[digital.global] im Dialog

The objectives of this webinar are twofold: (i) to review and develop a shared understanding of human rights risks that have been arising in DFI-supported digital operations in practice, and  (ii) to discuss recent initiatives and innovations to address such risks, with a particular focus on the “Digital Rights Check” tool and its new track developed by KfW Development Bank and GIZ in collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The webinar is organized jointly by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, GIZ, KfW Development Bank, and the UN Human Rights Office.

Please note that this webinar will be recorded.

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At the Deep Learning Indaba 2024 , a conference for African machine learning in Dakar, Senegal, our partners Masakhane, Data Science Nigeria in cooperation with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CLEAR Global and the digital.global initiative “FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All” are organizing a joint workshop on the integration of African languages with state-of-the-art natural language processing (NLP) technologies. Participants will explore how these innovations can drive significant social impact and foster research that is crucial for the development of the African continent.

The workshop will bring together the African machine learning community with partners from the Global South and international funders. It offers valuable opportunities for learning and collaboration – for experienced data scientists and language researchers, but also for people who are passionate about the application of language technology for social change. Participants will learn about the significant social impact NLP innovations can have and how we can promote NLP research that is crucial for the development of the African continent.

The aim of the workshop is to take stock of African NLP and identify the most promising approaches for the development of an African language AI infrastructure. Building on previous workshops and ongoing initiatives, the event will provide an important platform for the next steps towards improving African language AI.

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Locally relevant data is key to driving impactful AI  innovation in India and beyond. With the rise of open datasets and open-source AI models, there’s immense potential to boost local AI ecosystems. However, this also brings challenges in governance and regulation.

FAIR Forward, a political initiavie of  BMZ and GIZ , in collaboration with nasscom, hosts a panel on “Open-Source AI: Opportunities, Challenges, and Governance” at the Telangana Global AI Summit.

Key topics of the panel:

• The definition and unique characteristics of “open-source AI” compared to traditional Open Source software.
  
• The role of open-source AI in strengthening India’s AI landscape.
  
• Regulatory efforts by governments, including Telangana’s responsible AI procurement and global discussions in the US, UK, and EU.
  
• Strategies for businesses to harness open-source AI responsibly.

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• How to invest responsibly in technology companies?
• How can environmental, social and governance risks (ESG risks) be assessed and avoided in connection with investments in digital technologies?

DEG addressed these questions in its market study and its guidelines for investors, which it developed together with its subsidiaries DEG Impact via Africa Grow and DEG Impulse. As a contribution to the current discourse on responsible digitalisation, the analysis of existing frameworks shows that there is still no cross-sector and cross-business model framework or recommendations for investors.  The guidelines now developed by DEG and its subsidiaries are an initial approach to identifying, categorizing, evaluating and mitigating ESG-related risks in Technology Investments. They make suggestions on how investors can assess these issues and integrate them into existing investment processes.

TO THE Market studyto the guidelines

If you want to learn more about responsible technology investments, attend one of the two webinars on the market study offered by KfW DEG on 18 July:

Webinar 1 (July 18th, 10:00 – 11:00 CET):

register here

Webinar 2 (July 18th, 15:00 – 16:00 CET) :

register here

REGISTER here

Register here

The AI for Good Global Summit highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the common good. The conference in Geneva, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), provided a platform for exchanging knowledge, best practices, and collaboration in the field of open AI technologies. The summit aimed to promote health, climate protection, gender equality, sustainable infrastructure, and global prosperity through the use of AI.

FAIR Forward organized a session on the topic “Unleashing the power of open-source AI: Transforming digital public services for a better tomorrow”, which took place on May 31 from 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM. This session shed light on the role of open-source AI in public administration and presented concrete use cases from countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Kazakhstan. Noémie Bürkl, Head of Unit, Head of Unit for Digitalisation at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)  gave the closing remarks at this event.

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The official launch of the GovStack Knowledge & Learning Hub was recently announced at the WSIS Forum (World Summit on the Information Society) in Geneva. This hub aims to equip digital teams with the necessary knowledge and skills to reshape the landscape of digital government. As part of this event, a comprehensive range of eLearning courses were presented to give digital experts the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly complex ecosystem.

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Empowering women, driving innovation: The best projects of the ‘Women in GovTech Challenge 2023-24’  

The best projects of the first Women in GovTech Challenge 2023-24 were also presented at the event. Participants Aparajita Dubey, Rupal Jain, Michelle Grell-Bereaux and Yessenia Duran presented the projects, which reflect the diversity of the GovTech landscape.

The Women in GovTech Challenge gathers 139 women working in digital government teams from 59 countries. Led by experienced professionals from the global GovTech ecosystem, the participants worked closely with mentors and developed projects to pave the way for a more inclusive and efficient framework for digital government.

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The eLearning Africa annual conference and exhibition, which was established in 2005, is the largest and most comprehensive knowledge sharing event for digital education, training and skills on the African continent.It is a global forum for everyone with an interest in education, training and skills development in Africa. In the past years it has offered thousands of professionals in education, training and development invaluable insights into the evolving world of technology learning.

The 17th Edition of eLearning Africa was held from 29 – 31 May, 2024 in Kigali, the booming capital city of Rwanda at the Kigali Convention Center.

The overall theme for the 17th edition of eLearning Africa was:
“Education Fuels Innovation, Investment Amplifies Skills: Africa’s Vibrant Leap Forward” 

atingi took part in the session ‘Let Us Lead: Data Upskilling for Africans, by Africans’  and hosted an exhibition stand during the conference to give visitors the possibility to learn more about our digital learning platform and how we’re empowering learners and educators across Africa and beyond.

Our partners FAIR Forward and the Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) joinend atingi at the booth, collaborating to amplify its impact and reach. As a platform committed to empowering learners and educators in Africa and beyond, atingi took the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, organizations, and thought leaders to drive meaningful change in education.

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