We’re proud to share that Prof. GMT Emezue, Lanfrica’s Coordinator for Nigeria, was invited to speak at the 2nd International Conference on Language Technologies for All (LT4ALL 2025), held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, February 24th to 26th, 2025.
Organized by the International Language Resources Association (ELRA) and its Special Interest Group on Under-resourced Languages (SIGUL) — a joint initiative with the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) — and in partnership with UNESCO, the LT4ALL conference is a global platform advocating for inclusive language technologies.
This 2025 year’s theme, “Advancing Humanism through Language Technologies,” reflects a strong commitment to empowering communities through ethical, localized, and inclusive language tech. LT4ALL 2025 also marks a special moment, being part of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022–2032) and celebrating the 25th anniversary of International Mother Language Day.
In her talk, titled “Data Farming and the QRUE Frameworks: The NaijaVoices Experience” Prof. Emezue challenged the trend of applying AI ethics and quality frameworks (Quality, Reliability, Usability, and Ethics – QRUE) in a one-size-fits-all manner. Instead, she emphasized the need to ground these frameworks in local realities and cultural contexts.
Drawing insights from the NaijaVoices project and her broader work in African language data curation, she introduced the concept of “Data Farming” — a community-driven, sustainable approach to building language resources. According to Prof. Emezue, this approach offers a more meaningful path forward for research and innovation involving African languages and communities.
