Keynote Speaker
Dr. Touhid Bhuiyan
Dr. Touhid Bhuiyan is a leading cybersecurity expert, currently serving as a Professor and Assistant Director at the School of IT, Washington University of Science and Technology (WUST) in Virginia, USA. Dr. Bhuiyan’s research spans various areas including cyber security, intelligent recommendations, social networks, trust management, big data analytics, e-Health, and e-Learning. He earned his PhD in Information Security from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, focusing on Trust Management for Intelligent Recommendations. He is a Certified Ethical Hacker with a Cyber Security: Cyber Risk and Resilience certificate from the University of Oxford. Dr. Bhuiyan has been awarded the Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Initiative Scholarship from QUT. His academic career includes tenure at Monash University, The University of Western Australia, QUT, the University of Western Sydney, the University of Malaysia Perlis, and East West University. He led both the Software Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering departments at Daffodil International University (DIU) in Bangladesh. He previously held the position of Director at the DIU Cyber Security Centre. He has authored over 160 research publications in prestigious journals, books, and conference proceedings.
Invited speaker
Andrew Cranfield
EBLIDA Director
A specialist in European library policies, he has played a key role in advocating for stronger libraries and library organizations across Europe. Andrew Cranfield has previously worked for EBLIDA from 2006-2009 and has also served on its Executive Committee from 2021-2025.Before joining EBLIDA as its director at the beginning of 2005, he has worked primarily in the public library sector in Denmark and held various management positions within the field. He is committed to ensuring that libraries continue to be democratic and open institutions, where citizens have access to information and knowledge, which they can trust and where libraries are strong facilitators of democratic values.
Andrew holds a BA in Library and Information Society from the Royal School of Library and Information Science (Copenhagen) and an MA in Cultural Studies (University of Southern Denmark).
Invited speaker
Maria De Brasdefer
Maria De Brasdefer, is the Digital Affairs Policy and Research Officer at IFLA, where she leads on themes at the intersection of digital rights, digital inclusion and internet governance. She also coordinates partnerships and joint initiatives on digital matters in collaboration with other organizations. She has worked in the development sector for over a decade and is passionate about digital literacy. She holds a Master of Science in Public Policy & Human Development and is currently part of the Internet Governance Forum Policy Network on Meaningful Access and leads the Dynamic Coalition on Public Access in Libraries in collaboration with EIFL.