Digital BABA

Key note speakers and resource persons are the people who will enlighten the participants with innovative ideas and personal experiences on global and local issues.

Takeju Ogata

President of The Nippon Foundation. Mr. Ogata joined the Japan Ship Machinery Export Association in 1967, upon graduating from the Tokyo University of Agriculture. As manager of the Rotterdam Office, he helped Japanese ship machinery manufacturers branch out into foreign countries between 1974 and 1979. The experience gained in Rotterdam proved valuable when he joined the Nippon Foundation and became involved in activities on a global scale in 1980. He was appointed manager of the Department of International Affairs, which was established in 1981, and set up the basis for overseas aid and cooperation. When the Sasakawa Peace Foundation was established as an affiliate foundation of The Nippon Foundation in 1986, he was entrusted with managing the organization administratively, and helped develop the Sasakawa Peace Foundation into an internationally recognized organization. He returned to the Nippon Foundation in 1993 and was responsible for reorganizing the fundamental structure, upgrading the operations, and strengthening the auditing system of the foundation. He was appointed executive director in 1997, and subsequently president in 2005 to manage all administrative duties of the foundation as assistant to the chairman.

Min Weifang

Chairman of Peking University Council (Beijing University) and Board Chairman of Peking University Education Foundation. He has been responsible for a wide range of operations of the university since 1995, including academic affairs, faculty development, personnel, finance, and university high-tech industry programs. Dr. Min Weifang also is a faculty member in economics of education of the university. He received his Ph.D. in Economics of Education from Stanford University in 1987. He joined the faculty of Peking University in 1988. He is currently also serving as Dean and Professor of Graduate School of Education of Peking University. Concurrently, Dr. Min serves as the President of the China National Association for Research on Study Abroad, Vice President of China Higher Education Research Association; Vice President of China National Association of Economics of Education; Senior Research Fellow of National Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education of China; Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the international journal HIGHER EDUCATION. He served as principal investigator for more than ten national and international research projects, authored or co-authored many publications in education. Min Weifang also served as the Chairman of the Expert Panel for the implementation of World Bank Education Development in Poor Provinces Project in China from 1992 to 2000. The Project covers 114 counties with schools, colleges and universities for teacher and management training，construction, equipment, and the computerized education management information system development. Dr. Min worked full-time at the Headquarter of the World Bank in Washington DC during 1991-92 as a higher education specialist. He joined more than 30 World Bank Missions to East Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia and China since early 1990s for higher education development projects. Min Weifang is also an alternate member of the 16^th and 17^th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Anupam Saraph

is a renowned IT and governance expert, an accomplished innovator, a systems thinker and an Advisor to top leaders across the world. He is known for pioneering and implementing crowd-sourced governance across the world and is particularly acclaimed for creating the world’s first governance wiki at http://giki.wikia.com. Dr Saraph has helped leaders and teams to build remarkable performance, implement innovative projects and create enduring value. As an Independent Director on various company boards and as Vice Chairman of a public sector organization Dr Saraph has helped identify value, evolve strategies to build value and pursue missions successfully. Dr Saraph is also a life student of the roles of people and systems in driving change and a street-artist at capturing mental models of change for design, strategy and building enduring value. A global citizen, he loves traveling and exploring different cultures and people across the world. Dr Saraph currently advises various Businesses and Governments in India, has initiated a nation-wide agenda on democratic reform and also serves as the CIO Pune City. In his role as the CIO, Pune City he has enabled innovative projects and received the CIO 100 Award for 2008.

Johnson Paul

40, is currently working as the Deputy Director of Publishing and Research Services, National Library Board, Singapore. He also manages a Quadripartite Business Information Service led by the Singapore Business Federation in partnership with SPRING Singapore, IE Singapore and the National Library Board. He has served in the National Library for 12 years and had previously worked for Singapore Airlines as Station Manager, Corporate Planning and Finance Executive with the Ministry of Information Communication and the Arts. Between 2006-2008 he was an International Advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Access to Learning Award (ATLA). Currently he is an Advisor to NIDA (Network for Information and Digital Access, Oxford UK), SPINE Initiative, MDA and Publications Consultative Panel (PCP), MDA. He is part of the Literati Society of Emerald Intelligence and International Editor for PROGRAM. Mr Johnson Paul is active in Foundation work. He serves as a panelist assessor for the Most Admired Knowledge City (MAKCi) Award given by TELEOS and World Capital Institute. Mr Johnson has a Masters in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore. He completed an Executive Management programme with INSEAD in 2003.

Louis Goodman

has been Professor and Dean of the School of International Service since 1986 and in 1992 served as the President of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. Prior to assuming this position, he directed the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Latin America and Caribbean Program at the Social Science Research Council and served on the faculty of Yale University’s Sociology Department. The author of numerous books and articles, Dr. Goodman’s current research focuses on democracy-building and civilian control of the armed forces in Latin America. His Small Nations, Giant Firms: Capital Allocation Decisions in Transnational Corporations (Holmes and Meier: 1987) discusses the determinants of capital allocation decisions in transnational corporation and the impact of transnational corporations on national development. The Military and Democracy in Latin America (D.C. Heath-Lexington: 1990) and Lessons from the Venezuelan Experience (Johns Hopkins: 1995) are volumes he has co-edited which focus on the role of the military in political and economic development. His publications also include works on international affairs education including International Affairs Education on the Eve of the 21st Century (APSIA, 1994).