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In Addis Ababa, UNESCO underlines the critical role of STI for the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda

Good Practices on Training Module Development and Cascading Module from UNESCO-CFIT project in Ethiopia

Ethiopian World Heritage site, Simien National Park no longer in danger

A teacher creates a vibrant learning environment for girls in Ethiopia

Can Open Educational Resources help achieve the Education 2030 agenda?

September 15, 2017

Sebsebe Demisse: the Abrahamic Botanic Garden is a symbol of mutual respect

UNESCO findings are cornerstone of Addis conference on contract teachers

Agreement to establish the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence in Ljubljana signed

AI has the potential to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals but also contribute towards new challenges that we must anticipate Aggressive deployment of AI is raising many ethical questions across the globe as its configuration rapidly transforms various spheres of human agency This underlines the importance of a humancentred approach to maximize benefits and counter challenges and the significance of plans to create an International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence IRCAI as a UNESCO Category 2 centre in Ljubljana Slovenia The Agreement was signed on distance by Slovenias Minister of Education Science and Sport and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Jernej Pikalo and UNESCOs Assistant DirectorGeneral for Communication and Information Mr Moez Chakchouk as the representative of the Director General on 5 March 2020 During the ceremony Mr Pikalo expressed his confidence in the Governments partnership with UNESCO and noted This agreement between UNESCO and the Government of Slovenia illustrates a strong foundation for the future activities of IRCAI and represents a direct response to the challenges many member states are faced with in view of emerging AI technologies For his part Mr Chakchouk thanked the Government of Slovenia and the Deputy Prime Minister and noted that AI can help to pave the way for new opportunities for sustainable development and help in constructing knowledge societies This Centre represents a shared vision by the Government of Slovenia and UNESCO to better understand AIs role for humanity The establishment of IRCAI was debated during UNESCOs Executive Board at its 206th session and was subsequently approved during the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference This validated the proposal and authorized the DirectorGeneral to sign an agreement between UNESCO and the Government of Slovenia concerning the establishment and operation of the Centre The Centre will not only maximize the benefits of AI to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals but also expedite a multistakeholder mechanism to put AI under the litmus test of ethical legal openness and policy challenges The Centre will also add a unique focus and further expertise on UNESCOs AI programmes In particular it will leverage the power and capability of AI across various areas of competence of UNESCO by generating relevant statistics on AI AIrelated applications and associated technological innovations The creation of the Centre also takes place against the backdrop of a recentlylaunched UNESCO publication Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies This publication highlights some of the challenges and opportunities of AI from a human rights openness inclusive access and multistakeholder perspective It advocates for steering clear of both technological utopianism and dystopian thinking while giving attention to the role of human agency and humancentred values in the development of AI Category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO are established and funded by Member States to contribute to the achievement of UNESCOs objectives Though not legally part of the Organization these Centres are associated with UNESCO through formal arrangements approved by the General Conference More information about UNESCOs work on humancentred AI is available at httpsenunescoorgartificialintelligence For more information on this article please contact Bhanu Neupane bneupaneunescoorg

UNESCO Internet Universality ROAM-X Indicators at the Ethiopia Internet Development Conference 2020

While announcing that Ethiopia will host the 2021 Internet Global Forum IGF HE Dr Ahmedin Mohammed State Minister of Innovation and Technology in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia invited UNESCO to exchange more on assessing the Internet Universality ROAMX Indicators at national level for further discussions on how to move forward as the country is currently putting in place a Digital Transformation Strategy that will provide IT enabled services to all citizens

Corona Virus Media Watch launched by UNESCO’s International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence in Slovenia

The global COVID19 outbreak has been described as a pandemic by World Health Organization WHO following almost 125000 cases that have been reported to WHO from 118 countries and territories World leaders including UNESCO DirectorGeneral Audrey Azoulay have called for solidarity and action to address emerging challenges due to the spread of COVID19

AU Specialized Technical Committee discuss responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and appreciated UNESCO support

Rapid Assessment of Ethiopian Media during the Transition Period

ResiliArt|Comoros debate identifies measures to support artists and performers during COVID-19