Summary
Highlights
The session introduces the series, which aims to explore and promote philanthropic activity at the intersection of gender justice and digital rights in Africa. The current discussion focuses on leveraging AI to improve opportunities for women and girls, with African philanthropy playing a crucial role.
The moderator, Adore, from the African Internet Rights Alliance, introduces the panelists: Juliet Nuka from CIPESA, and Desiré Gorea from the Fair Forward project, both sharing their excitement for the discussion on philanthropy, AI, and gender justice.
Adore engages the audience with an icebreaker, asking them to raise hands if they know of AI projects helping women in Africa, are skeptical about AI helping gender equity, or have project ideas. The results indicate a need for more awareness, support, and discussion in this area.
Desiré Gorea discusses the low representation of women in the workforce and tech, emphasizing the need for inclusivity in AI development. Her organization focuses on demystifying AI, mainstreaming women's participation in tech, creating sustainable ecosystems for women's access to data and mentorship, and building supportive communities.
Juliet Nuka explains CIPESA's work as a policy think tank, researching digital rights and the digital divide. She highlights issues like content moderation, data privacy, and disinformation using female forms, and the exploitation of women's bodies online. The goal is to create a more inclusive and representative digital society, acknowledging diverse African contexts.
Juliet provides historical examples of AI bias, such as racial discrimination in virtual reality and in image search results for 'angry women,' predominantly showing women of color. She links these past biases to current issues in content moderation and disinformation, where African women are often marginalized or exploited.
Desiré shares insights from Fair Forward's AI and data science boot camps for women. She emphasizes the importance of an intersectional approach, tailoring programs to local needs, providing flexible training schedules, and highlighting female role models. She also stresses that philanthropy needs to be more than just donating money, requiring careful curation and a focus on equity over mere equality.
Juliet discusses the evolution of philanthropy, with a recent shift towards funding smaller, grassroots entities directly. CIPESA's Africa Digital Rights Fund supports such organizations, enabling projects with significant local impact that might otherwise not receive funding. She highlights opportunities in increasing data access, promoting female political visibility, and developing anti-disinformation tools.
Desiré outlines key recommendations for philanthropic organizations, including considering barriers to participation (e.g., language, complex application processes), and ensuring the sustainability of actions by capacitating communities. She emphasizes that philanthropic efforts should empower and leave communities with skills and self-determination, rather than creating dependency.
Juliet reinforces the need for accessible processes in funding applications. She highlights the necessity of multi-stakeholder engagement in internet governance and gender justice, advocating for creating spaces for 'difficult discussions' with diverse entities, including governments and law enforcement. Philanthropy should support adaptive approaches rather than rigid funding criteria.
Desiré addresses the critical question of infusing ethics into AI. She stresses that ethics are culturally and contextually diverse, making inclusion essential to avoid a singular, often Western, perspective. Philanthropy should support projects that help build solutions tailored to local community needs and address inherent biases through gender-disaggregated data collection.
The session concludes with heartfelt thanks to the panelists and participants. Musim from the African Philanthropy Forum reiterates the value of such discussions, acknowledging the importance of continued engagement, particularly on data collection and adaptive philanthropic support for gender justice in the digital space. The Ford Foundation is thanked for consistently supporting the series.