Registration is free and closes at 18:00 IST (12:30 UTC) on Friday, 18 September; e-certificates will be provided for all participants.
SPEAKER Swaran Ravindra – Head of Training, Information Technology / Vice Chair, Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society / Vice Chair, APrIGF Multistakeholder Steering Group
The draft Guidelines put into practice the AU’s Continental AI Strategy, adopted by the Executive Council in July 2024, and set out an African approach to governing Artificial Intelligence at the global, continental, regional and national levels. National AI strategies are in force or in preparation in more than a dozen Member States, and the East African Community (EAC) adopted its Regional AI Strategy this year. The aim is for fifty-five countries to build an inclusive and innovative African AI ecosystem together, with emerging technologies central to the AU Theme of the Year 2027 and Agenda 2063.
Day one covers governance frameworks, coordination and institutions; day two covers regulation, security and standards, including the AU Model AI Law. Seventy-five minutes of each day are given to the floor. The consultation is online, free and open to all. Those unable to attend live can send written submissions to [email protected] by 30 September 2026.
The series launches with a reflection on the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which brought together governments, industry, academia, civil society, and international organizations to discuss international AI governance. Drawing on insights from organizers and participants, the session will explore key priorities, areas of convergence, unresolved questions, and opportunities for cooperation that emerged from the Dialogue.
On 29 August 2026, the Internet Society India Chennai Chapter with KriVin Academy hosted ‘Convergence 360°: AI, Governance & Threat Intelligence at the Cross Roads‘, the opening webinar of its ISOC Chennai TechX Series. Dr. N. Sudha Bhuvaneswari explored where AI, governance and threat intelligence converge.
01 Role of Internet Society India Chennai Chapter
Pravina Bharath – Executive Director, KriVin Academy / Communication Officer & Treasurer, Internet Society India Chennai Chapter
Topics: preparations and community engagement for the 15th African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF 2026), to be hosted in Accra, Ghana; updates on UN IGF 2026 in Kenya and a regional IGF update, including participation opportunities and key agenda items; recent Internet governance and digital policy developments; community networks and clean energy by Prof. Lee W. McKnight, Wisdom Donkor and team; AI governance in Africa; DNS and cybersecurity; the Smart Africa proposed African Internet governance framework; and the Sam Lanfranco Open AI proposal. Open discussion follows on community priorities, collaboration, and upcoming activities.
AI agents have moved from speculative promise into everyday deployment, translating high-level goals into plans and carrying them out across connected digital environments. Agent builders often promise that users remain in control through approval prompts and pause buttons, but those safeguards work only when users can recognize a mistake and intervene before consequences cascade.
SPEAKERS Ranjit Singh – Program Director, AI on the Ground, Data & Society Samir Passi – Social Scientist and Affiliate, Data & Society; contracted AI Researcher at Microsoft via KForce Margaret Mitchell – Chief Ethics Scientist, Hugging Face Madeleine Clare Elish – Head of Evaluations, Responsible Development and Innovation, Google DeepMind
Convening under the theme ‘AI for Caribbean Transformation: Governance, Innovation and Resilience for a Shared Digital Future‘, the Forum serves as the flagship regional platform for launching the Final Report of the Caribbean AI Task Force (CAITF) and advancing its recommendations, bringing together policymakers, regulators, development partners, private sector leaders, academia, civil society and youth to support a harmonised, ethical and Caribbean-centred AI ecosystem.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES Kristerbella Sookdeo
DAY 1 – Thursday, 23 July 2026
13:00 UTC Safety Briefing University of the West Indies
13:02 UTC Welcome Remarks Nigel Cassimire – Deputy Secretary-General, CTU Prof. Rose-Marie Belle Antoine – Campus Principal, UWI STA Campus
13:10 UTC Towards Regional Harmonization: The Caribbean AI Task Force Dr. Craig Ramlal – Executive Director, Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre; Head, Control Systems Group, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UWI St. Augustine; Chair, CTU Caribbean AI Task Force
13:30 UTC Keynote Address: World Digital Governance (WDG) – From Principles to Action Graeme Thomson – Founding Member, World Digital Governance (WDG)
13:45 UTC Feature Address Senator the Honourable Dominic Smith – Minister of Public Administration and AI, Trinidad & Tobago; President, CTU
14:05 UTC Launch of the Caribbean AI Task Force Final Report Senator the Honourable Dominic Smith Dr. Craig Ramlal Nigel Cassimire
14:10 UTC Cultural Interlude and Drone Show Emmanuel Joseph – Pannist
14:40 UTC High-Level Session – Presentation: AI Governance and Considerations for Small States; Panel: Turning the Work of the CAITF into Collective Action H.E. Ren Hongyan – Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Trinidad and Tobago Senator the Honourable Dominic Smith H.E. Guillaume Pierre – Ambassador of the French Republic to Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Craig Ramlal – Chair, CAITF; Director, AIIC MODERATOR Nigel Cassimire – Deputy Secretary-General, CTU
15:20 UTC National AI Movements: Trends, Opportunities & Lessons Learnt Christopher Reckord – Chair, National AI Task Force, Jamaica (Remote) Atiba Phillips – Board Director, iGoVTT Vincent Roberts – Chairman and Commissioner, NTRC Grenada MODERATOR Kirk Sookram – Deputy CEO, Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT)
17:00 UTC Culture, Creatives, Intellectual Property & AI Dr. Justin Koo – Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UWI Jean Marie Altema – Executive Manager, ProfIT Development Consulting (Remote) Keron Rose – Founder, The Digipreneur Company (Remote) MODERATOR Nievia Ramsundar – Legal and Regulatory Consultant
17:40 UTC Data Sovereignty, Cybersecurity & AI Infrastructure Tracy Hackshaw – Chef d’Enterprise, UPU (Remote) Reza Sookdeo – Chief Information Officer, Heritage Petroleum Limited Shernon Osepa – Consultant Strategic Advisor and CAITF Coordinator, CTU Steven Williams – Principal Consultant, Data Privacy Cédric Pradel – Executive Director, ACCYB MODERATOR Kurleigh Prescod – CEO, TATT
19:05 UTC Human-Centric, Rights-Based & Ethical AI Cordel Green – Executive Director, Broadcast Commission of Jamaica (Remote) Ms. Sandrea Maynard – Pro Vice-Chancellor, UWI Lily Dash – Founder, Future Caribbean Prof. Derrick Cogburn – Professor of Information Technology & Analytics (Kogod School of Business) and Environment, Development & Health (School of International Service); Executive Director, Institute on Disability and Public Policy, American University Kevan Rajaram – Manager of Analytics and Information Management, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB); Researcher, TTLAB MODERATOR Nia Nanan – Senior Research Analyst, CTU
19:45 UTC Women in AI Diedre Cousins – CIO, GraceKennedy Dr. Maria Myers-Hamilton – Chair, CTU Network of Women (Remote) Amanda Zilla – Co-Chair, HerSpace in AI, AIIC, UWI Julie Koon Koon – Lead Data Scientist, Republic Bank Limited; Lecturer, BSc Computing, SBCS Global Learning Institute Sarah Rudder-Chulhan – Associate Director, Digital & Client Experience, CIBC MODERATOR Shanea Lewis – Policy Analyst, CTU
20:50 UTC Day 1 Wrap-up Dr. Craig Ramlal – Chair, CAITF
DAY 2 – Friday, 24 July 2026
13:00 UTC Day 1 Recap & Day 2 Kick-off Kristerbella Sookdeo
13:05 UTC Youth Debate – Moot: The House believes that mandatory cyber insurance requirements will improve AI security standards more effectively than government regulation Team A (FOR): Bryan Balkissoon – UWI-GUILD Mikail Barrock – UWI-GUILD Samisha Maharaj – UWI-GUILD Zephion Lee-Harris – UWI-GUILD Team B (AGAINST): Shania Sobers – Debate Club Member, UWI-ROYTEC Ezekiel Renne Cambridge – ISACA Student Member, UWI-ROYTEC Annalisa Maharaj – Debate Club Member, UWI-ROYTEC Zacharias Dyer – Vice President, ISACA Student Group, UWI-ROYTEC FACILITATORS/JUDGES Gabrielle Johnson – Vice Chair, Caribbean ICT Youth Network (CIYN), CTU Andrew Sieupersad – Director, TAIROne Initiative Terren Finley – President, ISG Kevon Swift – Past-Chair, ISOC Trinidad and Tobago
14:50 UTC Debate Feedback & Winner Announcement Gabrielle Johnson – Vice Chair, CIYN, CTU
15:00 UTC Driving AI Development in SIDS: The Role of Intergovernmental Organizations in Multilateral Development Ahmed Elraghy – Head, RME Division, ITU Ugo Blanco – Resident Representative, UNDP Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten; Digital Facility Lead – AI & Emerging Technologies, UNDP Demetris Herakleous – Associate Economic Affairs Officer, UN ECLAC Paula Istruiz Cavero – Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO MODERATOR Lois St. Brice – Senior Programme Officer – Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, Office of Global Affairs | Office of the Vice-Chancellor, UWI
17:00 UTC AI Literacy, Youth & the Future Workforce Prof. Sean Thorpe – Dean, Faculty of Engineering & Computing, UoT, Jamaica (Remote) Lois St. Brice – Senior Programme Officer – Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, Office of Global Affairs | Office of the Vice-Chancellor, UWI Dr. Andrea Kanneh – Manager of Performance and Engagement, MPAAI MODERATOR Tariq Mohammed – Advisor to the SG and Chair, CIYN, CTU
17:50 UTC AI for Climate Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction Kenneth Kerr – Science and Technology Officer, Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) Dr. Letetia Addison – Deputy Chair, Advisory Board, UWI Disaster Risk Reduction Centre; Researcher, TTLAB Prof. Derrick Cogburn – Professor of Information Technology & Analytics (Kogod School of Business) and Environment, Development & Health (School of International Service); Executive Director, Institute on Disability and Public Policy, American University Representative – CDEMA MODERATOR Shernon Osepa – Consultant Strategic Advisor, CTU; Coordinator, CAITF
20:05 UTC AI for Economic Transformation Javed Razack – Vice-President of Shared Services, Ramps Logistics Riard Mohammed – Regional Manager, Honeywell Caribbean Esther Callender-George – Group Chief Information Security Officer, Guardian Group Mervyn Eyre – Head of Fujitsu Caribbean Operations MODERATOR Lois St. Brice – Senior Programme Officer – Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, Office of Global Affairs | Office of the Vice-Chancellor, UWI
21:00 UTC Open Interaction Session Tariq Mohammed – Advisor to the SG and Chair, CIYN, CTU
21:30 UTC Next Steps & Wrap-up Nigel Cassimire – Deputy SG, CTU
As the global community reflects on two decades of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and prepares for the times ahead, one question stood above many others: will Artificial Intelligence become a force that benefits humanity as a whole, or will it deepen existing digital, economic, and societal divides?
The dialogue explored where AI is genuinely advancing public good, how it can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the role of governments, private sector, academia, civil society, and technical communities in inclusive AI governance, and what priorities should shape the future global digital cooperation agenda.
PANELISTS Kay Firth-Butterfield – Chief Executive Officer, Good Tech Advisory; TIME 100 Impact Awardee 2024; Former Head of AI, World Economic Forum Eric Sutherland – Senior Health Economist, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Aashima Gupta – Global Director, Global Healthcare Solutions, Google Cloud Dr. Jude Kong – Executive Director, Africa-Canada AI & Data Innovation Consortium (ACADIC) Christabel Randolph – Associate Director, Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP) Aashna Uppal – PhD Candidate, Health Data Science, University of Oxford Dr. Roman S. Chukov – Programme Management Officer & DC Focal Point, IGF Secretariat
HOST Akshita Nyagi
MODERATOR Dr. Rajendra Pratap Gupta – Chairman, IGF Dynamic Coalition on Digital Economy
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On Monday-Tuesday, 6-7 July 2026, at 05:00 UTC, the United Nations will host the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva. Established by the UN General Assembly, the AI Dialogue is the United Nations platform where all governments, private sector, academia and civil society will convene to discuss international cooperation, share best practices and lessons learned, and facilitate open, transparent and inclusive discussions on artificial intelligence governance. The Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (IISPAI) will also present its preliminary report during the event.
Day 1 – Setting the Scene: Science, Context and Shared Understanding (Monday 6 July)
Online Side Event (Zoom)
05:30 UTC – Participation Without Power: Technology Sovereignty, Data Sovereignty and the AI Divide in South Asia(Zoom) CODATA – lead, with CSIR–NIScPR, DST–CPR IISc, Tribhuvan University, UPES
Plenary ABC
6:30 – 7:30 UTC – Opening Ceremony(UN Web TV)
Master of Ceremonies — Co-Chairs of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance: H.E. Ambassador Egriselda López – El Salvador H.E. Ambassador Rein Tammsaar – Estonia
Featured Speakers & Artists: Annalena Baerbock – President of the General Assembly António Guterres – Secretary-General of the United Nations Doreen Bogdan-Martin – Secretary-General, ITU Khaled El-Enany – Director-General, UNESCO Amandeep Singh-Gill – USG and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, ODET Gadi Sassoon – Musical Artist
7:30 – 8:30 UTC – Plenary presentation of the annual report of the multidisciplinary Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence(UN Web TV) Yoshua Bengio – Co-Chair, AI Panel Maria Ressa – Co-Chair, AI Panel Menna El-Assady – Working Group 1 (AI Science, Advances & Trajectories), AI Panel Joëlle Barral – Working Group 2 (Societal Applications), AI Panel Loreto Bravo – Working Group 3 (Economic Implications), AI Panel Balaraman Ravindran – Working Group 4 (Security, Systems & Environmental Implications), AI Panel Rita Oluchi Orji – Working Group 5 (Human Rights, Information & Democracy), AI Panel Anna Korhonen – Working Group 6 (Cultural & Individual Flourishing), AI Panel Haitao Song – Working Group 7 (Management Practice & Frameworks), AI Panel
8:30 – 10:30 UTC – High-level governmental plenary segment: Harnessing the benefits of AI for all through inclusive and interoperable approaches(UN Web TV)
Featured Speakers: to be confirmed
10:30 – 11:30 UTC – High-level multi-stakeholder plenary segment: Harnessing the benefits of AI for all through inclusive and interoperable approaches(UN Web TV) H.E. Bosun Tijani – Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nigeria Tshilidzi Marwala – Rector and USG, United Nations University Kate Kallot – Founder and CEO, Amini AI Rumman Chowdhury – CEO and Co-Founder, Humane Intelligence Yi Zeng – Wu Yuzhang Chair Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences Whitney Baird – President and CEO, US Council for International Business (USCIB)
Lunch & Side Events (11:30 – 13:00 UTC)
11:30 – 12:10 UTC – Empowering Vulnerable Voices: Human-Centric Safeguards in AI Governance(Zoom) LILY AI Safety Alliance
12:00 – 12:45 UTC – Equity Lens: AI Guardrails for Fair Talent Selection, Recognition, and Opportunity(Zoom) Working Group on Equal Opportunities (AKC) – German Physical Society (DPG)
Breakout Room A — Thematic Breakout Cluster 1: AI opportunities and implications (social, economic, cultural, ethical, linguistic, technical)
13:00 – 16:00 UTC – Thematic Breakout Cluster 1(UN Web TV)
Thematic Cluster Co-Chairs: H.E. Marc-Alexandre Doumba – Minister of Digital Economy & Innovation, Gabon Rashid Khan – Co-Founder, Yellow.ai
Fireside Chat: H.E. Alar Karis – President of Estonia Doreen Bogdan-Martin – Secretary-General, ITU
Panel 1: Leslie Teo – AI Panel Lacina Koné – Director General and CEO, Smart Africa Jamila Venturini – Co-Executive Director, Derechos Digitales Yossi Matias – Vice President, Google Lan Xue – Professor and Dean, Tsinghua University Mary Robinson – Former OHCHR Commissioner
Panel 2: Philip Thigo – Special Envoy on Technology, Kenya Kitty van der Heijden – ASG and Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF Deema Al Yahya – Secretary-General, Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) Jian Wang – Founder, Alibaba Cloud Bilal Mateen – AI Panel Caitlin Kraft – Founder and CEO, Women at the Table
Facilitated by UNEP and UNIDO (Inter-Agency Working Group on AI)
Breakout Room C — Thematic Breakout Cluster 2: Bridging AI divides (capacity-building, access, digital foundations)
13:00 – 16:00 UTC – Thematic Breakout Cluster 2(UN Web TV)
Thematic Cluster Co-Chairs: H.E. Dominic Smith – Minister of Public Administration and AI, Trinidad and Tobago Jovan Kurbalija – Executive Director, DiploFoundation
Fireside Chat: H.E. Félix Ulloa – Vice President, El Salvador Khaled El-Enany – Director-General, UNESCO
Panel 1: H.E. Samba Diouf – Minister of Communications, Telecommunications & Digital, Senegal Pedro Manuel Moreno – Acting Secretary-General, UNCTAD Andrew Wilson – Deputy Secretary General-Policy, International Chamber of Commerce Girmaw Abebe Tadesse – AI Panel Katharina Frey – Co-Founder and Executive Director, ICAIN Arutyun Avetisyan – Acting Director, Institute for System Programming, Russian Academy of Sciences Shikoh Gitau – Founder and CEO, Qhala
Panel 2: H.E. Sid Ali Zerrouki – Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Algeria Eugenio Vargas Garcia – Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil Vukosi Marivate – AI Panel Alessandra Sala – Senior Director / Global President, Shutterstock / Women in AI Urvashi Aneja – Founder and Director, Digital Futures Lab Crystal Rugege – Managing Director, C4IR Rwanda
Facilitated by UNDP and UNDRR (Inter-Agency Working Group on AI)
Online Side Events (Zoom) — Evening
16:00 – 17:00 UTC – Building Technical Sovereignty: AI Safety and Security Capacity as a Governance Foundation in the Global South(Zoom) Asuntos del Sur · Global Council for Responsible AI
16:30 – 17:15 UTC – From Principles to Practice: Building Global Capacity for Responsible and Safe AI Through Certification, Workforce Development, and Inclusive Governance(Zoom) Association for Responsible AI (ARAI)
17:00 – 17:45 UTC – Artificial Intelligence in Developing Countries: Opportunities, Challenges, and Inclusive Governance(Zoom) University of York
Day 2 – Reflections, Convergences and the Way Forward (Tuesday 7 July)
Online Side Events (Zoom) — Morning
05:00 – 05:45 UTC – From New Delhi to New York: Implementing Inclusive AI(Zoom) CCAOI
05:00 – 06:30 UTC – AI and Job Creation(Zoom) Internet Governance Forum – Dynamic Coalition on Digital Economy (Project CREATE)
05:00 – 06:30 UTC – Driving Digital Inclusion in the Age of AI: How Women and Countryside Communities Can(Zoom) Philippine ICT Innovation Network – Digital Innovation for Women Advancement (DIWA)
Thematic Discussion 3 — Safe, secure and trustworthy AI: interoperability and compatibility of approaches
10:00 – 11:30 UTC – Lunch & Side Events (breakout)
Additional details to follow.
11:30 – 13:00 UTC – AI Governance Initiatives and Approaches: Experiences, Lessons and Complementarities
13:00 – 14:30 UTC – High-level governmental plenary segment: Harnessing the benefits of AI for all through inclusive and interoperable approaches(UN Web TV)
14:30 – 16:00 UTC – Multi-stakeholder plenary meeting with a high-level governmental segment: Dialogue of Dialogues – Reflections, Complementarities and the Way Forward(UN Web TV)
Closing / Online Side Event
16:00 – 16:30 UTC – Closing Ceremony(UN Web TV)
Additional details to follow.
16:00 – 16:45 UTC – Governing Cultural Knowledge in the Age of AI: Multilingual Heritage, Metadata, and Human Stewardship(Zoom) Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM)
This webinar presented the preliminary findings of the upcoming DCO study on ‘Cooperative Digital Sovereignty and Artificial Intelligence‘ – that will be launched at CPDP LatAm on 13 August – and discussed concrete building blocks for fostering autonomy in digital infrastructures and AI value chains, without undermining data flows, innovation networks, or international partnerships. Participants were invited to reflect on how cooperative approaches to digital sovereignty can support trustworthy AI, secure data flows, inclusive digital development, and a more balanced global digital order.
SPEAKERS Luca Belli – Professor and Director CTS-FGV Ahmad Binder – Director of Digital Intelligence, Digital Cooperation Organization Eugênio Garcia – Brazilian Tech Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karla Yee Amezaga – AI and Data Governance Lead, World Economic Forum Ana Garcia Robles – Head of the UN AI Governance for Humanity Lab
