Ms Mariya Gabriel, Assistant Director General,
Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, honoured guests,
Today is not merely the launch of a programme. It is the recognition of a fundamental shift in how we govern.
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant horizon—it is here. It is in our hospitals, our classrooms, our borders, and our budgets. And the public sector, which serves as the backbone of our societies, stands at a crossroads.
On one path: reactive adoption, fragmented skills, and widening inequalities.
On the other: intentional, inclusive, and trustworthy integration.
With the launch of the ITU-UNESCO Joint Capacity Development Programme on AI in the Public Sector, we are choosing the second path—together.
Why this programme? Why now?
Because the gap between AI's potential and public sector readiness is not a technical problem—it is a capacity problem. Most civil servants did not train for this. Most policymakers did not foresee this. And yet, they are the ones who must regulate, deploy, and oversee systems that are reshaping the very fabric of society.
Without capacity, we risk:
• Algorithmic bias entrenched in social welfare systems.
• Opacity in criminal justice decisions.
• Exclusion of citizens who lack digital literacy.
But with capacity—we gain urgency. We gain the ability to shape AI rather than be shaped by it.
This Joint Programme is unique because it does not treat AI as a purely technical subject. It treats AI as a public good—and public goods require public stewards.
It is my hope that through this initiative, we will deliver:
1. A Shared Curriculum: Not a patchwork of national approaches, but a globally coherent framework—developed jointly by ITU and UNESCO—that balances technical fluency with ethical grounding. It will cover AI fundamentals, data governance, risk assessment, procurement, and human rights impact evaluations.
2. Train-the-Trainer Models: We are not just training individuals; we are building ecosystems. We will equip national training institutions to cascade this knowledge to every level of government—from ministers to frontline service providers.
3. Peer-to-Peer Learning: No country has all the answers. Through regional hubs and digital communities of practice, we will enable civil servants from different nations to share failures, successes, and innovations in real time.
4. Policy Labs: Theory becomes practice through live policy challenges. Participants will work on actual national use cases—whether in health, education, agriculture, or social protection—developing AI strategies that are context-sensitive and impact-driven.
Why ITU and UNESCO together?
The initiative aims to leverage the complementary mandates, expertise, and global networks of both organizations to support governments and public institutions worldwide in building the knowledge, skills institutional frameworks, and partnerships necessary for responsible AI adoption and digital transformation.
Because AI in the public sector is not just about infrastructure—that is ITU's expertise in connectivity and standards. Nor is it just about values—that is UNESCO's leadership in ethics and human rights.
It is about both.
You cannot have ethical AI without secure, resilient networks. And you cannot have secure networks without ethical guardrails. This programme embodies that nexus—technology and humanity, working in lockstep.
But let me be clear: this programme is a platform, not a panacea. Its success depends on you—our Member States.
We call on you to:
• Nominate your brightest civil servants—not just technologists, but policymakers, lawyers, and social workers—because AI affects everyone.
• Embed this training into your national digital strategies—make it mandatory, not optional.
• Share your local contexts—so that our global framework reflects your realities, not just our assumptions.
Excellencies, colleagues,
The world is watching how we govern AI. Not with admiration—but with expectation. Citizens expect safety. They expect fairness. They expect transparency.
This programme is our answer to that expectation.
Let us build a public sector that does not fear AI, but steers it. Let us build civil servants who are not replaced by machines, but augmented by them. And let us build a future where AI serves every citizen—not by accident of geography, but by design of partnership. ITU and UNESCO look forward to forging partnerships, and resource mobilization with like-minded institutions and stakeholders on a win-win basis.
Thank you, and I look forward to our shared journey.
