Co-Facilitator of the negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda and Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations

Macharia Kamau is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kenyan Mission to the United Nations. Along with the Irish Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. Kamau is the cofacilitator for the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda and was the co-chair of the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Executive Director, World Academy of Sciences

Dr. Romain Murenzi has been Director of Division for Science Policy & Capacity Building of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since April 14, 2016. Dr. Murenzi serves as an Executive Director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World in Trieste, Italy. He deals with scientific issues and capacity building for all low- and mid-income nations. He was a Minister of Science and Technology, Rwanda, where he was a key architect of its country's education, science and technology renaissance after years of civil war and genocide. Dr. Murenzi has over 30 years of experience in capacity building in science, science policy and diplomacy, in both the public sector and in academia. Since 2011 Prof. Murenzi has served as Executive Director of The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS), a UNESCO programme, based in Trieste, Italy. PhD fellowship opportunities have more than tripled over the course of his tenure, from 150 per year in 2011 to over 460 in 2016. During that time, Dr. Murenzi chaired the UN Secretary General's High-level Panel on a Technology Bank for the LDCs, which studied the scope and functions of such a institution, and became a member of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development. In January 2016, he was appointed by the Secretary-General as a member of the. Dr. Murenzi has been a Director of Global Virus Network since January 16, 2013. He served from 2001 to 2006 as Rwanda's Ministerof Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research, and from March 2006 to July 2009 as Minister in the President's Office in Charge of Science, Technology, and Scientific Research, with responsibilities including Information and Communications Technology. Dr. Murenzi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Burundi (1982), as well as degrees in Physics at the Master's (1986) and doctorate (1990) levels, obtained at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). In 2013, he obtained a Master of Law degree in Information Technology and Telecommunication from the University of Strathclyde (UK).

Executive Director, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization, Tanzania

Dr. Bitrina Diyamett is the founding and current executive director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO), a Tanzanian independent think tank dealing with STI policy research currently under the think tank initiatives. She is also a member and a leader in a number of related professional networks in and outside Tanzania. Diyamett was recently appointed by the UN Secretary General as a member of the Governing Council of the UN Technology Bank (TB) for Least Developed Countries.

Furthermore, Diyamett is a researcher and a consultant in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy. Her major research interest and areas of expertise include: national systems of innovation, sectoral systems of innovation, development of innovative clusters, foreign direct investments and local technological capabilities, STI indicators and linking knowledge to policy. She has published widely and has consulted for the Government of Tanzania, UN Agencies such as UNIDO and UNESCO, Development Partners such as SIDA and the Government of Finland as well as African Regional Bodies such as NEPAD.

Academically, Diyamett holds a master’s degree in Science and Technology Policy from Lund University and a doctorate degree in Development Studies, with focus on innovation and development, from the University of Dar es Salaam.

President, CODATA

Prof. Geoffrey S. Boulton primarily interested in the behavior of glaciers and ice sheets. The role they play in influencing the nature of climate change, the way in which they change through time, and their impact on other parts of the Earth system, particularly in eroding and transporting debris, changing the landscape, their impact on sub-surface rocks and fluids, and on the engineering properties of the Earth. Current Research on Remote monitoring groundwater fluctuations and groundwater-channel relationships beneath an Icelandic glacier, drainage processes in former ice sheets and the formation of “tunnel valleys”, and subglacial Sediment processes and properties.

Prof. Geoffrey S. Boulton has been involved in policy work for two decades, as a member of the Natural Environment Research Council and chair of its Earth Science & Technology and its Polar Science Boards, a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, the Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology, chair of the Research Committee of the League of European Research Universities, General Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and currently as chair of the Royal Society's Science Policy Centre.
Currently, Prof. Geoffrey S. Boulton is the President of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (2013- ), Chair of the Advisory Council of the University of Heidelberg (2007- ), Member of the Strategic Council of the University of Geneva (2009- ), Council of the Royal Society (2013- ), Chair of the Royal Society Science Policy Centre (2012- )

Philadelphia University, ICGC, USA

Jim Querry is a Senior Geographic Information Systems (GIS) executive, educator and professional landscape architect with over 25 years of experience in a broad range of related disciplines including GIS, landscape architecture, civil engineering, planning, and information technology. He has extensive experience managing complex programs and projects requiring strong leadership, problem solving, design, planning, communication and organizational skills. Jim Querry directs the MS in GeoDesign program within the Philadelphia University College of Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). He oversees program content, development, growth, and direction. He has established and directed studio projects, manage faculty, collaborate with other Philadelphia University programs, and has represented the University at local, regional, national and international events. Oversee implementation of University-wide enterprise vision for GIS and GeoDesign aimed at making PhilaU a spatial university. He also is involved in developing curriculum and teaches in the accredited undergraduate program in Landscape Architecture also within the University’s College of Architecture and the Built Environment.