At the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) on 2 June 2025 global leaders from the public sector, international organisations, business, science, and civil society jointly endorsed the international “Hamburg Declaration on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
This landmark initiative – the first global multi-stakeholder declaration with an explicit focus on AI in the context of international development cooperation – outlines shared principles and commitments to promote a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development and deployment of AI worldwide. Particular emphasis is placed on empowering low- and middle-income countries.
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Only through joint and coordinated efforts can we ensure that artificial intelligence benefits our planet and all its people – above all, those in the Global South.
Reem Alabali Radovan, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2025
The Declaration is a global call to action, directed especially at governments, international organisations, businesses, civil society, and the scientific community. It urges stakeholders to promote inclusive and sustainable AI, foster local innovation, and ensure that emerging markets and developing economies are not left behind in the digital future.
More than 40 partners from various sectors and regions around the world have already formally endorsed the Declaration – over half of them during a press event at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. Supporters include the foreign ministries of France, Canada, and Italy, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Smart Africa, the East African Community (EAC), the Coalition for Digital Environmental Sustainability (CODES), Aleph Alpha, TATA Consultancy Services, Pollicy, Mobile Web Ghana and many more.
Canada - Evelyne Coulombe, Chargee d’affaires, Embassy of Canada
UNICEF - Bertrand Bainvel, Director Partnerships Office
Global Solutions Initiative - Vidisha Mishra, Director Global Outreach & Policy
Common Room Networks Foundation - Gustaff Harriman Iskandar, Director
Mobile Web Ghana - Florence Toffa, Director
CODES/UBA - Marcel Dorsch, Senior Expert „Digital Change and Sustainability Transformation"
The Declaration ensures that AI technologies primarily uphold human rights, protect the climate and the environment, and contribute to the fight against disinformation. Its endorsers also commit to strengthening the protection of marginalised communities, expanding access to AI education – particularly for women and girls – and fostering the development of local AI innovations in emerging markets and developing economies.
The joint Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs demonstrates how AI can promote sustainable development for all. It outlines a hopeful vision for the future: one built on equal partnerships that connect sectors and societies across the globe, with a special focus on empowering communities in emerging markets and developing economies. The Declaration sets out a series of voluntary commitments supported by all stakeholders.
Become part of this joint initiative to shape AI in a way that benefits everyone – and leaves no one behind.
To express your intention to endorse the Declaration, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].
Find the Hamburg Declaration* here.
Several endorsers have made voluntary individual commitments that translate the principles of the Hamburg Declaration into concrete action.
Already an endorser of the Hamburg Declaration or planning to join soon? Let your LinkedIn community know.
A highlight of the HSC 2025 was the high-level panel discussion on the future of AI. The speakers emphasised that AI must be inclusive from the outset, rooted in local contexts, and accessible to communities that have been excluded so far. Accountability, human rights, and global cooperation were identified as key pillars to ensure that AI serves people and the planet – rather than reinforcing existing inequalities and power imbalances.
The Declaration provides us with a great opportunity that there is more inclusion and our (African) voices are being heard.
Governments are scrambling to regulate a technological frontier that is changing its both nature and scope on a daily basis. We need to learn from one another.
At the end of the day the question is: Who is shaping AI? Who is collecting the data? In what language is AI published?
Ensure redistribution of power and this way our local languages will be included, our African values and African contexts.
The Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs, adopted on 2 June 2025, is the result of close global collaboration that began during the first Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC 2024). At HSC 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and other partners announced the launch of a global platform to harness the potential of responsible AI for sustainable development.
Key milestones of the platform include:
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The Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) brings together decision-makers from governments, international organisations, business, civil society, and science to co-create innovative solutions for a sustainable and just future. The inaugural conference took place from 7–8 October 2024. The HSC is jointly convened by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Michael Otto Foundation, and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
The topic of responsible AI for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals received widespread attention at HSC 2025, with extensive coverage in the press and broadcast media. Numerous outlets reported on the joint efforts of the participating partners. Here are some highlights:
*Some stakeholders have submitted further information or interpretation regarding their endorsement of the Declaration and its contents.
