Toby Mendel
Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, an international human rights NGO based in Canada that provides legal expertise and capacity building in relation to the foundational rights of democracy, including the right to information, freedom of expression, the right to participate, and the rights to freedom of assembly and association. Previously, he was Senior Director of Law at ARTICLE 19, an international human rights NGO focused on freedom of expression, for over 12 years. He has published widely and collaborated extensively with relevant intergovernmental organizations - including the World Bank, UNESCO, the UN, and other special rapporteurs on freedom of expression, the OSCE and the Council of Europe - as well as with numerous governments and NGOs in countries around the world. His work includes drafting legislation, participating in strategic litigation, leading exercises on the creation of regulations, providing training and other forms of capacity building, preparing in-depth analyses of laws, and conducting research and publications.
Blanca Lilia Ibarra Cadena
Communicator, journalist and promoter of development and respect for women's rights. She has held management positions in the media sector, having been Director of the Mexican State Congress Television Channel and Director of Information to State Media of the Presidency of the Republic. She chaired the guarantor bodies of transparency, the right of access to information and the protection of personal data at the municipal and state level. In 2018, the Senate of the Republic elected her Commissioner of the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI). From December 2020 to December 2023, she was president of INAI and of the National Council of the National Transparency System. She is currently a commissioner of the institute.