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On Tuesday 14 April 2026 the European Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will hold a hybrid event ‘Seminar on Human Rights and ICT Standardisation‘ in Brussels.
This seminar builds on a workshop held at WTSA-24 (the ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, New Delhi, October 2024) exploring how ICT standards can uphold human rights in the era of emerging technologies, and follows through on an action proposed by EU Member States and the European Commission to TSAG 2025 (the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group). The event examines how technical standards for AI, the metaverse, and 5G/6G can be developed to preserve human rights — including privacy, non-discrimination, and access to information — in a connected digital world. It emphasizes a multi-stakeholder approach bringing together governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and standards bodies,
The event is supported by StandICT.eu, INSTAR and InDiCo Global.
AGENDA (All times CEST = UTC+2)
10:00 Welcome
Renate Nikolay – Deputy Director-General – DG Connect
10:15 – 1st Panel: The Human Rights dimension of ICT Standards
Cynthia Leungo Lesufi – Minister Counsellor, South African Mission to the UN Office and other International Organisations / Chairperson, ITU Council Working Group WSIS & SDGs
Marek Janovský – Diplomat, Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations
Michel Roberto Oliveira De Souza – Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Olivier Alais – Program Coordinator, ITU-T
Moderator: Silvana Muscella – CEO, Trust-IT Services
11:15 – How to ensure that ICT Standards uphold Human Rights
Chiara Giovannini – Deputy Director General, ANEC
Elisabeth Staudegger – Professor and Head of Department, University of Graz
Juan-Pablo Peñarrubia Carrión – Vice-President, Spanish General Council of Informatics Engineering / Expert, ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 42 Artificial Intelligence
Mònica Cerdán Chiscano – StandICT.eu Fellow / Doctor of Business Administration, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Patricia Shaw – Liaison to CEN/CENELEC JTC21, Equinet, European Network of Equality Bodies
Raquel Renno Nunes – Member, Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Network / Senior Digital Programme Officer, Article 19
Shakira Bedoya Sanchez – Expert, ISO
Moderator: Raquel Renno Nunes – Member, Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Network / Senior Digital Programme Officer, Article 19
13:30 – What are standards organisations doing for human rights?
Arnaud Taddei – Global Security Strategist, Broadcom / Chair, ITU-T SG17
Clara Neppel – Senior Director European Business Operations, IEEE
Gyu Myoung Lee – Professor, Liverpool John Moores University / Co-Chair, ITU-T SG13 (Future Networks and Cloud)
Jochen Friedrich – Member of the Board, ETSI / Technical Relations Executive, IBM
Nelleke Groen – AI Governance Consultant, Netherlands Organisation for Development, Digitalisation and Innovation / NEN
Patricia Martell Gamarra – Standardisation Expert
Simone Onofri – Senior Principal Security Specialist, W3C
Moderator: Jochen Friedrich – Member of the Board, ETSI / Technical Relations Executive, IBM
14:15 – Discussion: the way forward
Beatriz Gonçalves Crisóstomo Esteves – IMEC Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University
Emilio Davila – Head of ICT Standardisation Sector, European Commission, DG CNECT
Florian Feillet – European Affairs Manager, Orange’s Brussels Office / Chair of the Sustainability Working Group, Connect Europe
Gregorio Pellegrino – Chief Accessibility Officer, Fondazione LIA – Accessible Italian Books Foundation
Ilaria Mariani – Researcher, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano
Lorraine Finlay – Human Rights Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Sandra Feliciano – Chair, ETSI CYBER-EUSR / Liaison & Delegate, ISO
Moderator: Silvana Muscella – CEO, Trust-IT Services
16:15 – Conclusion and final remarks
Aleksandra Orr – Career Diplomat – Permanent Mission of Poland to UN Office in Geneva
#EU #HumanRights #Standardisation #ICT
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