Keynotes & Speakers

Keynotes

Dr. Julia Pohle

Centre Marc Bloch & WZB Berlin

Dr. Julia Pohle is Deputy Director of the Centre Marc Bloch (CMB) in Berlin and a project lead and visiting researcher in the “Globalisation, Work and Production” research group at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. Her work focuses on global and European digital policy, internet governance, and the political debates surrounding digital sovereignty, and she regularly advises institutions such as the German Bundestag and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. She previously worked at the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris.

Photo: Dan Ax

Dr. Charles Martin-Shields

IDOS

Dr. Charles Martin-Shields is a Project Lead and Senior Researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), in the research programme “Transformation of Political (Dis-)order.” His research examines the politics of digital technology in development cooperation, with a focus on migration and forced displacement, social cohesion, and digital governance. He completed his PhD at George Mason University and has advised partners including UNHCR, the European Commission, and the German government.

Irene Makau

The Oversight Lab Africa

Irene Makau is a Kenyan lawyer and technology-policy researcher working at the intersection of technology, digital markets, and human rights. As a Research Officer at The Oversight Lab Africa, she examines how the continent’s digital transformation can be shaped to protect people’s rights, focusing on consumer concerns, market integrity, and competition in fast-changing digital markets. Her research covers digital markets, e-governance, cross-border data flows, and the AI-driven gig economy, and she has previously worked with organisations including the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) and Africa Legal Network Kenya (ALN).

Dr. Hangwei Li

University of Bonn & IDOS

Dr. Hangwei Li is a senior researcher at the University of Bonn and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). Her research spans comparative politics, international development, and political communication, with a particular focus on China’s engagement with the Global South, especially Africa, and on China-financed digital infrastructure. She received her PhD from SOAS, University of London. Prior to her academic career, she spent several years working as a journalist and researcher across Ghana, Zambia, and Tanzania.

Public Panel

Panellists & Contributors

The workshop brings together contributors from across the world:

• Dr. Joscha AbelsUniversity of Tübingen
• Adam BalcerzakUniversity of Warsaw
• Prof. Dr. Christian BauckhageUniversity of Bonn & Fraunhofer IAIS
• Nathalie BrandmeyrVodafone Institute
• Dr. Karolina BrylskaUniversity of Warsaw
• Dr. Sandra Detzer, MdBDeutscher Bundestag
• Dr. Ksenia ErmoshinaCNRS Paris
• Dr. Nina FrahmAarhus University
• Prof. Dr. Tomasz GackowskiUniversity of Warsaw
• Magdalena KariukiTony Blair Institute (Country Director Kenya)
• Amanuel Tesfaye KebedeUniversity of Helsinki
• Prof. Dr. Patrício LangaUniversity of Bonn
• Marcin ŁączyńskiUniversity of Warsaw
• Prof. Dr. Dennis LehmkuhlUniversity of Bonn
• Dr. Hangwei LiUniversity of Bonn & IDOS
• Yen-Chi LuUniversity of Bonn
• Dr. Rogelio MadrueñoUniversity of Bonn
• PD Dr. Laura MahrenbachUniversity of Bonn
• Dr. Carlotta ManzUniversity of Basel
• Dr. Charles Martin-ShieldsIDOS
• Prof. Dr. Maximilian MayerUniversity of Bonn
• Sreekanth MukkuUniversity of Duisburg-Essen
• Philip NockUniversity of Bonn
• Jyoti PandayUniversity of Stavanger
• Dr. Luuk SchmitzMPIfG Cologne
• Prof. Dr. Mary SetranaUniversity of Ghana
• Prof. Dr. Caja ThimmUniversity of Bonn
• Ben WreschnerVodafone Group