The event integrated a high-level policy forum, technology-focused study visits, and a three-day programme combining student training and project co-creation, which gathered UNESCO officials, government delegates, educators and students from six countries: China, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, the Republic of the Congo and Thailand. It addressed shared priorities spanning AI education cooperation and digital skills development, exploring ways to mobilize educational resources, forge partnerships and expand learning opportunities across regions, balancing local relevance with international connectivity.
Held on 20 July, the Africa-Asia Youth Forum on AI Education and Innovation Ecosystems was moderated by Zhan Tao, former Director of UNESCO IITE. The forum convened education authority representatives from the six participating nations, UNESCO staff from Headquarters, field offices and IITE, academic researchers, educators and industry stakeholders. Participants exchanged views on regional coordination for AI education, implementation strategies in classrooms and the joint development of innovation ecosystems.
This Forum, this Study Tour, and this partnership between UNESCO’s Global Priority Africa and CODEMAO under our Youth Coding Initiative, is the very example of what South-South cooperation looks like when it succeeds. The movement is not behind us, as a promise once made. It is not ahead of us, as a distant goal. It is here, in this room, and we are living it together. Every teacher trained, every student coding, every exchange between Brazzaville and Bangkok, between Nairobi and Shenzhen, is South-South cooperation in motion.
Mohamed Elfarnawany, Director for Priority Africa, UNESCO.
Youth voices stood at the heart of the forum agenda. In a dedicated youth sharing session, student representatives from participating countries recounted their learning journeys, cross-cultural experiences, and engagement with coding education, alongside their aspirations for the future. Learner perspectives were embedded into formal deliberations, anchoring discussions on AI education in young people’s lived experiences and developmental needs.
