UNESCO marks 25 years of its Information for All Programme as AI4IA examines who benefits from AI, who gets left behind, and how developing countries can help shape what comes next.

Artificial intelligence may be global, but not everyone is entering the AI age on equal terms.

For Small Island Developing States such as Jamaica, and for countries across Africa, the questions extend beyond what AI can do. Who gets access? Whose languages, cultures and realities are represented? Who sets the rules? And can countries that did not build these technologies meaningfully shape how they affect their people?

Those questions will take centre stage on 28 September at the 7th Annual Artificial Intelligence for Information Accessibility (AI4IA) Conference, a free global virtual event held in observance of the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

This year’s conference coincides with the 25th anniversary of UNESCO’s Information for All Programme (IFAP), established to expand access to information and knowledge. A quarter‑century later, AI is transforming how information is created, found and used — yet divides in access, skills, language and representation persist.

For the Caribbean and Africa, these divides matter. Countries across both regions are adopting technologies largely developed elsewhere. AI4IA creates a space not only to adapt, but to bring regional experiences and priorities directly into the global conversation about how AI should serve people

Jamaica plays a central role

Cordel Green, Executive Director of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ), chairs UNESCO IFAP’s Working Group on Information Accessibility, under which AI4IA is convened. BCJ also serves as the executing agency for the anniversary legacy initiative, in partnership with UNESCO and Mobius.

“Small countries should not have to choose between adopting new technology and having a voice in how it affects their people,” Green said. “Jamaica, the Caribbean, Africa and other developing regions bring knowledge and experience that must be part of the global AI conversation.”

The conference will also include participation from UNESCO representatives, including representatives of the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa.

Seven Years of Conversation Become Something People Can Use

The anniversary will not be marked by discussion alone.

Over seven years, AI4IA and its satellite events have generated more than 420 speaker

segments on AI, accessibility, education, rights and inclusion. On 28 September, that

knowledge becomes the foundation of the AI4IA Intelligence Pilot, developed by Mobius in collaboration with BCJ and UNESCO.

Its purpose is simple: make years of knowledge easier to find and use. Participants will be able to explore what AI4IA speakers have said about particular issues and trace insights back to the people and discussions from which they came — preserving provenance and strengthening trust.

Who Is Being Left Behind — and Who Holds the Power?

Two international panels have been deliberately assembled to bring diverse regional and professional perspectives to these questions.

“Map of Exclusion” examines where the AI divide is already emerging – across healthcare, education, media, language and economic opportunity. The panel brings together Dr. Tabani Moyo, with an African media freedom and digital rights perspective; Dr. David Akpan, addressing access to healthcare in an increasingly digital world; Dr. Raona Williams, examining education and preparation for an AI-shaped workforce; Nashilongo

Gervasius, bringing experience at the intersection of technology, trust and African communities; and Rym Badran, contributing perspectives on young people, gender, language and access from the Arab world. The discussion will be moderated by Andrea Millwood Hargrave.

“Politics of the Pipeline” turns from access to power: who influences the information and decisions behind AI systems, who is accountable when those systems affect people’s lives, and whose experiences are represented. Maha Jouini brings a human-rights perspective to questions of power and AI; Judge Isabela Ferrari of Brazil brings the perspective of the justice system to questions of algorithmic accountability and public decision-making; while Jonas Kgomo contributes an African social-impact perspective on who shapes AI and who ultimately benefits from it. Trisha Ray will moderate the discussion.

The conference will be guided by Samridhi Arora, a Supreme Court Advocate from India, as Master of Ceremonies, while Cordel Green and Ashwini Kotaru, Chief Operating Officer of Mobius by Gaian, will introduce the Intelligence Pilot.

Together, the conference advances a clear principle: the future of AI cannot be shaped only in the places where the technology is built.

As UNESCO marks 25 years of working towards information for all, Jamaica, the Caribbean and Africa are helping bring that principle into the AI age.