#data #technology #diplomacy #innovation #management

Ida Jeng is an international expert and speaker on the intersection of technology, diplomacy, data and mobile. Ida lives in Beijing in China and has previously lived and worked in New York, Nairobi and Copenhagen.

Ida Jeng currently works as a senior tech advisor to Denmark’s (and the world’s first-ever) tech ambassador, Casper Klynge. Based out of Beijing, Ida oversees Denmark’s TechPlomacy activities in Asia. TechPlomacy is a new, forward-leaning strategic priority in Danish foreign policy.

Prior to joining the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ida worked for the Centre for Humanitarian Data, a data-startup within the United Nations. Inspired by the possibilities of new technology, Ida led OCHA's data lab in Nairobi, Kenya, covering 25 countries in East and Southern Africa. The Lab promotes the use of data to save lives during emergencies and identifies, prototypes and scales new partnerships and solutions.

Moved by the plight of refugees, Ida previously served as the co-chair of Techfugees Kenya (a charity that coordinates the tech industry’s response to the needs of refugees) and as a Jury member of the European Commission’s social entrepreneurship competition.

Prior to joining OCHA, Ida worked as a director for the award-winning technology organization, Refugees United (REFUNITE), and spent nearly five years working at the forefront of mobile projects in refugee camps. REFUNITE runs the world’s largest missing persons platform, helping 700,000 refugees reconnect with their families through mobile.

Her passion for social entrepreneurship has led her to host hackathons and speak at events in Berlin, London, Barcelona, New York, Copenhagen, Nairobi, Rome, and more. As the world faces unprecedented crisis and conflict, Ida calls for new approaches to diplomacy, funding, partnerships, and private-sector engagement.

Ida spent the first seven years of her career working on digital communication and digitization of the private and the public sector. She worked for a United Nations agency in New York, as a technology blogger for a national Danish newspaper, and as a digital consultant for nonprofit organizations and a business consulting firm. Ida holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, Copenhagen University, and Copenhagen Business School. Ida has completed MIT’s executive program in management and leadership.