Selection Committee

Aydin Aslaner is the Head of Microsoft Cybersecurity Public Sector team in the Middle East and Africa with twenty years of experience in security, identity and cyberspace. As part of his current role, he engages regularly with many enterprises, governments, and telecom providers to help build nationwide cybersecurity strategies. He has also worked on multiple IPv6-related initiatives over the last 15 years to help prepare large scale deployments across enterprises. Aydin is also a regular speaker at industry events and loves to share his experiences.

Fiona Krakenbürger has a background in Open Source funding and has worked in Berlin and Washington D.C. as a Senior Program Manager. She is one of the initiators of the Sovereign Tech Fund, a fund dedicated to Open Source Infrastructure based in Germany. Previously she has worked at the US-based Open Technology Fund, supporting Internet Freedom projects worldwide, at the Prototype Fund in Germany she supported Civic Tech projects. Fiona has been an activist for digital literacy and diversity in tech for more than ten years.

Sami Salih, PhD., PMP®, is an ICT Regulatory Expert with a comprehensive 'pracademic' background in ICT Regulation, boasting over fifteen years of involvement in the ICT sector. His experience spans across prestigious organisations such as STC (Saudi Telecom. Company), TPRA (Sudanese telecom. regulatory authority), and SUDREN (Sudanese NERN). Additionally, he has been an active participant and contributor at various international organizations, including ITU, ETSI, ICANN, ISOC, UbuntuNet Alliance, and AFRINIC. Sami has also dedicated six years to teaching ICT at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Apart from his academic engagements, Sami has played a significant role in the evaluation of academic performance at both regional and international levels, notably for FIRE Africa facilitated by AFRINIC and the Sponsored Research Program (SRP) provided by the Project Management Institute (PMI). His pracademic experience uniquely positions him to bridge the gap between academic evaluation methodologies, which focus on qualitative assessments and deep analysis of the impact of proposed projects on the RIPE NCC community and the broader Internet ecosystem.

Lidia Stępińska-Ustasiak is a sociologist with a PhD in Sociology, specializing in the social impact of technology, digital skills, and the implications of ICT for human and institutional capacity building. With over 15 years of experience combining roles in the private sector, public administration, and academia, Lidia has made significant contributions in telecommunications and ICT sectors at organisations like T-Mobile, Orange, and UPC Poland.

As an International Collaboration Expert at the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Electronics and Telecommunications and Co-Founder of Polistratos – Institute for Systemic Innovation, she has a rich history of engagement in both policy and practical aspects of technology. Previously, Lidia served as the deputy director of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) in Poland, overseeing international collaborations and contributing significantly to global conferences and forums.

Renowned for her insights into the societal implications of technology, she emphasizes the importance of sustainable digital ecosystems, ethical considerations in technological advancement, and the bridging of digital divides. Her unique perspective is informed by extensive experience in Responsible Research and Innovation, ensuring a balanced approach to technology that is inclusive, ethical, and forward-thinking, aiming to create a resilient and sustainable internet framework for the future.

Nuno M. Garcia, a distinguished academic in the field of Computer Science Engineering, holds a PhD from the Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI, Covilhã, Portugal). His career is marked by a blend of entrepreneurship and scholarly pursuits, having been a member of the research teams at Siemens SA and Nokia Siemens SA, and Head of Research at PLUX SA. He is currently full professor at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon (Portugal), and a member of the research team of the Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering (IBEB, Lisbon, Portugal). He is also a senior researcher at the Instituto de Telecomunicações (Covilhã, Portugal).

Nuno's experience extends to his role as the coordinator of the Cisco Academy at UBI. His professional and academic endeavors have deeply involved him in areas such as Next-Generation Networks, predictive algorithms for healthcare and well-being, distributed and cooperative algorithms, and advocating for a Free and Open Internet.

Having previously been a member of the first RIPE NCC Community Projects Fund Selection Committee, Nuno brings a nuanced understanding of the project submission process, particularly valuing innovation, community impact, diversity in team composition (preferably international), and well-structured plans and budgets. His scientific background and practical experience enable him to make well-informed decisions regarding the reliability and feasibility of the proposals, making him an invaluable asset in any project evaluation and selection process.

Harald A. Summa has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DE-CIX, the world's leading Internet Exchange operator, from 1996 until end of August 2022 when he has been appointed to the Super Advisory Board of the DE-CIX Group AG. At its 54 locations in Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East, India, and Asia, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and interconnection services. Harald A. Summa is also the initiator, former CEO and Honorary President of the eco Association – the largest Internet industry association in Europe.

He graduated from University of Cologne with a Diploma in Business Administration with a focus on Applied Informatics. For 19 semesters he taught Structured Programming beside his first employments at the Institute of Informatics at University of Cologne. After stations at ICL, a British Computer Manufacturer and XEROX he moved to a software house (infodas) in 1983, became partner and started in 1985 first projects with AI (expert systems). In 1991 he became Consultant, later for his own company, and helped EUNET to leave the academic environment of the Dortmund University and to go to market as a first German ISP in 1992. In 1995 he founded eco - Association of the German Internet Industry. In 1996 he became CEO of DE-CIX gathering the young community of ISPs and working with them to build a technical stable and ever since growing IX. DE-CIX Frankfurt is a critical infrastructure so he had to work with all sorts of compliance and risk management as daily business. He led and had oversight of projects and teams in the area of Internet governance from early public hearings on Internet laws in Germany, setting up an Internet Content Task Force to fight illegal and harmful content and making sure to have good representation in various international fora, such as ICANN, IGF, ISOC and others.

Since August 2022 he is overlooking the further development of the DE-CIX Group AG from the perspective of a Member of the Supervisory Board. Over the years, Harald has spent hundreds of meetings with the community members in many countries in Europe, Middle-East, the US and other places. DE-CIX hosted some fabulous RIPE Meetings in recent times and it was always a great feeling being part of such an incredible community and development called the Internet.