The overall purpose of the Caribbean Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative is to raise awareness and promote reflection on the opportunities and challenges that Artificial Intelligence and its correlated technologies pose in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The initiative explores the potential of AI in relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular regard to:
Generating sustainable growth in the economies of Member States.
Creating innovative and technology-oriented economies and societies in the region.
Improving public education, information, public relations and advocacy, including on the ethical dimension of AI and data governance.
Reducing inequalities in society
It provides a platform for UNESCO Member States of the Caribbean sub-region, civil society, private sector and academia to exchange knowledge and to advance the Caribbean debate on AI to develop regional and national AI strategies.
The initiative is being led by the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean and implemented in cooperation with the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica. All activities, including past and upcoming events, have been made possible by the support of UNESCO’s Information For All Programme (IFAP).
Past Events
The UNESCO Working Group on Information Accessibility (WGIA) will be hosting the 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence for Information Accessibility (AI4AI) Conference bringing together global experts to draw attention to the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), recognized and celebrated annually on the 28th of September.
The conference provides an opportunity for open discourse involving participants from across the world to discuss the link between AI and Information Accessibility.
The conference is open to the general public, academia, civil society organizations, the private sector and governments from across the world.
This year’s event is hosted in collaboration with the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Alberta, Canada, Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED) in ORF, India and Caribbean Office and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa.
Artificial Intelligence for Information Accessibility 2023
Under the auspices of the Caribbean AI Initiative, a series of Caribbean forums were held where the opportunities and challenges of Artificial Intelligence in the Caribbean were discussed. The wealth of information from these discussions as well as in-depth research has produced a Draft Policy Roadmap that will hopefully become a guide for Caribbean SIDS in adopting artificial intelligence in their economies.
The draft Policy Roadmap can be reviewed here or downloaded for a more convenient review. Please feel free to share questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns with us at ai4caribbean@broadcom.org on or before Monday, April 19.
Programme Specialist for Social and Human Science - UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean
Paula Istúriz Cavero is the Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences as well as the Gender and Youth Focal Point at the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean. Ms. Istúriz Cavero joined UNESCO in 2018 and was responsible for the Peacebuilding and Resilience portfolio of the Youth Programme. Prior to joining UNESCO, Paula worked for UNDP Regional Center for Latin America and the Caribbean, where she led the Social Innovation agenda for the region. Ms. Istúriz Cavero holds degrees in Engineering and Art History, and a Master’s degree in Development Economics and Project Management from the University of Paris. Her research was focused on youth, unemployment and informality.
Director & Representative, UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean
No Speaker Details Available.
Nicholas Kee
Co-Founder and COO, Osoobe, Jamaica
Nicholas Kee is a Tech-Philosophist. He is the Co-Founder and COO of Osoobe - a Startup Venture Studio aimed at creating frictionless products and services for the virtual economy. Prior to this, he was the Co-founder and Executive Director of Next Gen Creators, a non-profit organisation aimed at promoting software development and tech-entrepreneurship for youths in the Caribbean. Nicholas is an active technology community leader focused on AI Ethics & Regulations, and Digital Awareness & Literacy.
Professor Carolina Aguerre
Director, Center for Technology and Society (CETYS)
Carolina Aguerre is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Global Cooperation Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. In Argentina she is Director at CETYS a research center on Technology and Society at the Universidad de San Andres where she is also a professor. She participated in 2020 as one of the experts for the development of the UNESCO’s Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Honourable Olivia Grange MP, CD
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports; Chair, Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO
No Speaker Details Available.
Octavio Kulesz
Member of 2019-2022 EU/UNESCO Expert Facility, Director of Teseo, Argentina
Octavio Kulesz is a digital publisher, entrepreneur, and director of Teseo, one of the first academic e-publishing houses in Latin America. Since 2012, he has been a coordinator for the Digital Laboratory of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers. In 2020, Octavio was appointed to UNESCO’s Ad Hoc Expert Group (AHEG) for the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the first global standard-setting instrument in this field.
Francesc Pedró
Director, UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC)
Francesc Pedró is since May 2019 the Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC). He joined UNESCO’s education sector in Paris (France) in 2010, where he led the team of education policy, providing technical assistance to UNESCO Member States by reviewing their normative frameworks and education policies upon request to ensure alignment with SDG 4-Education 2030, and contributing to knowledge dissemination through international comparative analyses.
