On February 4, 2024 A2K4D celebrated its Fourteenth Anniversary by holding a workshop titled “Artificial Intelligence, Data and Platform Work: MENA Cases Studies & AI Observatory” at the American University in Cairo (AUC)’s Tahrir Campus. The purpose of the workshop was to share outputs of A2K4D’s research over the past year, where we continue to work towards bringing the voice of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to global debates on issues related to the governance of data and artificial intelligence, new forms of work, social justice, and the digital economy- all from a developmental perspective.
The Center welcomed project partners from across the region including Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Palestine. The workshop was also attended by A2K4D’s wide community of global partners including researchers, academics, policymakers, civil society, and students.
The workshop served as a particularly special occasion with the launch of the MENA AI Observatory a platform the A2K4D team has been developing for the past few years. The MENA AI Observatory is a locally-driven platform aiming to make key contributions to global narratives on responsible data and AI. The Observatory will serve as a regional hub championing MENA voices, providing varied resources in both English and Arabic, and fostering a collaborative network of AI researchers, legal experts and advocates, policy-makers, civil society, and the general public.
The Fourteenth Anniversary Workshop of A2K4D titled “Artificial Intelligence, Data and Platform Work: MENA Cases Studies & AI Observatory.”
The rise of women engaged in new work opportunities in the ‘digital informal sector’ via social media platforms is a relatively novel and rapidly growing phenomenon in Egypt. This has been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact in terms of accelerated and widespread digitization. One outcome has been the establishment of new micro-scale online businesses led by women, creating new ‘work from home’ scenarios. The purpose of this event was to discuss areas for suggested policy action based on empirical research conducted by A2K4D to benefit similar women digital entrepreneurs and possibly women’s work in the digital economy in general.
A2K4D and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung / Egypt Office (FES Egypt) hosted the launch of the policy brief titled “Women and Work in Egypt’s Informal Digital Economy”.
