S S Mantha

Dr. S S Mantha, former Chairman of the National Regulator (AICTE), implemented several e-governance initiatives and facilitating regulations. Earlier, a Professor of Robotics, Control theory and AI at VJTI, he now occupies the Emeritus Chair. He has more than 280 publications in National and International Journals and Conferences besides authoring three books.

Paulina Pannen

Graduated from Syracuse University over 30 years ago, Paulina Pannen writes and speaks in various scholarly forums, and has had a tenure as director of SEAMEO SEAMOLEC, Vice-Rector at USBI, Dean of Faculty of Education at Universitas Terbuka, chairman of task forces on higher education quality development and improvement programs under DGHE, development of Indonesian MOOCs and e-learning, distance education, Senior Adviser on Academics to the MORTHE until 2019, Interim Director for Innovation System and Secretary to the Consortium of Research and Innovation for Covid-19 at MORT/NARI until 2

Shannon May

Ms. May is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Bridge International. As an award-winning teacher at primary and tertiary levels, Ms. May is focused on ensuring that Bridge supports teachers, empowers school leaders, and ensures every child has the learning support needed to master the national syllabus and have the confidence to succeed in a competitive world. Ms.

Kate Behncken

Ms. Behncken is the Vice President and Lead of Microsoft Philanthropies. Previously, she led the Microsoft Philanthropies Global Community Engagement team and was Associate General Counsel at Microsoft where she led the Office of the President team and served as Chief of Staff to company President and Chief Legal Officer, Brad Smith. Kate and her team are focused on innovating in new ways to help realize the promise and potential of technology for everyone as they work with underserved communities.

Lant Pritchett

Mr. Pritchett is a development economist from Idaho. He graduated from BYU in 1983 and from MIT with a PhD in Economics in 1988. He worked with the World Bank from 1988 to 2007. He taught at the Harvard Kennedy School from 2000 to 2018 (with some leaves) and is now affiliated with Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. He has over a hundred publications: journal articles, working papers, book chapters, and books, authored with over fifty different co-authors on topics in development from basic education to economic growth to state capability to labor mobility (and more).

Zoe Tate

International development professional with an entrepreneurial spirit and 10 years working experience in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Focus on youth, innovation, financial inclusion and blended finance.

Researched global best practices in educational policy reform and maker-based education and developed proposal for demonstration project and recommendations for PPP-based financing. Designed strategic communication material for ABD Youth for Asia team.

Evidence of the Impact of Energy Access on Wellbeing: Measuring the Immeasurable

While development literature often discusses the critical importance of electricity access and clean cooking to improve economic and social well-being, there has been little rigorous evidence of the specific nature and magnitude of these benefits. This presentation drew on impact evaluations from the Asia-Pacific region to explore the demonstrated impacts of energy access on income, education, women’s empowerment, inequality, and poverty alleviation in real-life settings.

Sudarshana Anojan

Sudarshana Anojan is the Social Development and Gender Specialist in ADB’s Sri Lanka Country Office. He carries over 13 years of experience in the international development field; working with diverse non-government, bilateral and multilateral agencies. His area of expertise includes community development, monitoring and evaluation, gender equality and social inclusion, and education.