International jury of UNESCO ICT in Education Prize

The International Jury consists of five independent members who are recognized figures in the field of ICTs in education selected also with a view to equitable geographical distribution and gender equality. They have been appointed by the Director-General for a period of two years.

At their annual meeting, they assess the submitted applications and recommend two prize-winners to the Director-General.

Ms Valenzuela is the Education Advisor on the Future of Education at the ASEAN Secretariat. She served as the Director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat from 2019 to 2023. She has worked extensively on the integration of ICT in the Philippines under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). She currently serves as an Expert on the CHED Technical Panel in Distance Education and Transnational Education since 2006. She established the SEAMEO MOOCS Network in 2017 and developed Open Educational Resources for Teacher Education. As an educator, she teaches at the University of the Philippines Diliman since 2006. Ms Valenzuela holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Management from De La Salle University, in the Philippines.

Ms Shafika Isaacs is a digital learning expert specializing in the social justice of ICTs in education. She has worked extensively on appropriating digital technologies to promote equitable quality education for all. Having supported the development of digital learning policies in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries, she obtained an intrinsic understanding of the digital contexts and needs of Africa. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg and has spearheaded multiple initiatives, including SchoolNet Africa and the award-winning Ukufunda Virtual School. Ms Isaacs has also provided technical support to organizations such as UNESCO, UNICEF, the Commonwealth of Learning, and the African Union Development Agency. She is currently Chair of the Telkom Foundation and serves as an expert for several initiatives including UNESCO's Futures Schools and the Broadband Commission Working Group on School Connectivity. She has a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Johannesburg and an MSc in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Sussex as a Mandela Scholar.

Ms Kaśka Porayska-Pomsta is a Professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education at the University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. With substantial experience in designing and evaluating digital technologies, she investigates how Intelligent Learning Environments can address educational needs of learners and practitioners.  Ms Porayska-Pomsta is a member of the Management Committee for the Bloomsbury Centre for Educational Neuroscience, an elected member of the Executive Committee for the International Society for AI in Education, a member of the Advisory Board for the UCL EdTech Labs as well as the UCL and Amazon Web Services Centre for Digital Innovation.  She contributes actively in policy discussions around AI and has delivered evidence on this subject, among others, to the All-Party Parliamentary Group in the United Kingdom. She co-edited the book entitled “The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Education: practices, challenges and debates” (2022). Ms Porayska-Pomsta holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh.

Dr Al-Ansari was appointed the President of the University of Bahrain in June 2023. Over the past 30 years, he has served across different roles in the University, including as the Dean of the College of Engineering in the University (2014 – 2022) and an Assistant Professor since 2009. An experienced architect and engineer, he has served as the Chairman of the University Construction Projects Committee and other internal and joint committees of the University with other stakeholders of the Kingdom. He holds a PhD from Newcastle University, the United Kingdom, and a Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Nottingham, the United Kingdom. 

Werner Westermann Juárez leads the Civic Education Program at the Library of National Congress of Chile since 2015. He is a History, Geography and Social Sciences Teacher and Bachelor Graduate in History from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Mr Westermann has over 20 years of work experience in digital technology-enabled education and training in national (Ministry of Education), higher education (Red Universitaria Nacional REUNA), international agencies (ECLAC-UN) and civil society institutions. He is also doing research on OER adoption and impact, and contributes to Research on Open Educational Resources for Development. He is a co-writer of the Cape Town Open Education Declaration. He is also an OER World Map national coordinator for Chile and a member of Open Education Consortium’s Latin America Regional Node (OE LATAM). Mr Westermann founded and coordinated community-based initiatives such as Moodlemoot Chile and Sugar Labs Chile.