Tech Diplomacy Global 50

Tupoutuah Baravilala

Director-General, Ministry of Policing and Communications
Fiji

Tupou’tuah Baravilala is a highly accomplished Director-General for Digital Government Transformation, Cybersecurity and Communications with over a decade of cross-sectoral leadership experience bridging the digital divide, successfully implementing the national-wide digitalFIJI initiative, strengthening cybersecurity, and championing digital equity.

She has led national policy and legislative frameworks including, the recent development of Fiji’s inaugural 2025-2030 National Digital Strategy, Fiji’s first National Privacy and Personal Data Protection Policy 2025, and the Cybercrime Act 2021.

In a demonstration of Fiji’s commitment to global rules-based frameworks, she personally deposited Fiji’s accession instrument to the Budapest Convention in June 2024 and signed its Second Additional Protocol in 2025. Her expertise focuses keenly on the nexus between ICT, cyber policy, cybersecurity, law, and international relations

Ms. Baravilala represents the Government as an expert and lead negotiator on cyber matters at prominent global bodies, including the UN, ITU, Council of Europe, and Asia-Pacific Telecommunity. She is a frequent public speaker.

Ms Baravilala’s leadership experience includes chairing the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Executive Committee meetings when Fiji was Chair from 2018 to 2023 including leading the drafting of the revised CTO Constitution. She is the Chair of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Policy and Regulatory Forum for the Pacific. She is also a Board Member of the ITU Gobal Network of Women Advisory Board, a Board Member of the Women in Tech (Fiji Chapter) and, is an alumni of the UN OEWG Women in Cyber Fellowship (2021-2025). Ms Baravilala has also served in many Company Boards in the Telecommunications and Transport sectors in Fiji and is a current Board Member of the Fiji Telecommunications Authority.