09:00 to 09:30

Welcome Coffee

09:30 to 10:15

(45 mins)

Opening Ceremony

Opening Speeches:

• Mr Hicham El Habti, President, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P)

• HE. Mr Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Morocco (include opening address)

• Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information (ADG/CI)

Signing of Agreement: Ai movement / UM6P as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO

• Prof. Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Executive President, Ai movement / UM6P, Morocco - Presentation of the Ai movement center vision

10:30 to 11:00

(45 mins)

Leadership Panel 1: International conversations on AI

Panelists:

• HE. Omar Hilale, Ambassador and permanent representative of Morocco to the United Nations.

• Hon. Aurélien Lechevallier, Director General of Globalization, Culture, Education and International Development – France

• Mr Amit Thapar, Head of International and AI Safety Summit Policy, Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK

• Mr. Waleed Hamdi, Head of Information Society Division, African Union (TBC)

• S.E. Mr Adam Al Mulla, Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of the State of Kuwait to UNESCO (Chair of AI Ethics Recom Group) (TBC)

Moderator:

Nadia Mrabit : confirmed

11:00 to 11:15

(15 mins)

Keynote Speech: The potential of AI in Africa

Ted-Style Talk (15 mins)

• Dr Hamidou Tembine, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Timadie (AI applied to food security, West Africa), Former Assistant Professor at New York University (USA), Author of studies in the field of AI in Africa (including “Machine Intelligence in Africa: a survey”, February 2024)

11:00 to 11:55

(55 mins)

Leadership Panel 2: An AI Strategy for Africa – What next?

This session would be accompanied by the launch of a primer that will provide a snapshot of different approaches to AI regulation worldwide.

Panelists:

• H.E. Mr Samir Addahre, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO

• Hon. Paula Ingabire, Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, Rwanda

• Hon. Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria

• Hon. Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Egypt

Moderator:

Prof. Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Executive President, Ai movement / UM6P, Morocco / Eric Falt, Director of the UNESCO Office for the Maghreb and UNESCO Representative in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia. (TBC)

12:00 to 12:55

(55 mins)

Leadership Panel 3: Empowering the Public Sector to Lead-facilitate AI and Digital Transformation

The session will focus on AI and digital transformation related capacity building in the African public sector and particularly on trends, drivers, barriers, and risks. The session will conclude with the launch of the African AI and Digital Transformation Pledges Initiative.

Panelists:

• Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Republic of Ghana

• Hon. Nape Moses Nnauye, Minister for Information, Communication, and Information Technology, United Republic of Tanzania

• Hon. Ms. Nthati Moorosi, Minister of Information, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation, Lesotho

• Hon. Ms Ghita Mezzour, Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, Morocco

• Hon. Mr. Eliud Owalo, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Republic of Kenya.

Moderator:

• Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information (ADG/CI)

13.00 to 14.30

LUNCH BREAK

14:30 to 15:25

(55 mins)

Leadership Panel 4: Role of Judiciary in AI Governance

The session will focus on the importance of the judiciary in AI governance

Panelists:

• Hon. Jean Aloise Ndiaye, Judge, Supreme Court of Senegal.

• Hon. Dr. Justice Alfred Mavedzenge, Senior Legal Advisor and Programs Director at the Africa Judges and Jurists Forum. South Africa

• Abdelhnin Touzani, Acting Director General at the Supreme Judicial Institute (SJI), Morocco (TB

• Risper Onyango, Policy Lead - Digital Economy at Lawyers Hub Kenya

Moderator: Ming Kuok Lim, Specialist in Media Development, UNESCO

15:30 to 16:25

(55 mins)

Leadership Panel 5: African Parliaments on AI Governance

The session will discuss the role of parliaments in AI governance and share different initiatives underway in Africa

Panelists:

• Hon. Anouar Sabri, Member of Moroccan Parliament and President of the AI parliament commission

• Hon. Agho Oliver Bamenju, Member of Parliament, Cameroon

• Hon. Neema Lugangira, Member of Parliament, Tanzania

• Hon. Alhagie Mbow, Member of Parliament, The Gambia (TBC)

Moderator: Prateek Sibal, Program Specialist, Digital Policies and Digital Transformation

REFLECTION ON AI

• Panelists:Achille Mbembe, Research Professor in History and Politics at University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

• Ahmed Reda Chami, President of The Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), Morocco

16:30 to 16:45

(15 mins)

Lightning Talk 1: What foundations does Africa need for AI enabled Digital Transformation?

Drawing insights from UNESCO’s Internet Universality Assessments in 15 countries in Africa, this session will underline the fundamentals needed for AI enabled digital transformation in Africa.

Speaker: Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information (ADG/CI)

16:50 to 17:05

(15 mins)

Lightning Talk 3: How are researchers in Africa collaborating to bring African languages to the AI age?

Insights from the Masakhane Community on building an African NLP network

Speaker: Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende, Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Makerere University, Uganda (online)

9:30 to 10:00

(30 mins)

Fireside Chat 1: Ethics of AI in Africa

Insights from UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessments in Africa

Panelists:

• Rachel Adams, Director, African Observatory on Responsible AI

• Saida BELOUALI, Professor in Ai ethics co-head of Maison de l'IA at Mohammed 1^st University Oujda, Morocco (TBC)

Moderator: Mr. Armin Ibrisimovic, Programme Specialist, UNESCO

10:00 to 11:00

(60 mins)

Fireside Chat 2: How is the private sector in Africa using AI?

The discussion will explore strategies for AI adoption across different industrial sectors and discuss aspects related to common infrastructure for computing in Africa and explore how international collaboration can support African entrepreneurs in creating scalable solutions that address the SDGs.

Panelists:

• Hon. Mohcine Jazouli, Minister in charge of Investment, Convergence and the Evaluation of Public Policies, Morocco

• Mr. Othman El Ferdaous, Vice President of Growth, ABA Technology

• Mr Mohamed Benouda, President Founder and CEO, ABA Technology

• Mr Zhan Tao, Director, UNESCO Institute for Information Technoogies in Education (IITE)

• Mr Tianchi Li, Founder and CEO, CODEMAO, China

• Ms Nadia Fassi Fehri, Chief Transformation Officer, OCP (TBC)

• Ms Mia Lahlou, PHARMA 5

• Mr. Sunil Geness, Director Global Government Affairs & Corporate Social Responsibility, SAP Africa

Moderator: Mr. Ismael Belkhayat, Co-founder, Chari

11:00 to 11:30

(30 mins)

Fireside Chat 3: AI and the promotion of democracy for peace and development in AfricaThe discussion will address the challenges of mis and disinformation in the year of super elections and what strategies can be used to address these challenges for a robust information ecosystem.

Panelists:

• Rachel Adams, Chief Executive Officer, African Observatory on Responsible AI

• Talla Ndiaye, Director of Digital Transformation at DPA

• Karim El Aynaoui, Dean of the Social Sciences, Economy and Humanity Department (UM6P)

Moderator: Mr. Abdoulaye Ibrahim, Chief, Unit for Contextual Analysis and Strategic Foresight for Priority Africa, UNESCO

Fireside Chat 4: How are African Women developing pioneering AI solutions to solve the challenges facing their countries?

The session will discuss the journey of women who led African startups.

Panelists:

• Prof Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Executive President, Ai movement / UM6P, Morocco

• Mr Abdoulaye Ibrahim, Chief of the Unit of Contextual Analysis and Strategic Foresight for Priority Africa, UNESCO

• Ms Meryem Kassou, Founder & CEO of Digitis Consulting, Morocco

• Ms Sarah Benfdil, Senior Consultant at E-voluciona by Intelcia, Morocco

• Dr Marielle AGBAHOUNGBATA, X-TechLab Coordinator and Research Program Manager at Sèmè City Development Agency, Benin

Moderator: Hassina Moukhariq, Director of International Development, Foundation OCP

15:30 to 16:30

(60 mins)

Technology Futures: Crafting a bottom-up vision for 2050

• Prof. Philippe Durance, Chair Holder, Strategic Foresight and Sustainable Development, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), France

• Prof. Régine Monti-Tessier, Associate Professor, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), France

• Mme Manal Mouhsine, Ph.D. student in strategic foresight, UM6P, Morocco

A foresight workshop with the forum participants to craft a vision for Africa in 2050

A meeting to address any AI questions, concerns and explore discuss plans for cooperation and joint software development A foresight workshop with the forum participants to craft a vision for Africa in 2050

13:00 to 14:15

LUNCH BREAK

15:00 to 15:10

(10 mins)

Lightning Talk 5: How can we build the data ecosystem and the infrastructure that enables AI development?

Insights on the role of data and infrastructure for AI development in Africa

Speaker:

15:15 to 15:25

(10 mins)

Lightning Talk 6: What are the cybersecurity implications of AI?

Insights from the cybersecurity community in Africa on preparing for a future with AI

Speaker: Dr. Gameli Mawudor, Co-founder, AfricaHackon

15:30 to 15:40

(10mins)

Lightning Talk 7: How is AI empowering the work of Artists in Africa?

Discover the captivating world of "The Elder Series" – an AI-generated art project that reimagines the lives of elderly individuals, challenging stereotypes and celebrating the beauty of aging.

Speaker: Malik Afegbua, Nigerian contemporary Artist, Virtual reality curator and Film Director who is using AI

15:45 to 16:30

(45 mins)

Global Partnerships in AI

This session will bring together international partners on AI to share their vision for collaboration on AI research, education and innovation. The partners also use this opportunity to make a pitch for partnerships and potential collaborations to be explored on Day 3 of the conference.

Panelists: AU, Princeton University, Category 1 and 2 Centers under the auspices of UNESCO (International Centre of AI Research and Ethics – Saudi Arabia, International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence – Slovenia, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics – Italy), OIF, IEEE, GIZ, OECD, Council of Europe, World Bank, Morocco’s Académie des Sciences (Malik Ghallab), (Director, Africa World Initiative and Director, Program in African Studies, Princeton University), Fathallah Sijilmassi (AU) (TBC)

• Eric Adja (AFRIA)

• Chika Okeke-Agulu, Princeton University (USA)

• Issam Lofti, IRES

Moderator: Souhaila Amazouz, Senior DPO at African Union

16:30 to 17:30

(60 mins)

Closing Ceremony

Panel Discussion: Where will we be in one year from now?

The session will share the commitments from the leaders at the forum on where they would like to see their countries in one year.

Panelists: Ministerial Roundtable

Moderator: Prof. Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Executive President, Ai movement of the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Morocco

Closing Remarks:

• Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information (ADG/CI)

• Mr Hicham El Habti, President, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P)

09:30 to 13:00

Innovation segment (Ai movement)

Networking session for startups and exhibitions

13:00 to 14:30

LUNCH BREAK

14:30 to 17:30

Innovation segment (Ai movement) / Site Visits

16:45 to 16:55

(10 mins)

Lightning Talk 2: Developing various sectors through AI in Africa (health, education, ocean science, art and culture, finance)