In July 2026, Research ICT Africa (RIA) will join global policymakers, researchers, civil society leaders and technical experts in Geneva, Switzerland, for two major international digital governance processes: the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2026 and the inaugural United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance.
RIA will participate in key sessions across both forums to advance African perspectives on digital inclusion, data governance, and Just AI.
The WSIS Forum remains one of the world’s leading multistakeholder platforms for advancing digital development and assessing progress on global information society goals. Established following the original WSIS process, the forum convenes governments, international organisations, civil society, academia and the private sector to assess progress on digital inclusion and the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines.
Running in parallel, the United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance marks a major milestone in multilateral AI governance. As the UN’s first universal platform dedicated specifically to AI governance, the Dialogue aims to create a global space for cooperation on AI policy, governance norms and accountability mechanisms, particularly in response to widening inequalities, regulatory fragmentation and concentration of AI power.
Together, these processes provide a crucial opportunity to ensure that African priorities and Global South perspectives are meaningfully represented in global digital governance debates.
RIA’s engagement in Geneva is anchored in ensuring digital transformation and AI governance advance inclusion, equity, and public-interest outcomes rather than deepen existing inequalities.
Across our sessions and engagements, we will contribute evidence and policy perspectives on three interconnected themes:
- Digital inclusion beyond access, with particular attention to gendered barriers and lived realities of digital participation;
- Data governance and accountability, including the role of evidence, indicators and multistakeholder governance in measuring progress;
- Just AI governance, centred on African agency, fairness, accountability and meaningful participation in global AI governance processes;
These themes reflect RIA’s broader mission to support development-oriented and rights-based digital governance across Africa.
Session overview
United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance
6–7 July 2026 | 07:30–18:00 (UTC+02:00)
Palexpo Convention Centre, Geneva | In-person with livestreamed sessions
RIA attends the inaugural United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance, a landmark multilateral process aimed at shaping international cooperation on AI governance.
Our engagement draws on RIA’s research on Just AI, AI sovereignty and public-interest approaches to emerging technologies, as well as our mutlistakeholder contributions to shaping the Dialogue’s processes.
6 July | 09:00–09:45 (UTC+02:00)
Room L2, Palexpo Convention Centre, Geneva | Hybrid, Register for virtual participation
In this session, Dr Pria Chetty, RIA Executive Director, contributes to a multistakeholder dialogue examining how the WSIS framework can strengthen implementation, accountability and evidence-based policymaking.
Drawing on RIA’s extensive demand-side research and policy analysis, Chetty reflects on how better indicators and stronger accountability mechanisms can improve how digital development is measured, particularly in contexts where headline connectivity figures often obscure deeper inequalities in access, affordability and meaningful use.
This session aligns closely with RIA’s longstanding work on digital inclusion measurement, policy indicators and public-interest accountability in the After Access project.
6 July | 10:00–10:45 (UTC+02:00)
Innovation Hub, ITU Montbrillant Building | Hybrid
Organised by RIA and moderated by Dr Pria Chetty, this session moves beyond conventional access metrics to examine the lived realities of digital inclusion for women and girls in Africa.
Featuring Dr Kola Ijasan (Research ICT Africa – remote), Thobekile Matime (Paradigm Initiative), Zaituni Njovu (Zeina Foundation, Tanzania) and Esther Nyapendi (Women of Uganda Network – remote), the discussion draws on evidence from RIA’s After Access qualitative study on gender and digital technologies across four African countries.
The session explores how social norms, economic precarity, care burdens and structural inequality shape digital participation, underscoring the need for policy interventions that move beyond infrastructure provision toward meaningful inclusion.
2026 Partner Forum: Responsible AI Takes Shape
6–7 July | 16:00–20:00 (UTC+02:00)
Crowne Plaza Geneva | In-person, Invite-only
Chetty and Elizabeth Orembo attend this strategic partner forum focused on the rapidly evolving global responsible AI ecosystem.
RIA’s attendance advances its broader work on Just AI, particularly by ensuring that governance frameworks prioritise justice, accountability, and equitable value creation.
7 July | 17:00–17:45 (UTC+02:00)
Room G3, Palexpo Convention Centre | Hybrid, Register for virtual participation
In this session, Chetty contributes as both a facilitator and lightning speaker in a discussion on the financing mechanisms needed to support inclusive digital transformation.
The conversation explores how multistakeholder financing models can better enable equitable digital development while avoiding dependency, exclusion and structural imbalances in digital investment.
This work extends discussions from the 2025 South African G20 Digital Economy Working Group Meetings, where Research ICT Africa partnered with network stakeholders to call for sustainable financing to support accurate, up-to-date digital data collection.
8 July, 09:00 – 18:00 (UTC+02:00)
Concordia 1, Palais des Nations, Geneva | In-person
RIA participates in MAP-AI, a high-level convening focused on strengthening civil society leadership and human rights-centred approaches to AI governance.
As part of the programme, Chetty, who serves on the initiative’s advisory committee, will co-facilitate discussions and lead a breakout session on Bridging AI Divides. The discussion will focus on how global AI governance can address structural inequalities in access to compute, infrastructure, technical capacity, and participation in governance.
