Day 1: 3 June 2024

09:30 to 10:15

(45 mins)

Opening Ceremony

Opening Speeches:

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

• HE. Mr Nasser Bourita,Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Morocco

• HE. Mr Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Morocco

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

• Mr. Anthony Kwaku Ohemeng-Boamah, UNESCO,Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations (ADG/PAX)

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

10:15 to

11h

(45 mins)

Leadership Panel 1: International conversation 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)

• Dr. Seth Center, Deputy Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, USA

• Prof. Gong, Representant South Corea

• AFRICAN UNION

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

Moderator:

• Eric Falt, Director of the UNESCO Office for the Maghreb and UNESCO Representative in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia

10:45 to 11:00

(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

• Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission

• 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

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

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

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 Parliaments and 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

• Linda Bonyo, Founder, Lawyers Hub, Kenya

Moderator: MingKuok 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, Gambia

Moderator:Prateek Sibal, Programme Specialist, Digital Policies and Digital Transformation, UNESCO

16:30 to 16:40

(10 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)

16:45 to 16:55

(10 mins)

Lightning Talk 2: UNESCO Global Priority Africa

Insights from UNESCO Global Priority Africa and the Organization’s multidisciplinary work in the field of AI as a lever for development in Africa:

Speaker:Mr. Anthony Kwaku Ohemeng-Boamah, Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations (ADG/PAX)

17:00 to 17:10

(10 mins)

Lightning Talk 3: How can the African Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Leverage AI for Development?

Insights from the African Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index

Speaker: Ms Claude Borna, Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer at Sèmè City Development Agency - Presidency (Benin)

17:15 to 17:25

(10 mins)

Lightning Talk 4: 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

Day 2: 4 June 2024

9:30 to 10:30

(60 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 1er University Oujda, Morocco

• Abdulrahman Habib, Head of International Center for AI research and Ethics (ICAIRE), Saudi Arabia

Moderator:Mr. Armin Ibrisimovic, Programme Specialist, UNESCO

10:30 to 11:00

(30 mins)

Fireside Chat 2: How is the industry 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. Othmane Firdaous, Vice President of Growth, Aba Technology

• Ms. Aminata Ndiaye, Sonatel

• Ms Nadia Fassi Fehri, Chief Transformation Officer, OCP

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 Africa

The 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

• Odanga Madung, Mozilla Fellow, Tech and Society, Kenya

• Julie Ricard, Director of Technology and Democracy Program at DPA

• Karim Al Ainaoui, Dean of FGSES

Moderator:Mr Mohamed Elfarnawany, Director, Division of Priority Africa Coordination, Sector for Priority Africa and External Relations

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

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

• Meryem Kassou (Morocco)

• Sarah Benfdil (Morocco)

• Marielle Agbahounfbata (Benin)

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

12:00 to 13:00

(60 mins)

Technology Futures: Crafting a bottom-up vision for 2050

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

14:15 to 15:00

(45 mins)

Launch of the African Network of AI Centres and Academic Institutions

This session will bring together African research centres on AI to share their vision for collaboration on AI research, education and innovation

Panelists: Smart Africa, African Universities and AI Centers (Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mali, Congo, RDC, South Africa), Sème City – Benin

• Mr Abdulrahman Habib, Head of International Center for AI research and Ethics (ICAIRE), Saudi Arabia

• Mr John Shawe-Taylor, Head of IRCAI Slovenia

Moderator:Souhaila Amazouz, Senior DPO at African Union

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:Aminata NDIAYE, Deputy CEO at Sonatel Group & SVP Regional Cluster at Orange Middle East & Africa

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), AFRIA (Eric Adja), IRES (Issam Lotfi), OIF, IEEE, GIZ, OECD, Council of Europe, World Bank, Morocco’s Académie des Sciences (Malik Ghallab), Chika O. Okeke-Agulu, (Director, Africa World Initiative and Director, Program in African Studies, Princeton University), Fathallah Sijilmassi (AU)

Moderator:Hon. Hicham El Habti, President of UM6P

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

Closing Remarks:

• Mr. Anthony Kwaku Ohemeng-Boamah, Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations (ADG/PAX)

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

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

Day 3: 5 June 2024

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