Olivier Alais is a social technologist. He designs and oversees Internet freedom, cybersecurity and cyber policy programs which provide capacity building and information security assistance to civil society activists, human rights defenders, and journalists operating in non-permissive environments around the globe.
Olivier has worked on numerous European Commission, United Nations, Global Fund, USAID and World Bank funded projects. He has set up rural computer centers and Internet-enabled radio stations in West Africa; drafted the eGovernment Web Development Strategy and the Open Data Readiness Assessment for the Government of Liberia; authored the Digital ID Strategy for the Government of Somalia; designed technical specifications for the creation of a federal social security digital platform in Mexico; drafted the Open Source Software Policy for the Government of Mauritius; developed a micro insurance health program in Thailand; and assisted the United Nations University in designing its Digital Research Strategy.
Olivier participates in several communities, composed both of academics and practitioners, that are focused on various aspects of cyberspace. He is currently an active member of the PIR (Public Interest Registry) advisory council and an advisory board member of the Open Knowledge Foundation – France. He is an alumnus of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and he was a lecturer in computer science in Burkina Faso for two years.
Olivier holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Paris and a joint engineering degree in information systems from the University of Technology of Troyes, the University of Technology of Compiègne, and McGill University.
