Welcome and Introduction

• Elcia Grandcourt, Regional Director for the Africa Department, UNWTO
• Javier Ruescas, Senior Specialist, Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness, UNWTO

Remarks by Facebook Public Policy

Kojo Boakye, Public Policy Director, Africa, Facebook

The impact of COVID-19 on tourism and the path to recovery: Latest Trends

Javier Ruescas, Senior Specialist, Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness, UNWTO

Training by Facebook GPN

Ahmad Shehada, Head of Government, Politics and Non-Profit for Middle East and North Africa, Facebook

Q&A, Resources and Closing

Elcia Grandcourt, Regional Director for the Africa Department, UNWTO
Javier Ruescas, Senior Specialist, Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness, UNWTO
Kojo Boakye, Public Policy Director, Africa, Facebook

Originally from the Seychelles, Elcia Grandcourt joined the World Tourism Organisation, a United Nations specialised Agency for Tourism in 2013 as Director, of the Regional Department for Africa. Elcia began her tourism career studying Hotel Management in Singapore at the Singapore Hotel Association and Education Centre (SHATEC). Thereafter, she occupied various positions in operations, reservations and sales mainly in hotels, including leading international brands such as Le Meridien and Hilton Worldwide Resorts. She was part of the rebranding team when Hilton Worldwide Resorts took over the management of the then Northolme hotel in Seychelles. She worked with the Seychelles national airline and destination management companies before joining the public sector to Seychelles Tourism Board as deputy CEO before being promoted to Chief Executive Officer, a position she occupied prior to joining UNWTO. Passionate about tourism, Elcia is honoured to be able to contribute towards sustainable tourism development in Africa. Elcia also holds a Master in Dynamics of Cooperation, Conflicts and Negotiation in International Relations and Diplomacy.

Javier Ruescas is a senior analyst working in the Market Intelligence and Competitiveness Department of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). He is responsible for tourism and economic data management and analysis for reports such as the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer and UNWTO Tourism Highlights. He also conducts econometric modelling for tourism forecasts and estimates. Javier has contributed to research publications such as the UNWTO/GTERC Asia Tourism Trends, 2020 edition and the UNWTO Briefing Notes Tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Understanding Domestic Tourism and Seizing its Opportunities. He has been working for UNWTO since 2012.

Previously, Javier worked for ING Real Estate Investment Management and DTZ Property Advisors, doing economic, investment fund and property research. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from the European Business School (Madrid) and a master’s degree in Comparative Culture (major in International Business) from Sophia University (Tokyo).

Kojo Boakye is Facebook’s Director of Public Policy for Africa. He’s an ICT for Development practitioner with 17+ years’ experience working with governments, fixed-line and mobile operators, development partners, online service providers, content developers, entrepreneurs, and civil society organisations. Prior to joining Facebook he was the Deputy Executive Director of the World Wide Web Foundation’s Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), and he previously headed Research and Consultancy at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).

Before being asked to lead Facebook’s policy work in SSA Kojo’s work focused on broadband affordability, connectivity and access, with a special focus on the socio-economic impact of broadband services. Today, his work involves the full gamut of policy matters that impact the digital economy, including data privacy, content policy, taxation, cybersecurity, election integrity, online safety, digital literacy, digital payments, and entrepreneurship. Kojo continues to be passionate about creating opportunities for Africa and Africans. Most recently, he joined the board for Junior Achievement Africa. In addition to an MSc in Development Studies, Kojo holds a BA in African History and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Ahmad is the Head of Government, Politics and Non-profit for Facebook in the Middle East and North Africa. His mandate includes enabling government partners adopt Facebook portfolio of apps and services across the MENA region. Previously, he worked as a management consultant at Strategy& (Formerly known as Booz & Company) focusing on digitization agenda for public and private sector entities and the transformational role of the information and communication technology (ICT) across industries. He also worked at IBM leading their middleware technologies and enterprise automation. He holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and MBA from London Business School, London, UK.