Kenya’s Clinton Oduor among 12 industrialists appointed at ITU’s Youth Board to advance global connectivity

By Steve UMDHA

Kenyan digital expert Clinton Oduor is among 12 – member advisory board comprising young entrepreneurs appointed at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to support the UN body in advancing global connectivity.

The Machine Learning Engineer at Amini and Co-Founder of Rhinos Lab, a wildlife conservation startup, Mr. Oduor also leads the TinyML Kenya community and will feature among other digital experts and innovators aged 18 to 30 at the UN Digital Agency in providing innovative, and inclusive recommendations to the ITU Secretary-General to enhance worldwide cooperation in strengthening global connectedness.

Representing different regions spanning the globe, the entrepreneurs, policy-makers, researchers and scientists will combine their expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), environmental issues, space, innovation, and youth empowerment to promote technology for good.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the ITU, underscored the value of youth perspectives as governments and industry work together to connect the 2.6 billion people still offline around the world.

“These brilliant young minds breathe passion and ambition, focused on one powerful goal: to bridge the digital divide in this generation,” she said upon announcement of the diverse 12-member advisory group.

Others include; Joshua Ingersoll (US), Space policy analyst, science educator, and youth STEM advocate, currently serving as Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager at Astranis Space Technologies Corp.

Melissa Michelle Munoz Suro (Dominican Republic), Director of Innovation at the Government Office of Information and Communication Technologies of the Dominican Republic (OGTIC) and Coordinator of the Innovation Cabinet of the Dominican Republic.

From the Arab States:

Maitha Aljamris (UAE), International Cooperation Officer in the UAE’s telecommunications sector and member of the TDRA Youth Council.

Halima Ismail (Bahrain), Senior AI Data Scientist and part-time lecturer, deeply committed to advancing Internet technology, industry, and governance.

From Asia and the Pacific:

Hamza Hameed (Pakistan), Lawyer, Senior Practice Manager for Space & Policy at Access Partnership and presently serving as the Chair of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC).

Khanh Linh Tong (Viet Nam), Deputy Director of the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW), committed to building digital capacity for people with disabilities, young women leaders, and people from ethnic minorities.

From the CIS Region:

Uliana Stoliarova (Russia), Specialist on ICT Development and Implementation at Russian Radio Research & Development Institute.

Nadir Atayev (Azerbaijan), Hardware Research Engineer and scientist, currently working in the Research and Development department at the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos).

From Europe:

Roser Almenar (Spain), Co-Lead of the AI and Space Law research group, hosted by the Space Law and Policy Project Group of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC).

Okan Dursun (Türkiye), Pioneering figure in sustainability and education, Co-Founder of the Carbon Gate climate tech venture and founding member of Twin Science.

Selected from a global pool of 850 exceptional candidates, the twelve – member team will serve in their individual capacities for a two-year term.

The UN’s digital agency, the ITU is the oldest agency in the UN system, dating back to the first telegraph in 1865, and works to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks. 

It allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) to underserved communities worldwide. 

Every time you make a mobile phone call, access the Internet or send an email, you are benefitting from the work of ITU.