Judging

Our international panel of jurors will judge applications for this award based on how well each initiative uses ICT to empower or improve the conditions of youth in developing countries. To help our jurors, applicants should clearly outline how their initiatives contribute to this goal by addressing the following criteria in their answers on the nomination form and through the letters of endorsement.

Scale and Replicability

• Number of youth benefiting from the initiative
• How readily the initiative can be adopted for use elsewhere
• Geographic area covered

Success and Impact

• How the initiative has empowered or improved the conditions of youth
• The magnitude of benefits received per person
• Relevance of those benefits to poverty reduction
• Innovative use of information and communication technologies

Sustainability

• How the initiative has built in the means to ensure that it can endure
• The entrepreneurial nature of the initiative and its approach
• The evidence of sustainability

Strength of Evidence

• Strength of the nomination
• Demonstrated support received
• Quality and credibility of endorsement letters

Jurors

Vallampadugai Arunachalam
Vice Chairman, State Planning Commission, State of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India
Distinguished Service Professor, Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

V. S. Arunachalam is Vice Chairman, State Planning Commission, for the State of Tamil Nadu, Chennai and for Bangalore in India. As well, he is a distinguished service professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, he was the defense science advisor to the Indian government for over a decade, serving five prime ministers in that capacity. For many years, in addition to his responsibilities in developing and managing indigenous defense technology programs, Dr. Arunachalam advised the Indian government on the definition, assessment, and review of a number of major technological, societal, and infrastructural programs, as well as graduate education in science and engineering. He is a past president and a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and Royal Academy of Engineering (UK). Included among his numerous awards and honors are: 1990 Padma Vibhushan, the highest civilian honor given by the President of India, 1985 Padma Bhushan, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize that recognizes outstanding research contributions in science and engineering. At Carnegie Mellon, Prof. Arunachalam’s research interests are in infrastructure technologies and policies for sustainable human and economic development. He lives in Bangalore, India and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Lídia Brito
Assistant Professor, Eduardo Mondlane University

Lídia Brito is Assistant Professor at Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. She is the former minister of higher education, science, and technology for Mozambique, vice president, ICT National Commission, and a member of various international committees focusing on higher education and science in Africa. In 1998, she was the academic vice rector at Eduardo Mondlane University. She also served as a short-term consultant on traditional energy at the World Bank. From 1996-1998, Prof. Brito was the head, forestry department and coordinator, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, UEM, leading a research group on community management of natural resources, aiming to study the integrated approach for natural resources management. In 1988 she began the Master's Programme in Forest Sciences and in 1994 she received her Ph.D. in Forest Sciences at Colorado State University. She also studied forestry at Eduardo Mondlane University where she was an assistant lecturer in 1982. Prof. Brito is a member of the Development Gateway Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Hisham El-Sherif
Chairman, CEO, IT Ventures

Hisham El- Sherif is Chairman and CEO of IT Ventures, an Egyptian investment company with subsidiaries in networking and telecommunications, software development, IT systems integration, media and e-business. Dr. El-Sherif is also a force in driving the building of the Internet backbone in Egypt through his role as founder and chairman of Nile Online. He is directly responsible for building more than 29 technology-related organizations, among them RITSEC, a regionally recognized leader in software engineering, multimedia, education, training, culture-ware and the information highway. Dr. El-Sherif is a member of the Development Gateway Foundation's Board of Directors.

Margarita Cedeño de Fernández
First Lady of the Dominican Republic

Dr Margarita Cedeño de Fernández is the First Lady of the Dominican Republic and wife of Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernández. She has a Doctorate in Law from the University of Santo Domingo and a Masters in Economic Legislation at the Madre y Maestra Catholic University. She has also participated in courses and seminars at Georgegtown and Harvard University in the United States and Geneva University in Switzerland. The Office of Dr. Cedeno de Fernandez coordinates social policies of the government, generating programs of health and education for children, young people, single mothers and the family, in general, as a key element in society. She was part of prestigious law firms in the Dominican Republic. Among them is the law firm of Doctor Abel Rodríguez del Orbe and Fernández y Asociados, where she is an associate member. During the years 1996-2000, she assisted as legal counselor to the President nominated as Sub-secretary of State. She was also the ad honorem counselor and director of the Legal and Investment Environment Management of the Office for the Promotion of Foreign Investment of the Dominican Republic.

Monique Maddy
Entrepreneur in Residence, Google

Monique Maddy is Google’s first Entrepreneur in Residence. Originally from Liberia, West Africa, Monique Maddy was schooled first in Great Britain and then in the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in international politics and economics from Georgetown University, a Master’s Degree in economics and development studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. From 1986 to 1991 Monique worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on development issues in Africa (Angola and the Central African Republic) and Asia (Indonesia). Prior to coming to Google, Monique worked on special investment projects for a major international investor (Jorge Paulo Lemann) for a number of years. In 1993, Monique founded the African Communications Group (later renamed Adesemi Communications International) to finance, build and operate low-cost wireless telecommunications services in developing and emerging market countries. Adesemi built the world’s first fully integrated wireless “virtual” phone network, a platform consisting of public payphones, voicemail and pagers, and targeted at low-income consumers. Adesemi received widespread recognition and extensive international press coverage for this innovation, including articles featured in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Wired magazine, Red Herring magazine, the Boston Globe, and the Canadian Globe and Mail, among others. The company is also the subject of a Harvard Business School case study. Monique wrote about her experience at the helm of Adesemi in an article that was published by the Harvard Business Review, “A Dream Deferred,” in May, 2000. Monique is the author of “Learning to Love Africa: My Journey from Africa to Harvard Business School and Back”, an autobiography, published by Harper Collins in 2004. Monique is a member of Heineken’s Advisory Board for Africa and of the Executive Board of the Brick Project, an innovative non-profit educational initiative utilizing technology to foster cultural understanding among students around the world. Monique is an entrepreneur and an elite marathon runner.

Miriam Meckel
Former State Secretary for Europe, International Affairs and Media of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Miriam Meckel is the former State Secretary for Europe, International Affairs and Media of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Currently she is Professor for Corporate Communication and Director of the Institute for Media and Communication Management at the University St. Gallen, Switzerland. She is also a partner of Brunswicks Group as a communication and public affairs adviser as well as an adviser to the media industry. From 1999 to 2001, she held the professorship in communication sciences at the University of M?nster. She worked previously as a presenter, live reporter, and writer at the broadcasting station Westdeutscher Rundfunk. A true media expert, Miriam Meckel has published numerous contributions on editorial and media management, media economics, the Internet, and the information society.

Mary O'Kane
Executive Chairman, Mary O’Kane & Associates Pty. Ltd.

Mary O’Kane is the Executive Chairman of Mary O’Kane & Associates Pty. Ltd., an Australian company that advises governments and the private sector on innovation, research, education and development. Professor O’Kane was vice chancellor and president of Adelaide University from 1996 to 2001 and prior to that was dean of the Faculty of Information Sciences and Engineering at the University of Canberra. She serves on several boards and committees in the public and private sectors. She specializes in high technology, national research strategies and higher education policy. Professor O'Kane is a vice chair of the Development Gateway Foundation's Board of Directors.

Danilo Piaggesi
Chief, Information and Communication for Development Division, Inter-American Development Bank (SDS/ICT)

Danilo Piaggesi has been Chief of the Information and Communication Technology for Development Division (SDS/ICT) at the Inter American Development Bank, in Washington D.C., since 1999. The Division is in charge of structuring and implementing the Bank’s policy to introduce ICT in the Bank’s project portfolio, of providing technical assistance to borrowing member countries, and of better informing government decisions regarding ICT and its applications. Prior to the IABD assignment, from 1981 to 1991, Mr. Piaggesi worked for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at different duty stations in Africa and Latin America in the field of technology transfer for development. From 1992 to 1998 he was part of the technical staff of TELESPAZIO, TELECOM-Italia Group in Rome, where he was in charge of the Strategic Alliances and International Activities Division. Mr. Piaggesi also consulted to the European Union in Brussels, evaluating project proposals for funding in the field of telecommunications and environment. He is at present the alternate of the IADB’s President in the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID). Mr. Piaggesi holds a Masters degree in Physics with a diploma in geophysics, cum laude, from the University of Rome (1980), and an Executive International Business Certificate from Georgetown University/John Cabot University, in Washington D.C and in Rome, (1996). His professional training is in remote sensing (1981); digital image processing and analysis (1986); technical cooperation project formulation and appraisal (1989); telecommunications (1995-1996) and technology transfer for development.

Robert Sagun
Board Chair, Philippine Resources for Sustainable Development

Robert Sagun is currently the Board Chair of the Philippine Resources for Sustainable Development, Inc. (www.prsdi.org) and a member of the Champions Network of the UN Global Alliance on ICT and Development (www.un-gaid.org). In 2004-2005, Mr. Sagun served as Global Policy Coordinator of the Youth Caucus (www.wsisyouth.org) of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (www.wsis.org). He was one of the Southern members of The Third Chamber (www.thethirdchamber.org), a shadow parliament in the Netherlands actively dealing with international development cooperation, in 2005. As a staunch advocate and worker for the MDGs, Mr. Sagun co-authored the pioneering report "Youth and the MDGs: Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation" (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/mdgs.htm) which was published by UN DESA's Programme on Youth and presented to Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on the MDGs, in 2005. Commissioned by IISD/IDRC Canada, Mr. Sagun recently co-authored a paper on the potential of mobile telephony as a tool to advance environmental sustainability and action in the Philippines. Mr. Sagun is currently doing consultancy work for ILO and SIDA on youth entre-ployment and ICT for Development, respectively, as well as involved in strengthening youth engagement in the Internet Governance Forum. Mr. Sagun is based in Manila, The Philippines.

Lynn St. Amour
President and CEO, Internet Society (ISOC)

Lynn St.Amour is President/CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC). She joined ISOC in 1998 as Executive Director of its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) division, and has been responsible for ISOC's international expansion. She became ISOC's global Executive Director and COO in 1999 and held that position until her appointment as President and CEO in March of 2001. She divides her time between ISOC's offices in Reston, Virginia, and Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining ISOC, she was director of Business Development and Joint Venture Operations for AT&T's Europe, Middle East and Africa division. She led the negotiation and development of several telecommunications joint ventures with leading European companies. She was responsible for managing the AT&T Unisource Communications Services joint venture - an alliance between AT&T, and the Swiss, Swedish and Dutch PTT's - to ensure alignment of strategic goals and achievement of operating targets. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Ms. St. Amour began her career in information technology with the General Electric Corporation.

Geert van der Linden
Vice President, Asian Development Bank (Retired)

Geert van der Linden recently retired as Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He assumed this position in September 2003. Under his responsibility are ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Economics and Research Department, and the Office of External Relations. Previously, he was special advisor to the president, developing ADB's role in the areas of knowledge management, policy, and strategy. He also headed ADB's response team to the region's Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. In 2002, Mr. van der Linden was director general of ADB's East and Central Asia Department. He managed the operations of the five divisions in the East and Central Asia Department: operations coordination; infrastructure; agriculture, environment, and natural resources; social sectors; and governance, finance, and trade. He was also responsible for the ADB's resident missions in the People's Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, as well as liaison offices in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. In 2001, he chaired the Working Group that prepared for a reorganization of ADB operations. Prior to this, he held other positions in ADB as director, Programs Department (Region East) (2000-2001); director, Programs Department, Region West (1997-1999); chief, Office of Pacific Operations (1995-1997); resident representative, Bangladesh Resident Mission (1992-1994); manager, Education Division (1986-1991); and project economist and later as senior project economist (1979-1986).

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