On 22 September 2026, alongside the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, UNESCO, Microsoft and The GovLab convened a Foundation Briefing Luncheon on Advancing Public Interest AI through Data Commons for Indigenous Languages and Cultures.
The event brought together Indigenous leaders and technologists, international organizations, civil societies, funders, researchers and industry representatives. They explored how Indigenous communities can exercise greater agency in the development of AI, from setting priorities for the use of their data to governing the technologies and sharing their benefits.
A central message emerged from the discussion: Indigenous communities must have a meaningful role in determining how their data, languages and cultural knowledge are represented and used in AI systems. This means going beyond inclusion to ensure that communities can set priorities, decide, and exercise control over the use of their knowledge.
Data commons for Indigenous-led AI
Data commons offer one approach to supporting this vision. By establishing shared arrangements for managing and governing data, they can enable communities to define the conditions under which their data and knowledge are accessed and used.
For Indigenous Peoples, such arrangements need to reflect community priorities, cultural contexts and rights. Data governance cannot be separated from questions of who makes decisions, who benefits from technological development and how Indigenous knowledge is protected and respected.
As part of UNESCO’s work on digital inclusion and responsible AI, these questions are central to building digital environments that respect linguistic and cultural diversity and enable Indigenous Peoples to participate in shaping technological change.
For UNESCO, public-interest AI is not defined only by technological capability. It is defined by who benefits, who participates, and whose rights and knowledge are respected. Indigenous Peoples must be part of shaping these systems from the outset, not simply as users or sources of data, but as partners, knowledge holders and leaders.
Guilherme Canela De Souza GodoiDirector, Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation, UNESCO
Sustaining Indigenous-led initiatives
The discussion in New York underscored that collaboration must be grounded in Indigenous leadership. Indigenous-led initiatives need sustained support to strengthen their capacities, resources and relationships.
Foundations and other funders can provide financial support, while researchers, technology companies and international organizations can contribute to expertise, infrastructure, networks and opportunities for collaboration. Such partnerships are most effective when they begin with priorities defined by Indigenous communities and recognize their role in setting the direction, making decisions and determining how the outcomes are used and owned.
read more: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/turning-global-interest-support-indigenous-led-ai?hub=701
