community in the area of AI, data governance and privacy. She was recently an ICANN 73 Fellow with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers where she was engaged in the various aspects of ICANN's work, such as policy building, the operation of the Domain Name System, and the security and stability of the global Internet. Prior to that, she did a fellowship with the Internet Society (ISOC) as a 2020 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Youth Ambassador, I gained collaborative skills and knowledge of Internet Governance issues, including an understanding of global policymaking processes.