Raised in Venice, Eleonora is passionate about addressing governance challenges related to technology and the digital transformation of government. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Warwick, a Master's in International Public Management and Policy from Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a Master's in Public Policy and Digital Technologies from Sciences Po. Her research focuses on digital government and the intersections of digitalization challenges with society and the public sector. Eleonora has worked as a Research Associate at the Hertie School of Governance and as an Advocacy and Policy Officer for an Italian civil society organization advocating for digital rights. In this role, she helped establish an Observatory for the use of AI in the public sector. She is currently a Blue Book Trainee for the Directorate-General for Digital Services at the European Commission, in the Unit focusing on Interoperability and Digital Government.

Martin Brynskov, PhD, is a Danish academic, standardisation expert and Founding Board Director of Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC), a Brussels-based global network of cities and communities acting as a voice of the needs of citizens and their communities towards Big Tech and regulators, promoting the so-called Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs). Based on his research in place-based computing and interaction technologies, he has coordinated and led European digital transformation actions spanning research, innovation, deployment and policy focusing on connected communities, interoperability and ecosystems in the context of AI, IoT, data spaces and local digital twins. Actions include CitCom.ai – the European Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for AI and Robotics for Smart Cities and Communities (40m€), the European Data Space for Smart Communities (33m€), and CommuniCity (5m€), which facilitates learning with marginalised communities on where the gaps are when deploying emerging technologies like AI and the metaverse.