IGF 2023 High-Level Track

Over the past two decades, Sylvia has worked on strategic use of the internet for development with an emphasis on capacity building.

Since her early years as a UN Volunteer working on a South-to-South farmers' internet information exchange project in Colombia in 1993, she has worked across the multistakeholder spectrum of organisations with technical and advisory roles, mainly about information systems, access provision and innovation.

At Colnodo, she supported over 400 NGOs to establish their first internet presence, share research data and establish collaborative initiatives around human rights and the peace process, gender and biodiversity, among others.

At the CGIAR, she developed an online content management system for scientists working on integrated pest management for tropical crops.

At EsLaRed, she supported community wireless initiatives to build capacity (such as the translations of the WNDW.net book series to Spanish) and the collaborative development of a training curriculum for community wireless, under the TRICALCAR project that trained over a hundred engineers to expand connectivity across Latin America.

Sylvia served on the inaugural Advisory Council for the Public Interest Registry, where she supported the establishment of their first Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) working group.

In July 2003, her work was recognised with the "Annual Award for Young Professionals" by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Sylvia moved to Australia in 2008 and joined APNIC to coordinate the design and implementation of ISIF Asia, a funding partnership among the internet technical community that supports innovators working on internet technologies for development as well as capacity building opportunities to scale. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Seed Alliance, an umbrella initiative where APNIC actively collaborates with LACNIC and AFRINIC small grants and awards programmes.