People

Ms Shita Laksmi is a consultant representing Diplo in Southeast Asia, bringing over two decades of experience in international development, quasi-government roles, and academia. Her expertise spans transparency and accountability, personal and open data, media development, and digital governance. From 2019 to 2022, Shita was the Executive Director of Tifa Foundation. She also served on the expert team at Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Informatics from 2017 to mid-2019 while managing Diplo’s projects across Asia.

Previously, Shita spent over a decade at Hivos Southeast Asia, focusing on transparency, accountability, and freedom of expression across Indonesia, Timor Leste, and the Philippines. She has held key advisory roles, including as a member of the UN’s Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory Group (2014–2017) and as an advisor at the Asia Pacific School of Internet Governance (APsIG).

Shita holds a master’s in Contemporary Diplomacy and Internet Governance (University of Malta, 2020, with distinction) and a master’s in Journalism (Ateneo de Manila University, 2004). She is also a certified Data Protection Officer from the European Center on Privacy and Cybersecurity, Maastricht University.