Egypt, represented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), is hosting the second meeting of the African AI Working Group, on December 14-15 at Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace in Cairo.
The Working Group has been formed in accordance with the proposal made by the ICT Ministers of the Member States of the African Union (AU) during the Third Ordinary Session of the AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Communication and ICT (CCICT-3), hosted by MCIT in Sharm El Sheikh, on October 22-26.
Forming the AI Working Group is aimed at crafting an African AI strategy, creating a common stance in AI areas, and playing an active role in AI-related discussions on the global level. This common stance of African countries will reflect their needs and aspirations and ensure that the African voice is heard across international fora. Other objectives include addressing the various challenges that the continent is facing on that front, ensuring the governance of AI and the protection and availability of data, and developing AI regulations that might be a good starting point for such stance.
Having common stances related to AI will serve the African Agenda 2063 to have a long-term roadmap toward a continent that is peaceful, integrated, people-centered, and prosperous, with milestones and strategies to achieve this vision in the shortest time.
The Working Group’s first consultative meeting was held in Cairo in December 2019. In February 2021, the first meeting was organized online. The major outcome of those meetings was the issuance of the “Common Africa Position Paper on the Priority Areas of Africa towards AI.”
The second meeting will be joined by several regional agencies and development partners. Participants of the meeting will discuss the Paper, explore African national experiences, study similar strategies developed in other regions, and set the main pillars of the African strategy.
