Across African contexts, development and technology projects are often driven by external actors with little grounding in local priorities. Solutions frequently arrive pre-packaged—built around assumed problems, rather than those identified by communities themselves. This is particularly evident in AI deployments in agriculture, education, and public health, where tools may miss the mark, or worse, exacerbate inequities.
This webinar serves to explore Stage 1 of AI Development which is fundamentally a participatory and grounded approach which is crucial for centering gender equity, given that women often carry the brunt of labor in agriculture and caregiving, yet remain underrepresented in AI design and governance.
The African AI & Equality Toolbox is a strategic initiative designed to empower African stakeholders—policymakers, technologists, civil society actors, and communities—to shape Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that are contextually relevant, inclusive, and grounded in human rights.
Developed by Women at the Table and the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), and adapted from the global AI & Equality Human Rights Toolbox Initiative in collaboration with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), this African iteration provides practical tools and methodologies to guide equitable AI development across the continent.
The Toolbox applies a Human Rights-based AI Lifecycle Framework, integrating reflective questions and the Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) developed with the Alan Turing Institute. It emphasizes participatory, multidisciplinary approaches and is rooted in feminist, decolonial, and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) principles and incorporates lessons from emerging digital rights challenges, ensuring AI systems are designed with safety and dignity at their core.
1PM GMT | 3PM SAST | 4PM EAT