Vatsla Srivastava

Technology policy, internet governance, and gender equity in digital systems.

I work on how institutions, technology and communication shape public outcomes — across the Government of India, industry self-regulation, international development and multistakeholder internet governance. I am President of the Internet Society India Mumbai Chapter, an all-women-led ICANN At-Large Structure, and a member of the APrIGF 2026 Multistakeholder Steering Group.

Selected work Get in touch Download CV

Government of India
UNESCO South Asia
ASCI
Internet Society
ICANN At-Large
SOAS University of London

About

One question, asked in different rooms

I began in journalism, reporting on media systems and public institutions. That led to research on gender and violence in South Asian media at UNESCO, then to programme leadership across fourteen countries, then inside the Government of India writing policy communication for the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, then into advertising self-regulation at ASCI, and now into internet governance.

The through-line is a single question: how do institutions, technology and communication shape public outcomes — and who is left out when they don't work?

My current work concentrates on platform accountability, AI governance, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, with a particular interest in how Global South users and women in public life are protected or abandoned by the systems built around them. I hold an MSc in International Politics from SOAS University of London, where my dissertation examined algorithmic bias.

Internet governance

Leadership and institutional roles

I hold elected and appointed roles across the internet governance ecosystem in Asia-Pacific, spanning chapter leadership, regional representation and programme design.

President — Internet Society India Mumbai Chapter An all-women-led chapter and ICANN At-Large Structure. Rebuilt chapter programming, governance and operations.

2026 – present
ALS Representative — APRALO, ICANN At-Large Representing the chapter within the Asia-Pacific Regional At-Large Organisation.

2026 – present
Member — Multistakeholder Steering Group, APrIGF 2026 Programme governance for the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum. Also a 2026 APrIGF Fellow.

2026
Organising Committee & Partnerships Lead — Youth IGF India 2026 Partnerships and sponsorship strategy for the national youth internet governance forum.

2026
Co-designer — NextGen BoF, APNIC 62 “Plot Your Path — A First-Year Roadmap for the NextGens,” developed with APNIC as a community activation partner.

2026
Series relaunch lead and curator — Women in Tech Leadership (WITL) An interview series convening women leading technology, policy and safety work across the region.

2026 – present

participant → contributor → organiser → institutional representative → regional governance

Selected work

Six pieces of work, and what each one proves

Policy communication for the Government of India

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting · Press Information Bureau · Young Professional

Context: Complex regulatory and technology policy — AI, digital regulation, OTT, broadcasting, geospatial policy — needed to be made legible to a national public audience without losing accuracy.
My role: Sole writer on a large body of published policy explainers for PIB.
Outcome: Over forty explainers published, several cited by the Prime Minister's Office, reaching a readership of more than 250,000.

Gender, violence and media systems in South Asia

UNESCO South Asia · Media and Information Literacy · MAAR Project

Context: Reporting on gender-based violence across South Asian media lacked a regional evidence base and any shared editorial standard.
My role: Led primary research, conducting over fifty interviews with journalists, editors and practitioners across the region.
Outcome: A national policy report on gender-based violence in media, developed for institutional and newsroom adoption.

Beyond Victims: building a regional gender-and-media platform

CGAP South Asia · Project Manager

Context: Coverage of gender-based violence across Asia routinely reduced women to victimhood, with no regional platform pushing an alternative frame.
My role: Designed and ran the Beyond Victims series end to end, leading a twelve-person team across fourteen countries.
Outcome: A sustained regional programme supported by over ₹7 lakh in donor funding, with contributors and audiences across Asia.

Building a membership function from scratch

Advertising Standards Council of India · Senior Manager, Stakeholder Relations · 2025 – 2026

Context: ASCI needed a structured membership and stakeholder engagement function where none existed, in an industry where self-regulation depends entirely on voluntary participation.
My role: Built the function end to end: pan-India growth strategy, member segmentation, lifecycle design, and direct relationship management with prospective, renewing and grievance-holding members.
Outcome: A working membership engine — onboarding, orientation and engagement systems, a CMO Roundtable co-hosted with Google and Core AI, and an institutional partnership with PHDCCI.

Leading an all-women internet governance chapter

Internet Society India Mumbai Chapter · President · 2026 – present

Context: The chapter needed to move from dormancy to visible, credible participation in regional internet governance.
My role: Rebuilt programming, governance and operations, and restored the chapter's representation within ICANN's At-Large structures.
Outcome: Public programming reaching participants across eighteen countries, the Women in Tech Leadership series relaunched with full operational infrastructure, community activation partner status at APNIC 62, and a co-designed NextGen session with APNIC.

Film policy and international engagement

NFDC · Films Wing, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting · MIFF · IFFI · WAVES

Context: India's flagship film and media events required coordinated stakeholder engagement across government, industry and the diplomatic corps.
My role: Stakeholder engagement and communication across MIFF, IFFI and WAVES.
Outcome: Engagement extended to 154 diplomatic missions, alongside industry and institutional partners.

Writing

Published work

Technology & digital governance

Policy explainers for the Press Information Bureau

Over forty published explainers on artificial intelligence, digital regulation, broadcasting, OTT and geospatial policy, written for the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Read a selected explainer

Gender & digital rights

Opinion: violence against women and the systems that fail them

A bylined opinion piece on gender-based violence, media responsibility and institutional accountability. Read the piece

Speaking

Convening and public engagement

Forum	Role	Organisation	Year
APrIGF 2026, Kathmandu	Fellow; Multistakeholder Steering Group member	Asia-Pacific Regional IGF	2026
APNIC 62 — NextGen BoF	Session co-designer	APNIC × ISOC India Mumbai Chapter	2026
Youth IGF India 2026	Organising Committee; Partnerships & Sponsorship Lead	Youth IGF India	2026
Chronically Online	Convener	ISOC India Mumbai Chapter	2026
Women in Tech Leadership series	Series relaunch lead, curator and host	ISOC India Mumbai Chapter	2026

Education

Training

MSc International Politics — SOAS University of London Merit. Dissertation on algorithmic bias.
PG Diploma in Broadcast Journalism — Asian College of Journalism, Chennai Distinction.
BA (Hons) History — Maitreyi College, University of Delhi First Class.