{"id":4547,"date":"2024-09-12T17:51:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T17:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lanfrica.com\/blog\/?p=4547"},"modified":"2025-05-15T19:14:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T19:14:50","slug":"empowering-african-voices-in-ai-lanfricas-dli-2024-workshop-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lanfrica.com\/blog\/empowering-african-voices-in-ai-lanfricas-dli-2024-workshop-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering African Voices in\u202fAI \u2013\u202fLanfrica\u2019s DLI\u202f2024 Workshop Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 6\u202fSeptember\u202f2024, during the week\u2011long Deep Learning\u202fIndaba<\/a> in Dakar,\u202fSenegal (1\u20137\u202fSept), Lanfrica co\u2011organised the full\u2011day workshop titled “Empowering African Voices in\u202fAI:\u202fData,\u202fModels\u202f&\u202fInnovation”. The session took place at Amadou\u202fMahtar\u202fMbow University and formed part of the official DLI workshop track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Go to workshop page<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Why this workshop mattered<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although AI is transforming sectors worldwide, its benefits remain unevenly distributed; under\u2011resourced communities often lack the data, legal clarity, and tooling needed to build language\u2011inclusive technologies. The workshop set out to close that gap by focusing on ethical, culturally aware data practices, fair licensing, and community\u2011driven model sharing, placing African voices at the centre of AI development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Objectives at a glance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Participants worked toward five concrete goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Master efficient, ethical data collection techniques.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Demystify proprietary, open, and open\u2011source licenses for datasets and models.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Deepen understanding of AI policy and data rights in Africa.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Co\u2011create multilingual, context\u2011rich datasets during hands\u2011on sessions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Explore sustainable data\u2011economy models, including synthetic data generation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Voices in the room<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Invited experts brought perspectives from research, policy, and industry, including Ndapewa\u202f(Wilhelmina)\u202fNekoto (Masakhane), Dr\u202fChinasa\u202fT.\u202fOkolo (Brookings Institution), Leonida\u202fMutuku (LDRI), Dr\u202fLilian\u202fWanzare (Maseno\u202fUniversity),<\/strong> and Chloe\u202fBurke (Meta).<\/strong> Keynotes and talks also featured Balkissa\u202fIde\u202fSiddo (Meta)<\/strong> and Aisha\u202fIqbal (Meta).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Highlights from the agenda<\/h3>\n\n\n\n