{"id":1061,"date":"2026-07-12T20:49:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T20:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/?page_id=1061"},"modified":"2026-07-13T09:30:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:30:51","slug":"programme-details","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/programme-details\/","title":{"rendered":"Programme Details"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_pb_fullwidth_section et_section_regular et_block_section\"><span class=\"et_pb_background_pattern\"><\/span>\n<section class=\"et_pb_fullwidth_header_0 et_pb_fullwidth_header et_pb_bg_layout_dark et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_fullwidth_header_container left\"><div class=\"header-content-container center\"><div class=\"header-content et_flex_module\"><h1 class=\"et_pb_module_header\"> Programme<\/h1><div class=\"et_pb_header_button_wrapper\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_fullwidth_header_overlay\"><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_fullwidth_header_scroll\"><\/div><\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_1 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section preset--module--divi-section--default\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>This year's Deep Learning Indaba promises a mix of inspiring keynotes, tutorials, skills sessions, and advanced workshops. Combined with plenty of time for networking, the Indaba promises to leave you with new skills and a larger network. Session venues are available on the Baobab app for registered attendees.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_2 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section preset--module--divi-section--default\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_1 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_1 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"bep-programme\" id=\"bep-1-fe7df8\" data-bep-config='{&quot;locale&quot;:&quot;en&quot;,&quot;deskMax&quot;:8,&quot;mobMax&quot;:3,&quot;showType&quot;:true,&quot;showTrack&quot;:true,&quot;timeFmt&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;dayPrefix&quot;:&quot;Day&quot;,&quot;emptyText&quot;:&quot;No sessions are available for this day yet.&quot;,&quot;i18n&quot;:{&quot;sessionType&quot;:&quot;Session type&quot;,&quot;track&quot;:&quot;Track&quot;,&quot;uncategorized&quot;:&quot;Uncategorized&quot;,&quot;noTrack&quot;:&quot;No track&quot;,&quot;details&quot;:&quot;View details&quot;,&quot;close&quot;:&quot;Close&quot;,&quot;speakers&quot;:&quot;Speakers&quot;,&quot;errorLoad&quot;:&quot;Something went wrong while displaying the programme.&quot;}}'>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"bep-data\">[{\"id\":27,\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T06:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T09:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":139,\"title\":\"Registration\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Registration\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T08:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":29,\"title\":\"First-time Attendees Story Telling Mentorship Session\",\"description\":\"This session is designed primarily for first-time Indaba attendees, though all are welcome to join. Structured as an interactive Q\\u0026A, the session brings together a panel of returning Indaba attendees who will share their personal experiences, lessons learned, and practical advice for newcomers. Through open dialogue, participants will hear firsthand accounts of how past attendees navigated their own first Indaba, and gain insight into strategies for making the most of the week. As a concrete outcome, each participant is encouraged to leave the session with a personal list of actionable goals to pursue throughout the conference. This session offers a valuable opportunity to learn from the journeys of others and set intentions for a rewarding Indaba experience.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"First-time Attendees Story Telling Mentorship Session\",\"description\":\"This session is designed primarily for first-time Indaba attendees, though all are welcome to join. Structured as an interactive Q\\u0026A, the session brings together a panel of returning Indaba attendees who will share their personal experiences, lessons learned, and practical advice for newcomers. Through open dialogue, participants will hear firsthand accounts of how past attendees navigated their own first Indaba, and gain insight into strategies for making the most of the week. As a concrete outcome, each participant is encouraged to leave the session with a personal list of actionable goals to pursue throughout the conference. This session offers a valuable opportunity to learn from the journeys of others and set intentions for a rewarding Indaba experience.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T11:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T12:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":30,\"name\":\"Lesego Makhafola\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":31,\"name\":\"Yousra Farhani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":32,\"name\":\"Pegdwend\\u00e9 Nicolas Sawadogo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":51,\"name\":\"Chris Emezue\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":28,\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":105,\"title\":\"Building Faster Transformers with Triton: A Hands-On Introduction to GPU Kernel Programming\",\"description\":\"Modern Transformer models are increasingly powerful, but their real-world usefulness depends heavily on how efficiently they can be trained and served on GPU hardware. This tutorial introduces participants to GPU kernel programming with Triton through the practical goal of building faster Transformer components from the ground up. We will begin with the performance bottlenecks that commonly appear in Transformer workloads, including memory bandwidth limits, attention computation, operator overhead, and inefficient data movement. Participants will then learn the core ideas behind GPU execution, tensor layouts, parallelism, tiling, and memory hierarchy before implementing simple Triton kernels.\\nThe hands-on section will focus on writing, benchmarking, and optimizing kernels for common Transformer operations, gradually building toward attention-related kernels used in modern LLM systems. By the end of the tutorial, participants will understand how custom GPU kernels can improve Transformer performance, how to reason about throughput and memory efficiency, and how to begin applying Triton to their own machine learning systems research and engineering projects.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Building Faster Transformers with Triton: A Hands-On Introduction to GPU Kernel Programming\",\"description\":\"Modern Transformer models are increasingly powerful, but their real-world usefulness depends heavily on how efficiently they can be trained and served on GPU hardware. This tutorial introduces participants to GPU kernel programming with Triton through the practical goal of building faster Transformer components from the ground up. We will begin with the performance bottlenecks that commonly appear in Transformer workloads, including memory bandwidth limits, attention computation, operator overhead, and inefficient data movement. Participants will then learn the core ideas behind GPU execution, tensor layouts, parallelism, tiling, and memory hierarchy before implementing simple Triton kernels.\\nThe hands-on section will focus on writing, benchmarking, and optimizing kernels for common Transformer operations, gradually building toward attention-related kernels used in modern LLM systems. By the end of the tutorial, participants will understand how custom GPU kernels can improve Transformer performance, how to reason about throughput and memory efficiency, and how to begin applying Triton to their own machine learning systems research and engineering projects.\\n\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"Cr\\u00e9ation de transformateurs plus rapides avec Triton\\u00a0: une introduction pratique \\u00e0 la programmation du noyau GPU\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":46,\"name\":\"Ayomide Odumakinde\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":47,\"name\":\"Katherine Oluwadarasimi Olowookere\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":48,\"name\":\"Adeniyi Mayokun\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":31,\"title\":\"Introduction to Agentic AI: Building Conversational Agents with Persistent Memory\",\"description\":\"Agentic AI, systems that hold a conversation, remember context, and act over time, is moving from research into production. Yet most introductory material treats agents as stateless chatbots and ignores the memory that makes them useful. In this tutorial I give undergraduates from any ML background a practical, code-forward introduction to building conversational agents with persistent memory. We start from first principles: what an AI agent is, how conversational systems track state, and why a model\\u0027s short-term context window is not enough. We then build a working agent in Python from scratch and give it long-term memory using vector embeddings, retrieving relevant memories on demand. To make the lesson concrete, the agent we build is a griot, a storyteller that must remember an evolving folktale across turns and sessions. Everything runs on  small open models, locally, with no API key and no data leaving the machine. That keeps the session easy to run for everyone, and it doubles as a working demonstration of sovereign, self-hostable AI. Attendees leave able to build a memory-backed agent themselves and to reason about deploying and owning one responsibly.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Introduction to Agentic AI: Building Conversational Agents with Persistent Memory\",\"description\":\"Agentic AI, systems that hold a conversation, remember context, and act over time, is moving from research into production. Yet most introductory material treats agents as stateless chatbots and ignores the memory that makes them useful. In this tutorial I give undergraduates from any ML background a practical, code-forward introduction to building conversational agents with persistent memory. We start from first principles: what an AI agent is, how conversational systems track state, and why a model\\u0027s short-term context window is not enough. We then build a working agent in Python from scratch and give it long-term memory using vector embeddings, retrieving relevant memories on demand. To make the lesson concrete, the agent we build is a griot, a storyteller that must remember an evolving folktale across turns and sessions. Everything runs on  small open models, locally, with no API key and no data leaving the machine. That keeps the session easy to run for everyone, and it doubles as a working demonstration of sovereign, self-hostable AI. Attendees leave able to build a memory-backed agent themselves and to reason about deploying and owning one responsibly.\\n\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"Introduction \\u00e0 l\\u0026#39;IA agentique\\u00a0: Cr\\u00e9ation d\\u0026#39;agents conversationnels dot\\u00e9s d\\u0026#39;une m\\u00e9moire persistante\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":33,\"name\":\"David Agbolade\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":30,\"title\":\"The Math Behind Neural Networks - Pelumi Victor\",\"description\":\"This tutorial offers a deep dive into the mathematics of neural networks, the building blocks of contemporary AI. Starting from an intuitive understanding of \\u0027what it means for a machine to learn,\\u0027 the tutorial introduces essential concepts such as cost functions and gradient descent, before presenting the artificial neuron and the feedforward mechanism. The centrepiece is backpropagation: participants work through the gradients themselves, guided by slides that reveal the derivations progressively, ensuring active engagement rather than passive reception. The concepts of memoization and tensor dimensions are also addressed. By the end, participants will have a good understanding of how neural networks are trained. The tutorial closes with a live demo of TensorFlow Playground in which we  explore how architecture choices (depth, width, activation functions) shape the resulting decision boundaries. A follow-up skills session, \\u0022Code a Neural Network From Scratch\\u0022 is  a hands-on session that complements the theory.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"The Math Behind Neural Networks - Pelumi Victor\",\"description\":\"This tutorial offers a deep dive into the mathematics of neural networks, the building blocks of contemporary AI. Starting from an intuitive understanding of \\u0027what it means for a machine to learn,\\u0027 the tutorial introduces essential concepts such as cost functions and gradient descent, before presenting the artificial neuron and the feedforward mechanism. The centrepiece is backpropagation: participants work through the gradients themselves, guided by slides that reveal the derivations progressively, ensuring active engagement rather than passive reception. The concepts of memoization and tensor dimensions are also addressed. By the end, participants will have a good understanding of how neural networks are trained. The tutorial closes with a live demo of TensorFlow Playground in which we  explore how architecture choices (depth, width, activation functions) shape the resulting decision boundaries. A follow-up skills session, \\u0022Code a Neural Network From Scratch\\u0022 is  a hands-on session that complements the theory.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":34,\"name\":\"Catherine Essuman\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":35,\"name\":\"Pelumi Victor\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":56,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":93,\"title\":\"Adversarial Thinking in AI Systems: Understanding and Mitigating Real-World Model Failures\",\"description\":\"Modern AI systems are increasingly deployed in high-stakes environments, yet they remain vulnerable to subtle but powerful adversarial manipulations. From evasion attacks and data poisoning to prompt injection in large language models, these vulnerabilities expose critical weaknesses in today\\u2019s machine learning pipelines.\\nThis practical session introduces participants to the core concepts of adversarial machine learning and AI security. We will explore how and why models fail, demonstrate simple attack scenarios, and discuss practical mitigation strategies that can be applied in real-world systems.\\nThe session emphasizes building a security mindset for AI development, encouraging participants to think beyond accuracy and consider robustness, reliability, and long-term system resilience. Through guided examples and discussion, attendees will gain foundational tools to evaluate and strengthen AI systems in resource-constrained and emerging technological environments.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Adversarial Thinking in AI Systems: Understanding and Mitigating Real-World Model Failures\",\"description\":\"Modern AI systems are increasingly deployed in high-stakes environments, yet they remain vulnerable to subtle but powerful adversarial manipulations. From evasion attacks and data poisoning to prompt injection in large language models, these vulnerabilities expose critical weaknesses in today\\u2019s machine learning pipelines.\\nThis practical session introduces participants to the core concepts of adversarial machine learning and AI security. We will explore how and why models fail, demonstrate simple attack scenarios, and discuss practical mitigation strategies that can be applied in real-world systems.\\nThe session emphasizes building a security mindset for AI development, encouraging participants to think beyond accuracy and consider robustness, reliability, and long-term system resilience. Through guided examples and discussion, attendees will gain foundational tools to evaluate and strengthen AI systems in resource-constrained and emerging technological environments.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":250,\"name\":\"Skills Session\"},\"session_type_id\":250,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":40,\"name\":\"Manar Hamed\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":57,\"title\":\"Doing ML research from the margins\",\"description\":\"Getting into ML research with little or no institutional backing is hard. Getting published at top venues without a lab, an advisor, or a GPU cluster feels nearly impossible \\u2014 and for most people trying from Africa, it has been exactly that. But even under those constraints, it doesn\\u0027t have to stay that way.\\n\\nThis session is built around a simple premise: the path exists, it\\u0027s navigable, and it can be made legible. We know because we have watched people like us walk it \\u2014 from self-taught practitioners with no institutional affiliation, to first authors at A* venues, to PhD students at world-class programs and research scientists\\\/engineers at big tech companies. The trajectories are real. The moves that made them possible are identifiable.\\n\\nThis session reverse-engineers those moves. We will cover the mindset shifts that matter most when working without institutional support; how to find and approach mentors effectively; how to scope research problems that are tractable with limited compute and no proprietary data; how to read and engage with literature efficiently; and how to write and position work for top venues rather than defaulting to workshops and obscure journals; which matters directly when applying to competitive programs and grants.\\n\\nWe will be honest about the structural barriers. They are real, they are unequally distributed, and they compound. But the focus here is on what is actually within your control.\\n\\n\\nThe goal is not to inspire. It\\u0027s to leave you with a clearer map than we had.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Doing ML research from the margins\",\"description\":\"Getting into ML research with little or no institutional backing is hard. Getting published at top venues without a lab, an advisor, or a GPU cluster feels nearly impossible \\u2014 and for most people trying from Africa, it has been exactly that. But even under those constraints, it doesn\\u0027t have to stay that way.\\n\\nThis session is built around a simple premise: the path exists, it\\u0027s navigable, and it can be made legible. We know because we have watched people like us walk it \\u2014 from self-taught practitioners with no institutional affiliation, to first authors at A* venues, to PhD students at world-class programs and research scientists\\\/engineers at big tech companies. The trajectories are real. The moves that made them possible are identifiable.\\n\\nThis session reverse-engineers those moves. We will cover the mindset shifts that matter most when working without institutional support; how to find and approach mentors effectively; how to scope research problems that are tractable with limited compute and no proprietary data; how to read and engage with literature efficiently; and how to write and position work for top venues rather than defaulting to workshops and obscure journals; which matters directly when applying to competitive programs and grants.\\n\\nWe will be honest about the structural barriers. They are real, they are unequally distributed, and they compound. But the focus here is on what is actually within your control.\\n\\n\\nThe goal is not to inspire. It\\u0027s to leave you with a clearer map than we had.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":250,\"name\":\"Skills Session\"},\"session_type_id\":250,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":52,\"name\":\"Ifihan Olusheye\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":58,\"title\":\"Building On-Device AI Applications\",\"description\":\"This one-hour skill session shows how capable language models can run locally on phones and laptops through careful model selection, conversion and quantisation. It will start with a short demo of a prebuilt mobile app so everyone sees the end result from the start. We then use the Gemma 3n family or a lightweight alternative (Qwen3.5 0.8B) as a primary case study to highlight size, latency, and capability. The session explains the core idea of quantisation: how lowering numeric precision shrinks model size and memory use while preserving much of the model\\u2019s usefulness. I walk through the practical conversion and quantisation steps you need to generate a mobile-friendly GGUF or TFLite artifact, plus common pitfalls and tuning tips. Finally, I show how the quantised model is integrated into a React Native Expo project (prebuilt APKs and code provided), describe distribution options, and point to further resources. Everyone leaves with a checklist, links to the exact scripts and builds used in the demo, and a clear path to experiment with on-device models in their own projects.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Building On-Device AI Applications\",\"description\":\"This one-hour skill session shows how capable language models can run locally on phones and laptops through careful model selection, conversion and quantisation. It will start with a short demo of a prebuilt mobile app so everyone sees the end result from the start. We then use the Gemma 3n family or a lightweight alternative (Qwen3.5 0.8B) as a primary case study to highlight size, latency, and capability. The session explains the core idea of quantisation: how lowering numeric precision shrinks model size and memory use while preserving much of the model\\u2019s usefulness. I walk through the practical conversion and quantisation steps you need to generate a mobile-friendly GGUF or TFLite artifact, plus common pitfalls and tuning tips. Finally, I show how the quantised model is integrated into a React Native Expo project (prebuilt APKs and code provided), describe distribution options, and point to further resources. Everyone leaves with a checklist, links to the exact scripts and builds used in the demo, and a clear path to experiment with on-device models in their own projects.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":250,\"name\":\"Skills Session\"},\"session_type_id\":250,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":41,\"name\":\"Jesse-PaulOsemeke\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":59,\"title\":\"Mastering the Scientific Narrative: A Practical Guide to Reading and Writing High-Impact AI Research Papers\",\"description\":\"To achieve \\u0022Sovereign Intelligence,\\u0022 African researchers must not only build innovative models but also master the art of global scientific communication. Many young scholars in Africa possess groundbreaking ideas but face barriers in effectively deconstructing dense AI literature or structuring their findings for top-tier venues. This Skill Session is designed to bridge this gap.\\nWe will move beyond theory to provide a systematic \\u0022how-to\\u0022 for both consuming and producing research. The session will cover the \\u00223-pass\\u0022 reading strategy to extract core contributions from complex papers quickly. On the writing side, it will demystify the scientific storytelling process\\u2014from crafting a compelling Abstract to presenting results that meet international standards. By equipping participants with these reusable competencies, we empower African AI agencies, ensuring that our local innovations are documented, recognized, and integrated into the global frontier of AI. This session targets undergraduate and early-graduate students, providing them with a concrete blueprint for scientific success.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mastering the Scientific Narrative: A Practical Guide to Reading and Writing High-Impact AI Research Papers\",\"description\":\"To achieve \\u0022Sovereign Intelligence,\\u0022 African researchers must not only build innovative models but also master the art of global scientific communication. Many young scholars in Africa possess groundbreaking ideas but face barriers in effectively deconstructing dense AI literature or structuring their findings for top-tier venues. This Skill Session is designed to bridge this gap.\\nWe will move beyond theory to provide a systematic \\u0022how-to\\u0022 for both consuming and producing research. The session will cover the \\u00223-pass\\u0022 reading strategy to extract core contributions from complex papers quickly. On the writing side, it will demystify the scientific storytelling process\\u2014from crafting a compelling Abstract to presenting results that meet international standards. By equipping participants with these reusable competencies, we empower African AI agencies, ensuring that our local innovations are documented, recognized, and integrated into the global frontier of AI. This session targets undergraduate and early-graduate students, providing them with a concrete blueprint for scientific success.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":250,\"name\":\"Skills Session\"},\"session_type_id\":250,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T16:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":42,\"name\":\"Castro Gb\\u00eam\\u00eamali HOUNMENOU\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":33,\"title\":\"Welcome Party\",\"description\":\"Start the week by joining us for the Opening Party, an evening of music, culture, and community. Featuring a lively MC, traditional dance performances, and a professional DJ, the event offers the perfect opportunity to meet fellow participants, reconnect with friends, and celebrate the start of DLI 2026.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Welcome Party\",\"description\":\"Start the week by joining us for the Opening Party, an evening of music, culture, and community. Featuring a lively MC, traditional dance performances, and a professional DJ, the event offers the perfect opportunity to meet fellow participants, reconnect with friends, and celebrate the start of DLI 2026.\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-02T18:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-02T21:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":90,\"name\":\"Aisha Alaagib\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":1,\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T06:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":122,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a Senior AI \\u0026 Data Engineer and PMP-certified project manager with experience spanning AI engineering, data science, and applied ML research. Founder of an AI\\\/data consulting firm, with concurrent remote roles in AI engineering and data science. Background in engineering physics, computer engineering with AI\\\/robotics specialization, and project management. Has authored peer-reviewed research in NLP and computer vision, presented at international AI conferences including Deep Learning Indaba, and mentors 500+ engineers across the AI\\\/ML community.\\n\\nSign up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a Senior AI \\u0026 Data Engineer and PMP-certified project manager with experience spanning AI engineering, data science, and applied ML research. Founder of an AI\\\/data consulting firm, with concurrent remote roles in AI engineering and data science. Background in engineering physics, computer engineering with AI\\\/robotics specialization, and project management. Has authored peer-reviewed research in NLP and computer vision, presented at international AI conferences including Deep Learning Indaba, and mentors 500+ engineers across the AI\\\/ML community.\\n\\nSign up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":2,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a  South African pursuing a PhD in robotics and AI at University College London, in the UK. A founding member of the Akili African Robotics Community and a co-founder of Amathambo AI, a startup from the Deep Learning Indaba Ideathon programme.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a  South African pursuing a PhD in robotics and AI at University College London, in the UK. A founding member of the Akili African Robotics Community and a co-founder of Amathambo AI, a startup from the Deep Learning Indaba Ideathon programme.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":123,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is the founder of a quantum technology consulting company focused on accelerating quantum adoption across Africa and founder of a cybersecurity training and research organization. My work focuses on quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, with a strong interest in helping governments, businesses, and researchers prepare for the quantum era. I am actively involved in building the quantum ecosystem in Nigeria through education, industry engagement, and community initiatives. I enjoy mentoring students, researchers, and founders on careers in deep technology, translating research into practical applications, entrepreneurship, and building impactful technology communities across Africa.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is the founder of a quantum technology consulting company focused on accelerating quantum adoption across Africa and founder of a cybersecurity training and research organization. My work focuses on quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, with a strong interest in helping governments, businesses, and researchers prepare for the quantum era. I am actively involved in building the quantum ecosystem in Nigeria through education, industry engagement, and community initiatives. I enjoy mentoring students, researchers, and founders on careers in deep technology, translating research into practical applications, entrepreneurship, and building impactful technology communities across Africa.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":124,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is an accomplished cloud engineer and technology entrepreneur with 15 years of experience building high-scale infrastructure in Silicon Valley. He worked at Apple, TikTok, Pinterest and IBM,. He currently serves as the Founder and CEO of an African-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure startup dedicated to local data sovereignty.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is an accomplished cloud engineer and technology entrepreneur with 15 years of experience building high-scale infrastructure in Silicon Valley. He worked at Apple, TikTok, Pinterest and IBM,. He currently serves as the Founder and CEO of an African-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure startup dedicated to local data sovereignty.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":55,\"title\":\"Registration\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Registration\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":3,\"title\":\"Opening Ceremony\",\"description\":\"The Opening Ceremony marks the official start of an exciting week of learning, collaboration, and innovation at DLI 2026. Join us as we welcome participants from across Africa and beyond to celebrate the beginning of an inspiring week together. The session will be anchored by this year\\u2019s General Chairs: Aisha Alaagib, Albert Kahira and Chinazo Anebelundu\\n\\n Remark by Vice-Chancellor Professor Enase Okonedo from Pan-Atlantic University (PAU)\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Opening Ceremony\",\"description\":\"The Opening Ceremony marks the official start of an exciting week of learning, collaboration, and innovation at DLI 2026. Join us as we welcome participants from across Africa and beyond to celebrate the beginning of an inspiring week together. The session will be anchored by this year\\u2019s General Chairs: Aisha Alaagib, Albert Kahira and Chinazo Anebelundu\\n\\n Remark by Vice-Chancellor Professor Enase Okonedo from Pan-Atlantic University (PAU)\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T09:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":89,\"name\":\"Enase Okonedo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":90,\"name\":\"Aisha Alaagib\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":91,\"name\":\"Albert Kahira\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":92,\"name\":\"Chinazo Anebelundu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":4,\"title\":\"Translation GeoAI: science is an african imperative\",\"description\":\"Africa stands at a unique inflection point, home to the world\\u0027s fastest-growing population, its youngest workforce, and some of its most acute development challenges, yet increasingly rich in satellite imagery, mobile data, and earth observation infrastructure. Artificial Intelligence applied to geospatial data (GeoAI) holds transformative potential for the African continent. From mapping informal settlements and monitoring crop failure to tracking deforestation and issuing early warnings of extreme events, including cyclones and landslides. Yet a persistent and costly gap persists between cutting-edge GeoAI models, largely developed in the Global North, and their deployment in Africa. \\nThis talk introduces Translational GeoAI Science as a systematic discipline designed to bridge this gap on African terms. This approach frames the implementation lifecycle through three critical pillars: 1) Contextualization and Adaptation, which involves retraining and recalibrating models to reflect Africa\\u2019s unique ecologies, land tenure systems, and data-scarce environments; 2) Rigorous Validation and Trustworthiness, ensuring that outputs meet the operational constraints of African settings, including robust uncertainty quantification; and 3) Seamless Integration and Scaling, embedding GeoAI outputs directly into the decision-making workflows in key ministries.\\nWithout this translational layer, even the most technically sophisticated models risk reinforcing existing inequities, producing tools that work for Illinois but fail in Nandi. By shifting the focus from isolated technical novelty to validated, locally grounded operational impact, Translational GeoAI Science would ensure that scientific investment in Africa\\u0027s geospatial future delivers genuine societal and economic returns for the communities it is meant to serve.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Translation GeoAI: science is an african imperative\",\"description\":\"Africa stands at a unique inflection point, home to the world\\u0027s fastest-growing population, its youngest workforce, and some of its most acute development challenges, yet increasingly rich in satellite imagery, mobile data, and earth observation infrastructure. Artificial Intelligence applied to geospatial data (GeoAI) holds transformative potential for the African continent. From mapping informal settlements and monitoring crop failure to tracking deforestation and issuing early warnings of extreme events, including cyclones and landslides. Yet a persistent and costly gap persists between cutting-edge GeoAI models, largely developed in the Global North, and their deployment in Africa. \\nThis talk introduces Translational GeoAI Science as a systematic discipline designed to bridge this gap on African terms. This approach frames the implementation lifecycle through three critical pillars: 1) Contextualization and Adaptation, which involves retraining and recalibrating models to reflect Africa\\u2019s unique ecologies, land tenure systems, and data-scarce environments; 2) Rigorous Validation and Trustworthiness, ensuring that outputs meet the operational constraints of African settings, including robust uncertainty quantification; and 3) Seamless Integration and Scaling, embedding GeoAI outputs directly into the decision-making workflows in key ministries.\\nWithout this translational layer, even the most technically sophisticated models risk reinforcing existing inequities, producing tools that work for Illinois but fail in Nandi. By shifting the focus from isolated technical novelty to validated, locally grounded operational impact, Translational GeoAI Science would ensure that scientific investment in Africa\\u0027s geospatial future delivers genuine societal and economic returns for the communities it is meant to serve.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":252,\"name\":\"Keynote\"},\"session_type_id\":252,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T09:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T10:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":15,\"name\":\"Catherine Nakalembe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":5,\"title\":\"Maathai Impact \\u0026 Anta Diop Community Hero awards\",\"description\":\"Anta Diop Award Recognises and encourages excellence in research, teaching and community service by early to mid-career academics and researchers at African universities, in any area of artificial intelligence, and computational and statistical sciences.\\n\\nWinner: Prof Omneya Atallah, Egypt\\n\\nCitation: Professor Omneya Attallah is recognised for a career that integrates research excellence, teaching, and community service into a single coherent mission. At the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, she has built a research programme spanning breast cancer detection, paediatric epilepsy diagnosis, wearable biosensing, explainable AI, and CanSense, a breathomics AI system for non-invasive breast cancer screening developed on locally collected Egyptian clinical data in partnership with Egyptian clinicians. \\nAs a teacher she progressed from Teaching Assistant to Full Professor and designed the curriculum for a new undergraduate Biomedical Engineering programme. She has supervised 13 postgraduate researchers to completion, the majority of them women. Through HERBioLab, WeBios, and her IEEE and editorial activities, she has built laboratories, curricula, training pathways, and partnerships that are shaping the next generation of African biomedical AI researchers.\\n\\nMaathai Impact Award Encourages and recognises work by African innovators that shows impactful application of machine learning and artificial intelligence.\\n\\nWinner: Dr Hellina Hailu Nigatu, Ethiopia\\n\\nCitation: Dr. Hellina Hailu Nigatu is recognised for her work addressing gender bias in machine translation across three Ethiopian languages: Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrinya. Rather than adapting English benchmarks, she built evaluation frameworks and datasets directly within African languages, preserving cultural nuances that translation from English cannot capture.\\nKey to this work is the Yeswa Stories dataset, centred on African women\\u0027s narratives and lived experiences. Seven Ethiopian female students participated as paid researchers, with funding, compute access, and substantive mentorship throughout. The project produced an openly released benchmark datasets now available to the broader African NLP community. Her mentorship has been described by those she supervised as transformative, not nominal.\\n\\nRunner up: Abdel-aziz Harane Abounounou, Chad\\n\\nCitation: Abdel-aziz Harane Abounounou is recognised for his work building the first natural language processing tools for Chad\\u0027s indigenous languages, a country with 123 languages yet only two represented in existing digital tools. Rather than waiting for a foreign lab to take interest, he set out to build the entire pipeline himself, working directly with the communities who speak these languages.\\nThe Kalam-na project anchors this work, collecting audio and text data across 16 dialects of the Sara language family. Native speakers contribute their own voices through Kalam-na Voice, a platform built to remove technical barriers to participation. The project has gathered over 68,000 transcribed audio clips and 72,000 aligned texts, laying the groundwork for open ASR, TTS, and MT models. He also founded the Chad AI Network, now over 200 members strong, and ran two editions of IndabaX Chad. This work reaches an estimated 4 million speakers of Chadian languages currently shut out of the digital world.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Maathai Impact \\u0026 Anta Diop Community Hero awards\",\"description\":\"Anta Diop Award Recognises and encourages excellence in research, teaching and community service by early to mid-career academics and researchers at African universities, in any area of artificial intelligence, and computational and statistical sciences.\\n\\nWinner: Prof Omneya Atallah, Egypt\\n\\nCitation: Professor Omneya Attallah is recognised for a career that integrates research excellence, teaching, and community service into a single coherent mission. At the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, she has built a research programme spanning breast cancer detection, paediatric epilepsy diagnosis, wearable biosensing, explainable AI, and CanSense, a breathomics AI system for non-invasive breast cancer screening developed on locally collected Egyptian clinical data in partnership with Egyptian clinicians. \\nAs a teacher she progressed from Teaching Assistant to Full Professor and designed the curriculum for a new undergraduate Biomedical Engineering programme. She has supervised 13 postgraduate researchers to completion, the majority of them women. Through HERBioLab, WeBios, and her IEEE and editorial activities, she has built laboratories, curricula, training pathways, and partnerships that are shaping the next generation of African biomedical AI researchers.\\n\\nMaathai Impact Award Encourages and recognises work by African innovators that shows impactful application of machine learning and artificial intelligence.\\n\\nWinner: Dr Hellina Hailu Nigatu, Ethiopia\\n\\nCitation: Dr. Hellina Hailu Nigatu is recognised for her work addressing gender bias in machine translation across three Ethiopian languages: Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrinya. Rather than adapting English benchmarks, she built evaluation frameworks and datasets directly within African languages, preserving cultural nuances that translation from English cannot capture.\\nKey to this work is the Yeswa Stories dataset, centred on African women\\u0027s narratives and lived experiences. Seven Ethiopian female students participated as paid researchers, with funding, compute access, and substantive mentorship throughout. The project produced an openly released benchmark datasets now available to the broader African NLP community. Her mentorship has been described by those she supervised as transformative, not nominal.\\n\\nRunner up: Abdel-aziz Harane Abounounou, Chad\\n\\nCitation: Abdel-aziz Harane Abounounou is recognised for his work building the first natural language processing tools for Chad\\u0027s indigenous languages, a country with 123 languages yet only two represented in existing digital tools. Rather than waiting for a foreign lab to take interest, he set out to build the entire pipeline himself, working directly with the communities who speak these languages.\\nThe Kalam-na project anchors this work, collecting audio and text data across 16 dialects of the Sara language family. Native speakers contribute their own voices through Kalam-na Voice, a platform built to remove technical barriers to participation. The project has gathered over 68,000 transcribed audio clips and 72,000 aligned texts, laying the groundwork for open ASR, TTS, and MT models. He also founded the Chad AI Network, now over 200 members strong, and ran two editions of IndabaX Chad. This work reaches an estimated 4 million speakers of Chadian languages currently shut out of the digital world.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":245,\"name\":\"Awards Ceremony\"},\"session_type_id\":245,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T10:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":85,\"name\":\"Omneya Atallah\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":86,\"name\":\"Hellina Hailu Nigatu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":6,\"title\":\"Welcome Remarks by Nigerian Minister of communications, innovation and digital economy\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Welcome Remarks by Nigerian Minister of communications, innovation and digital economy\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T11:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T12:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":16,\"name\":\"Bosun Tijani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":60,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T12:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":61,\"title\":\"Sovereign intelligence in practice: Moving from research to deployment\",\"description\":\"Africa\\u2019s AI future will not be secured by access to frontier models alone; it will depend on our ability to build the infrastructure and ecosystems required for meaningful participation. From compute, connectivity and energy to trusted data, these foundations shape who gets to experiment, which ideas can be developed, and whether research moves beyond prototypes into systems deployed at scale.\\nDrawing on four years of building AI infrastructure and products across the continent, Kate Kallot, Founder and CEO of Amini, will share practical insights into what sovereign intelligence looks like on the ground.\\nToo often, AI research and real-world deployment exist in separate worlds. This talk will explore how to bridge that gap by turning locally grounded data, research and infrastructure into intelligence that can be deployed at scale. Through lessons from Amini\\u2019s journey, it will examine how African researchers, institutions and innovators can reduce dependence on systems built elsewhere and gain greater ownership over the technologies, capabilities and economic value they create.\\nAt the heart of the talk is a fundamental question: who should adapt to whom? Must African communities, languages and institutions continue adapting to technologies built elsewhere, or can we build systems that understand and respond to the contexts in which they operate? The talk will explore what it takes for African researchers and builders not only to participate in the AI frontier, but to shape, deploy and own the systems on which the continent\\u2019s future will depend.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Sovereign intelligence in practice: Moving from research to deployment\",\"description\":\"Africa\\u2019s AI future will not be secured by access to frontier models alone; it will depend on our ability to build the infrastructure and ecosystems required for meaningful participation. From compute, connectivity and energy to trusted data, these foundations shape who gets to experiment, which ideas can be developed, and whether research moves beyond prototypes into systems deployed at scale.\\nDrawing on four years of building AI infrastructure and products across the continent, Kate Kallot, Founder and CEO of Amini, will share practical insights into what sovereign intelligence looks like on the ground.\\nToo often, AI research and real-world deployment exist in separate worlds. This talk will explore how to bridge that gap by turning locally grounded data, research and infrastructure into intelligence that can be deployed at scale. Through lessons from Amini\\u2019s journey, it will examine how African researchers, institutions and innovators can reduce dependence on systems built elsewhere and gain greater ownership over the technologies, capabilities and economic value they create.\\nAt the heart of the talk is a fundamental question: who should adapt to whom? Must African communities, languages and institutions continue adapting to technologies built elsewhere, or can we build systems that understand and respond to the contexts in which they operate? The talk will explore what it takes for African researchers and builders not only to participate in the AI frontier, but to shape, deploy and own the systems on which the continent\\u2019s future will depend.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":242,\"name\":\"Invited Talks\"},\"session_type_id\":242,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T14:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Kate Kallot\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":94,\"title\":\"Lessons from the trenches: Building African-centric LLMs for African languages\",\"description\":\"Despite rapid advances in language modeling, many low-resource African languages are still not prioritized in the development of these technologies. The first part of the talk introduces AfroXLMR, a state-of-the-art and widely used encoder model for African languages, developed through continued pre-training on aggregated web data, and highlights how scaling evaluation benchmarks can enable expansion to a broader set of languages. The second part presents AfriTeVa V2, a T5-based encoder\\u2013decoder model that excels at generation tasks such as machine translation when fine-tuned, and demonstrates how improving pre-training data, particularly through human-in-the-loop data curation can lead to the development of better models. The final part introduces AfriqueLLM, a large language model for 20 African languages, and examines how careful choices of data mixtures and base model architectures influence the efficient adaptation of LLMs to low-resource settings. It further emphasizes the need for more challenging benchmarks for evaluating African languages in the LLM era. Ultimately, this talk aims to inspire more African researchers to develop African-centric models tailored to their languages and real-world use cases.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lessons from the trenches: Building African-centric LLMs for African languages\",\"description\":\"Despite rapid advances in language modeling, many low-resource African languages are still not prioritized in the development of these technologies. The first part of the talk introduces AfroXLMR, a state-of-the-art and widely used encoder model for African languages, developed through continued pre-training on aggregated web data, and highlights how scaling evaluation benchmarks can enable expansion to a broader set of languages. The second part presents AfriTeVa V2, a T5-based encoder\\u2013decoder model that excels at generation tasks such as machine translation when fine-tuned, and demonstrates how improving pre-training data, particularly through human-in-the-loop data curation can lead to the development of better models. The final part introduces AfriqueLLM, a large language model for 20 African languages, and examines how careful choices of data mixtures and base model architectures influence the efficient adaptation of LLMs to low-resource settings. It further emphasizes the need for more challenging benchmarks for evaluating African languages in the LLM era. Ultimately, this talk aims to inspire more African researchers to develop African-centric models tailored to their languages and real-world use cases.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":242,\"name\":\"Invited Talks\"},\"session_type_id\":242,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T14:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":17,\"name\":\"David Adelani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":8,\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T14:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T15:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":9,\"title\":\"Graph Neural Networks: Foundations and Applications for Real-World Networks\",\"description\":\"Many African systems are inherently relational. Mobile money transaction networks in Kenya and Uganda, electricity transmission infrastructure in South Africa and Zambia, transportation networks in Lagos and Accra, and agricultural supply chains in Morocco and Egypt all form networks of connected entities, and traditional machine learning methods, which treat samples as independent, often miss the signal carried by these connections. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are designed to learn directly from such a structure, propagating information across nodes to capture relational dependencies. This tutorial introduces the foundations of GNNs for an audience new to graph-based learning. It covers core concepts such as message passing and two foundational architectures, the Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) and the Graph Attention Network (GAT). A live demonstration walks through building and training a GNN for account-level fraud detection on a subsampled mobile money transaction graph, using the MoMTSim dataset developed at Makerere University. Slides, notebooks, exercises, and reading lists will be released on a public GitHub repository after the session. Participants will be able to represent graph-structured data, build and train basic GNN models, and recognise where such methods can be applied to challenges across finance, infrastructure, agriculture, and urban systems in their own communities and beyond.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Graph Neural Networks: Foundations and Applications for Real-World Networks\",\"description\":\"Many African systems are inherently relational. Mobile money transaction networks in Kenya and Uganda, electricity transmission infrastructure in South Africa and Zambia, transportation networks in Lagos and Accra, and agricultural supply chains in Morocco and Egypt all form networks of connected entities, and traditional machine learning methods, which treat samples as independent, often miss the signal carried by these connections. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are designed to learn directly from such a structure, propagating information across nodes to capture relational dependencies. This tutorial introduces the foundations of GNNs for an audience new to graph-based learning. It covers core concepts such as message passing and two foundational architectures, the Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) and the Graph Attention Network (GAT). A live demonstration walks through building and training a GNN for account-level fraud detection on a subsampled mobile money transaction graph, using the MoMTSim dataset developed at Makerere University. Slides, notebooks, exercises, and reading lists will be released on a public GitHub repository after the session. Participants will be able to represent graph-structured data, build and train basic GNN models, and recognise where such methods can be applied to challenges across finance, infrastructure, agriculture, and urban systems in their own communities and beyond.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T15:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":26,\"name\":\"Nataram Odumo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":27,\"name\":\"Nwandu Christian\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":28,\"name\":\"Godbless James\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":63,\"title\":\"Beyond the Notebook: Mastering Cloud GPU Infrastructure for Scalable African AI\",\"description\":\"While Google Colab has democratized initial access to machine learning across Africa, its\\ninfrastructure limitations, such as session timeouts, lack of persistent storage, restricted environment control, and limited compute, stifle the transition from academic experimentation to production-ready AI. True \\u201cSovereign Intelligence\\u201d requires African researchers to graduate from managed notebooks to dedicated, localized cloud infrastructure. This two-hour tutorial introduces participants to the fundamentals of developing on sovereign African GPU Virtual Machines (VMs). We begin by identifying the \\u201cColab Ceiling\\u201d and detailing the core architectural advantages of dedicated VMs, including persistent environments, massive data pipelines, custom CUDA configurations, and specialized workloads like fine-tuning open-source LLMs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and multimodal generative AI media pipelines (image, music, and film). To ensure an interactive experience, every participant will receive a $5 credit to log into an active aghcloud.ai African-hosted GPU instance live during the session. Using the AGH GPU Optimizer tool, attendees will learn how to analyze their specific workload requirements and match them to the most cost-effective hardware. By the end of this tutorial, students and researchers will possess the practical DevOps skills necessary to optimize, deploy, monitor, and scale sovereign AI applications entirely within Africa.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Beyond the Notebook: Mastering Cloud GPU Infrastructure for Scalable African AI\",\"description\":\"While Google Colab has democratized initial access to machine learning across Africa, its\\ninfrastructure limitations, such as session timeouts, lack of persistent storage, restricted environment control, and limited compute, stifle the transition from academic experimentation to production-ready AI. True \\u201cSovereign Intelligence\\u201d requires African researchers to graduate from managed notebooks to dedicated, localized cloud infrastructure. This two-hour tutorial introduces participants to the fundamentals of developing on sovereign African GPU Virtual Machines (VMs). We begin by identifying the \\u201cColab Ceiling\\u201d and detailing the core architectural advantages of dedicated VMs, including persistent environments, massive data pipelines, custom CUDA configurations, and specialized workloads like fine-tuning open-source LLMs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and multimodal generative AI media pipelines (image, music, and film). To ensure an interactive experience, every participant will receive a $5 credit to log into an active aghcloud.ai African-hosted GPU instance live during the session. Using the AGH GPU Optimizer tool, attendees will learn how to analyze their specific workload requirements and match them to the most cost-effective hardware. By the end of this tutorial, students and researchers will possess the practical DevOps skills necessary to optimize, deploy, monitor, and scale sovereign AI applications entirely within Africa.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T15:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":19,\"name\":\"Chisom Chinwuba\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":20,\"name\":\"Sheriff Issaka\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":21,\"name\":\"Opemipo Durodola\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":64,\"title\":\"Responsible and Sovereign AI: Fair, Trustworthy, and Context-Aware Machine Learning for Africa\",\"description\":\"As artificial intelligence rapidly advances into the frontier era, questions of sovereignty, fairness, and accountability have become central to Africa\\u2019s participation in the global AI ecosystem. Many responsible AI methods were developed in data-rich environments and often rely on demographic labels or assumptions that do not transfer well to African contexts, where data may be sparse, heterogeneous, or culturally nuanced. This tutorial introduces principled and practical approaches for building responsible and sovereign AI systems tailored to African realities. We begin by revisiting core foundations of responsible AI including fairness, transparency, robustness, and accountability, through the lens of low-resource and cross-cultural deployment settings. Participants will learn how bias can emerge across the machine learning pipeline and how to diagnose it using widely adopted fairness metrics such as demographic parity and equalized odds. The tutorial will also highlight emerging directions, including fairness-aware learning without demographic labels and evaluation under distribution shift. Through guided hands-on exercises and case studies spanning health risk prediction, African language technologies, and social media analysis, attendees will gain practical skills for auditing and improving model behavior. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to design AI systems that are not only accurate but also equitable, trustworthy, and locally grounded. This tutorial directly supports the Indaba 2026 theme by strengthening technical capacity for sovereign, responsible AI development across Africa.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Responsible and Sovereign AI: Fair, Trustworthy, and Context-Aware Machine Learning for Africa\",\"description\":\"As artificial intelligence rapidly advances into the frontier era, questions of sovereignty, fairness, and accountability have become central to Africa\\u2019s participation in the global AI ecosystem. Many responsible AI methods were developed in data-rich environments and often rely on demographic labels or assumptions that do not transfer well to African contexts, where data may be sparse, heterogeneous, or culturally nuanced. This tutorial introduces principled and practical approaches for building responsible and sovereign AI systems tailored to African realities. We begin by revisiting core foundations of responsible AI including fairness, transparency, robustness, and accountability, through the lens of low-resource and cross-cultural deployment settings. Participants will learn how bias can emerge across the machine learning pipeline and how to diagnose it using widely adopted fairness metrics such as demographic parity and equalized odds. The tutorial will also highlight emerging directions, including fairness-aware learning without demographic labels and evaluation under distribution shift. Through guided hands-on exercises and case studies spanning health risk prediction, African language technologies, and social media analysis, attendees will gain practical skills for auditing and improving model behavior. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to design AI systems that are not only accurate but also equitable, trustworthy, and locally grounded. This tutorial directly supports the Indaba 2026 theme by strengthening technical capacity for sovereign, responsible AI development across Africa.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T15:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":29,\"name\":\"Blessing Ogbuokiri\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":7,\"title\":\"The AI Lab Partner: Agents for Biological Discovery\",\"description\":\"As AI tools become integrated into the life sciences, the essential skill for the modern researcher is shifting from running static models to orchestrating \\u0022Agentic Workflows.\\u0022 This tutorial moves beyond basic prompting to demonstrate how researchers can use AI agents as collaborative \\u0022Lab Partners\\u0022 to handle iterative, data-driven tasks that call specialised machine learning models.\\n\\nThe session provides a hands-on Google Colab experience centred on a critical real-world problem: optimising protein thermal stability. Many life-saving biologicals, such as vaccines and insulin, are fragile and require a strict \\u0022cold chain\\u0022 (2\\u00b0C to 8\\u00b0C) that is difficult to maintain in rural or high-temperature regions. By using agents to redesign these molecules for heat resistance, we can improve global health outcomes and industrial efficiency.\\n\\nParticipants will learn to:\\n\\n1. Use agents to identify and prioritise biological research targets.\\n2. Automate data orchestration from public repositories like UniProt.\\n3. Integrate specialised scientific libraries for structural analysis and stability prediction.\\n4\\\/ Design iterative feedback loops where agents suggest and refine sequences based on calculated metrics.\\n\\nParticipants will leave with a practical framework for using AI agents to navigate complex biological datasets and automate the \\u0022drudgery\\u0022 of research. No prior biology background is required; basic Python proficiency is sufficient.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"The AI Lab Partner: Agents for Biological Discovery\",\"description\":\"As AI tools become integrated into the life sciences, the essential skill for the modern researcher is shifting from running static models to orchestrating \\u0022Agentic Workflows.\\u0022 This tutorial moves beyond basic prompting to demonstrate how researchers can use AI agents as collaborative \\u0022Lab Partners\\u0022 to handle iterative, data-driven tasks that call specialised machine learning models.\\n\\nThe session provides a hands-on Google Colab experience centred on a critical real-world problem: optimising protein thermal stability. Many life-saving biologicals, such as vaccines and insulin, are fragile and require a strict \\u0022cold chain\\u0022 (2\\u00b0C to 8\\u00b0C) that is difficult to maintain in rural or high-temperature regions. By using agents to redesign these molecules for heat resistance, we can improve global health outcomes and industrial efficiency.\\n\\nParticipants will learn to:\\n\\n1. Use agents to identify and prioritise biological research targets.\\n2. Automate data orchestration from public repositories like UniProt.\\n3. Integrate specialised scientific libraries for structural analysis and stability prediction.\\n4\\\/ Design iterative feedback loops where agents suggest and refine sequences based on calculated metrics.\\n\\nParticipants will leave with a practical framework for using AI agents to navigate complex biological datasets and automate the \\u0022drudgery\\u0022 of research. No prior biology background is required; basic Python proficiency is sufficient.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":249,\"name\":\"Tutorials\"},\"session_type_id\":249,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T15:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":22,\"name\":\"Natasha Latysheva\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":23,\"name\":\"Sebastian Bodenstein\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":24,\"name\":\"Kyle Taylor\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":25,\"name\":\"Adam Kosiorek\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":65,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T17:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":107,\"title\":\"Wellcome \\u2013 Innovation to impact: scaling health and AI in Africa\",\"description\":\"Fireside chat\\n\\nTitle: Innovation to impact: scaling health and AI in Africa\\n\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Wellcome \\u2013 Innovation to impact: scaling health and AI in Africa\",\"description\":\"Fireside chat\\n\\nTitle: Innovation to impact: scaling health and AI in Africa\\n\\n\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"Wellcome \\u2013 L\\u2019innovation au service de l\\u2019impact\\u00a0: d\\u00e9velopper la sant\\u00e9 et l\\u2019IA en Afrique\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":109,\"title\":\"Google \\u2013 Research to Reality with Google DeepMind\",\"description\":\"From groundbreaking research to practical deployment -- explore how Google DeepMind is empowering developers to interact with next-generation AI models and foster the future of the AI ecosystem.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Google \\u2013 Research to Reality with Google DeepMind\",\"description\":\"From groundbreaking research to practical deployment -- explore how Google DeepMind is empowering developers to interact with next-generation AI models and foster the future of the AI ecosystem.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":108,\"name\":\"Amit Vadi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":111,\"title\":\"From Research to Market: Demystifying the Path of African DeepTech \\u0026 AI Startups\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"From Research to Market: Demystifying the Path of African DeepTech \\u0026 AI Startups\",\"description\":\"\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"De la recherche au march\\u00e9\\u00a0: d\\u00e9mystifier le parcours des startups africaines de la deeptech et de l\\u2019IA\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":5,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":108,\"title\":\"Cassava AI \\u2013 Powering Africa\\u2019s AI Ambition: From Sovereign Compute to Community Impact\",\"description\":\"**Objective**\\n\\nTo show what African AI now can build with sovereign compute arriving on the continent and to move the conversation from access to outcomes. \\n\\n**Why this session matters** \\n \\nAfrica\\u2019s AI challenge is no longer just access to compute. It is how that capacity is used to drive meaningful impact for communities and economies.\\n\\nThis panel brings together leaders across infrastructure, Startups, innovation, skills, community and policy to discuss how Africa can build an inclusive and sustainable AI future.\\n\\n**Speakers:**\\n- Ahmed El Beheiry - EVP: Group COO and Group Chief Tech \\u0026 AI Officer, Cassava Technologies\\n- Akua Gyekye - Senior Director and Head of Government Affairs for Africa, Microsoft\\n- Isobel Acquah - Chief Executive Officer, AISCA\\n- Prof Vukosi Marivate - CIO, Lelapa AI\\n- Prince Abudu - Head of Technology: AI, Cassava Technologies (Panel Moderator)\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Cassava AI \\u2013 Powering Africa\\u2019s AI Ambition: From Sovereign Compute to Community Impact\",\"description\":\"**Objective**\\n\\nTo show what African AI now can build with sovereign compute arriving on the continent and to move the conversation from access to outcomes. \\n\\n**Why this session matters** \\n \\nAfrica\\u2019s AI challenge is no longer just access to compute. It is how that capacity is used to drive meaningful impact for communities and economies.\\n\\nThis panel brings together leaders across infrastructure, Startups, innovation, skills, community and policy to discuss how Africa can build an inclusive and sustainable AI future.\\n\\n**Speakers:**\\n- Ahmed El Beheiry - EVP: Group COO and Group Chief Tech \\u0026 AI Officer, Cassava Technologies\\n- Akua Gyekye - Senior Director and Head of Government Affairs for Africa, Microsoft\\n- Isobel Acquah - Chief Executive Officer, AISCA\\n- Prof Vukosi Marivate - CIO, Lelapa AI\\n- Prince Abudu - Head of Technology: AI, Cassava Technologies (Panel Moderator)\\n\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"Cassava AI \\u2013 Au service des ambitions de l\\u2019Afrique en mati\\u00e8re d\\u2019IA\\u00a0: de l\\u2019informatique souveraine \\u00e0 l\\u2019impact communautaire\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Akua Gyekye\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":45,\"name\":\"Vukosi Marivate\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":110,\"name\":\"Ahmed El Beheiry\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":111,\"name\":\"Isobel Acquah\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":112,\"name\":\"Prince Abudu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":10,\"title\":\"Microsoft \\u2013 How Foundation Models Are Transforming Science\\u2014and Why Africa Matters\",\"description\":\"Foundation models are emerging as a new scientific instrument, accelerating discovery across disciplines from climate science to biology and materials research. This keynote explores how these models are transforming scientific inquiry, using Microsoft\\u0027s Aurora as a case study, and examines why Africa has a unique opportunity to help shape the future of AI-enabled discovery.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Microsoft \\u2013 How Foundation Models Are Transforming Science\\u2014and Why Africa Matters\",\"description\":\"Foundation models are emerging as a new scientific instrument, accelerating discovery across disciplines from climate science to biology and materials research. This keynote explores how these models are transforming scientific inquiry, using Microsoft\\u0027s Aurora as a case study, and examines why Africa has a unique opportunity to help shape the future of AI-enabled discovery.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":109,\"name\":\"Ade Famoti\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":110,\"title\":\"Zindi \\u2013 You Don\\u0027t Need to Be an Expert to Start: A Beginner\\u0027s Guide to Zindi\",\"description\":\"Many of you have heard of Zindi, some may have even entered a challenge, but if you\\u0027ve never felt quite ready to dive in, this session is for you. We\\u0027ll cover what Zindi is and how it works, then share real stories of people who used Zindi challenges in climate, fintech, African languages, and more to build skills and launch AI careers. No competition experience required. We\\u0027ll also point you to two ways to start today: the live GeoAI Aquaculture Pond Identification Challenge, with prize money on offer, and our beginner cohort challenge, which new Zindians are automatically enrolled in for extra support and a first-timers prize pool.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Zindi \\u2013 You Don\\u0027t Need to Be an Expert to Start: A Beginner\\u0027s Guide to Zindi\",\"description\":\"Many of you have heard of Zindi, some may have even entered a challenge, but if you\\u0027ve never felt quite ready to dive in, this session is for you. We\\u0027ll cover what Zindi is and how it works, then share real stories of people who used Zindi challenges in climate, fintech, African languages, and more to build skills and launch AI careers. No competition experience required. We\\u0027ll also point you to two ways to start today: the live GeoAI Aquaculture Pond Identification Challenge, with prize money on offer, and our beginner cohort challenge, which new Zindians are automatically enrolled in for extra support and a first-timers prize pool.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T18:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":67,\"name\":\"Paul Kennedy\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":12,\"title\":\"Dinner\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Dinner\",\"description\":\"\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"D\\u00eener\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-03T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-03T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":34,\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T06:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":126,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This independent early-career researcher holds a PhD from a prominent German research institute and recently secured a prestigious fellowship to transition to a South African university. Her work bridges European and African scientific communities, focusing on international research collaborations. Her core research interests center around NeuroAI, specifically AI-driven epilepsy diagnosis and biophysical neural network modeling to study human cortex maturation. If you are interested in how to land your first grant after your PhD, how to build long-lasting international collaborations, or really anything around NeuroAI this session is for you.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This independent early-career researcher holds a PhD from a prominent German research institute and recently secured a prestigious fellowship to transition to a South African university. Her work bridges European and African scientific communities, focusing on international research collaborations. Her core research interests center around NeuroAI, specifically AI-driven epilepsy diagnosis and biophysical neural network modeling to study human cortex maturation. If you are interested in how to land your first grant after your PhD, how to build long-lasting international collaborations, or really anything around NeuroAI this session is for you.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":35,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a NLP engineer and researcher who holds a degree in Linguistics from a Nigerian university. Her work focuses on developing efficient, robust NLP models for low-resource African languages. Her expertise includes multilingual NLP, speech technologies, machine translation, code-switching, dataset curation, and LLM evaluation. She is dedicated to creating AI systems that promote language preservation, digital inclusion, and equitable technology access.As the founder and CEO of a global low-resource language initiative, she drives ethical data curation, inclusive research, and community innovation. She also served as a Workshop Chair at NeurIPS 2025. Currently, she works as a training manager and researcher at an AI organization, where she designs curricula and teaches NLP. Additionally, she mentors students transitioning from linguistics into AI research.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a NLP engineer and researcher who holds a degree in Linguistics from a Nigerian university. Her work focuses on developing efficient, robust NLP models for low-resource African languages. Her expertise includes multilingual NLP, speech technologies, machine translation, code-switching, dataset curation, and LLM evaluation. She is dedicated to creating AI systems that promote language preservation, digital inclusion, and equitable technology access.As the founder and CEO of a global low-resource language initiative, she drives ethical data curation, inclusive research, and community innovation. She also served as a Workshop Chair at NeurIPS 2025. Currently, she works as a training manager and researcher at an AI organization, where she designs curricula and teaches NLP. Additionally, she mentors students transitioning from linguistics into AI research.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":128,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 5 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a machine Learning Engineer and AI researcher working on multilingual AI systems for African languages, with experience developing speech recognition, large language model evaluation, and data-centric AI solutions. Has contributed to research on African NLP, responsible AI, and culturally grounded AI systems, while building production AI products for data collection and language technologies. The mentor is passionate about mentoring early-career researchers, engineers, and founders working on impactful AI across Africa.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 5 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a machine Learning Engineer and AI researcher working on multilingual AI systems for African languages, with experience developing speech recognition, large language model evaluation, and data-centric AI solutions. Has contributed to research on African NLP, responsible AI, and culturally grounded AI systems, while building production AI products for data collection and language technologies. The mentor is passionate about mentoring early-career researchers, engineers, and founders working on impactful AI across Africa.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":127,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This independent early-career researcher holds a PhD from a prominent German research institute and recently secured a prestigious fellowship to transition to a South African university. Her work bridges European and African scientific communities, focusing on international research collaborations. Her core research interests center around NeuroAI, specifically AI-driven epilepsy diagnosis and biophysical neural network modeling to study human cortex maturation. If you are interested in how to land your first grant after your PhD, how to build long-lasting international collaborations, or really anything around NeuroAI this session is for you.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This independent early-career researcher holds a PhD from a prominent German research institute and recently secured a prestigious fellowship to transition to a South African university. Her work bridges European and African scientific communities, focusing on international research collaborations. Her core research interests center around NeuroAI, specifically AI-driven epilepsy diagnosis and biophysical neural network modeling to study human cortex maturation. If you are interested in how to land your first grant after your PhD, how to build long-lasting international collaborations, or really anything around NeuroAI this session is for you.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":125,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a Data Scientist at an AI consulting firm and an MSc candidate in Statistics and Data Science at the University of Cape Town. His professional work focuses heavily on bridging the gap between theoretical evolutionary computation and the \\u0022gritty\\u0022 realities of low-resource, high-uncertainty industrial environments, specifically translating predictive frameworks into real-world prescriptive AI for logistics and corporate networks. Apart from technical topics like Bayesian inference, optimization solvers, and production-ready machine learning pipelines, the mentor is highly passionate about mentoring individuals on career development, navigating the transition from academia to industry, corporate problem-formulation, and effectively communicating technical data science insights to executive stakeholders.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a Data Scientist at an AI consulting firm and an MSc candidate in Statistics and Data Science at the University of Cape Town. His professional work focuses heavily on bridging the gap between theoretical evolutionary computation and the \\u0022gritty\\u0022 realities of low-resource, high-uncertainty industrial environments, specifically translating predictive frameworks into real-world prescriptive AI for logistics and corporate networks. Apart from technical topics like Bayesian inference, optimization solvers, and production-ready machine learning pipelines, the mentor is highly passionate about mentoring individuals on career development, navigating the transition from academia to industry, corporate problem-formulation, and effectively communicating technical data science insights to executive stakeholders.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":38,\"title\":\"GCs Housekeeping\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"GCs Housekeeping\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T09:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":37,\"title\":\"Who defines AI, and whose interests does it serve?\",\"description\":\"This talk will examine the promise and the reality of the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence, interrogating assumptions and fact-checking common narratives where Dr. Mitchell will show how the current common paradigm for advancing AI is largely controlled by a small set of actors with concentrated interests, and how this dynamic risks prioritizing power, influence, and market position over measurable human benefit.\\nFollowing the short talk, there will be a fireside chat moderated by Raesetje Sefala, a researcher at DAIR Institute\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Who defines AI, and whose interests does it serve?\",\"description\":\"This talk will examine the promise and the reality of the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence, interrogating assumptions and fact-checking common narratives where Dr. Mitchell will show how the current common paradigm for advancing AI is largely controlled by a small set of actors with concentrated interests, and how this dynamic risks prioritizing power, influence, and market position over measurable human benefit.\\nFollowing the short talk, there will be a fireside chat moderated by Raesetje Sefala, a researcher at DAIR Institute\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":254,\"name\":\"Keynote Fireside Chat\"},\"session_type_id\":254,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T09:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T10:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":43,\"name\":\"Margaret Mitchell\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":44,\"name\":\"Raesetje Sefala\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":36,\"title\":\"Alele-Williams Masters and Kambule Doctoral Awards\",\"description\":\"Alele-Williams Masters Award Recognises excellence by Masters degree candidates at African universities, in any area of computational and statistical sciences.\\n\\nWinner: Akinbobola Adegboyega, Nigeria\\nCitation: Akinbobola Adegboyega is recognised for a Master\\u0027s thesis that introduces affective fidelity as a new evaluation lens for machine translation in low-resource tonal languages, reframing emotion as a core measure of translation faithfulness rather than a secondary concern.\\nHis work targets Yor\\u00f9b\\u00e1, a language representing just 0.008% of Common Crawl training data. He produced a culturally validated bilingual emotion dataset of over 200 annotated paragraph pairs verified by native speakers, a reproducible benchmarking framework evaluating four major language models, and identified six distinct failure \\n\\nKambule Doctoral Award Recognises and encourages excellence in research and writing by doctoral candidates at African universities, in any area of computational and statistical sciences.\\n\\nWinner: Dr Everlyn Chimoto, Kenya\\n\\nCitation: Dr Everlyn Chimoto is recognised for a doctoral thesis on sentence alignment for the Marama dialect of Luhya, CAT data pruning which achieves 92% of full-data performance at 50% of the data with no additional compute cost, GrammaMT which delivers over 12 BLEU point improvements for endangered languages from as few as 21 grammatical examples, and COMET-QE active learning for efficient data selection. Together these form a framework immediately usable by African NLP practitioners working under real compute and data constraints.\\nBeyond the research, Dr. Chimoto has led KenyaNLP, contributed to Masakhane and AfricaNLP, and tutored at the Deep Learning Indaba. Her work is centred on improving model performance to make AI systems more inclusive for African language communities\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Alele-Williams Masters and Kambule Doctoral Awards\",\"description\":\"Alele-Williams Masters Award Recognises excellence by Masters degree candidates at African universities, in any area of computational and statistical sciences.\\n\\nWinner: Akinbobola Adegboyega, Nigeria\\nCitation: Akinbobola Adegboyega is recognised for a Master\\u0027s thesis that introduces affective fidelity as a new evaluation lens for machine translation in low-resource tonal languages, reframing emotion as a core measure of translation faithfulness rather than a secondary concern.\\nHis work targets Yor\\u00f9b\\u00e1, a language representing just 0.008% of Common Crawl training data. He produced a culturally validated bilingual emotion dataset of over 200 annotated paragraph pairs verified by native speakers, a reproducible benchmarking framework evaluating four major language models, and identified six distinct failure \\n\\nKambule Doctoral Award Recognises and encourages excellence in research and writing by doctoral candidates at African universities, in any area of computational and statistical sciences.\\n\\nWinner: Dr Everlyn Chimoto, Kenya\\n\\nCitation: Dr Everlyn Chimoto is recognised for a doctoral thesis on sentence alignment for the Marama dialect of Luhya, CAT data pruning which achieves 92% of full-data performance at 50% of the data with no additional compute cost, GrammaMT which delivers over 12 BLEU point improvements for endangered languages from as few as 21 grammatical examples, and COMET-QE active learning for efficient data selection. Together these form a framework immediately usable by African NLP practitioners working under real compute and data constraints.\\nBeyond the research, Dr. Chimoto has led KenyaNLP, contributed to Masakhane and AfricaNLP, and tutored at the Deep Learning Indaba. Her work is centred on improving model performance to make AI systems more inclusive for African language communities\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":245,\"name\":\"Awards Ceremony\"},\"session_type_id\":245,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T10:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T11:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":87,\"name\":\"Akinbobola Adegboyega\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":88,\"name\":\"Everlyn Chimoto\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":39,\"title\":\"Doctoral Showcase\",\"description\":\"Judges: Atnafu Lambebo and Girmaw Abebe\\nSession Chair: Hatem Haddad\\n\\nThe DLI 2026 Doctoral Showcase offers registered PhD students the opportunity to present their ongoing research, receive feedback from experts, and engage with fellow doctoral researchers. Each selected participant will be allocated 5 minutes to present their research, followed by a short discussion and feedback session.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Doctoral Showcase\",\"description\":\"Judges: Atnafu Lambebo and Girmaw Abebe\\nSession Chair: Hatem Haddad\\n\\nThe DLI 2026 Doctoral Showcase offers registered PhD students the opportunity to present their ongoing research, receive feedback from experts, and engage with fellow doctoral researchers. Each selected participant will be allocated 5 minutes to present their research, followed by a short discussion and feedback session.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T11:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T12:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":100,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T12:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":24,\"title\":\"Group Photo\",\"description\":\"The group photo is one of the key moments at Indaba. Everyone comes together wearing the official Indaba T-shirt to capture a memorable photo of the event. We encourage you to wear your Indaba T-shirt during the day to be part of this iconic snapshot. \",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Group Photo\",\"description\":\"The group photo is one of the key moments at Indaba. Everyone comes together wearing the official Indaba T-shirt to capture a memorable photo of the event. We encourage you to wear your Indaba T-shirt during the day to be part of this iconic snapshot. \"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T12:20:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":41,\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T15:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":138,\"title\":\"Mila Mentorship Session: Considering Graduate Studies at Mila Quebec [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Considering Graduate Studies? Join this session for tips on building a strong application for MSc and PhD programs. Mila hosts the world\\u2019s largest deep learning research community. To help applicants find a supervisor and give their profiles extra visibility, Mila offers an optional tool called the Supervision Request Process (SRP). In this session, you will get tips, insights, and the opportunity to ask questions directly to the people who select and evaluate applications: \\nProf. David Adelani \\u2013 Mila-affiliated Professor who participates in and selects students via the SRP\\nKarou Diallo \\u2013 PhD Student, SRP Evaluation Committee member\\nCristina Eickhoff de Oliveira \\u2013 Academic Affairs Advisor \\u0026 SRP Coordinator\\nCarol Altimas \\u2013 MSc Student\\n\\n\\nHow to Prepare: To get the most out of this session, we encourage you to review the Mila Supervision Requests page (https:\\\/\\\/mila.quebec\\\/en\\\/prospective-students-and-postdocs\\\/research-programs\\\/request-supervisor) and explore their directory (https:\\\/\\\/mila.quebec\\\/en\\\/directory?mila-membership=36%2C32%2C31%2C33) to get an idea of the many professors affiliated with Mila.\\n\\nSign up for this session and submit your questions by filling out this form: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/XLjoJVJBo7jQyAXW7 \\n\\nNote: Mila is a research institute, not a degree-granting university. The SRP helps you find a supervisor affiliated with Mila. Once matched, you will be enrolled in an MSc or PhD program at your supervisor\\u0027s affiliated university.\\n\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mila Mentorship Session: Considering Graduate Studies at Mila Quebec [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Considering Graduate Studies? Join this session for tips on building a strong application for MSc and PhD programs. Mila hosts the world\\u2019s largest deep learning research community. To help applicants find a supervisor and give their profiles extra visibility, Mila offers an optional tool called the Supervision Request Process (SRP). In this session, you will get tips, insights, and the opportunity to ask questions directly to the people who select and evaluate applications: \\nProf. David Adelani \\u2013 Mila-affiliated Professor who participates in and selects students via the SRP\\nKarou Diallo \\u2013 PhD Student, SRP Evaluation Committee member\\nCristina Eickhoff de Oliveira \\u2013 Academic Affairs Advisor \\u0026 SRP Coordinator\\nCarol Altimas \\u2013 MSc Student\\n\\n\\nHow to Prepare: To get the most out of this session, we encourage you to review the Mila Supervision Requests page (https:\\\/\\\/mila.quebec\\\/en\\\/prospective-students-and-postdocs\\\/research-programs\\\/request-supervisor) and explore their directory (https:\\\/\\\/mila.quebec\\\/en\\\/directory?mila-membership=36%2C32%2C31%2C33) to get an idea of the many professors affiliated with Mila.\\n\\nSign up for this session and submit your questions by filling out this form: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/XLjoJVJBo7jQyAXW7 \\n\\nNote: Mila is a research institute, not a degree-granting university. The SRP helps you find a supervisor affiliated with Mila. Once matched, you will be enrolled in an MSc or PhD program at your supervisor\\u0027s affiliated university.\\n\\n\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat Mila\\u00a0: Envisager des \\u00e9tudes sup\\u00e9rieures \\u00e0 Mila Qu\\u00e9bec [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Vous envisagez des \\u00e9tudes sup\\u00e9rieures ? Participez \\u00e0 cette session pour obtenir des conseils sur la constitution d\\u0027un dossier de candidature solide pour les programmes de ma\\u00eetrise et de doctorat. Mila h\\u00e9berge la plus grande communaut\\u00e9 de recherche en apprentissage profond au monde. Afin d\\u0027aider les candidats \\u00e0 trouver un directeur de th\\u00e8se et \\u00e0 accro\\u00eetre la visibilit\\u00e9 de leur profil, Mila propose un outil optionnel appel\\u00e9 Processus de Demande de Supervision (PDS). Au cours de cette session, vous recevrez des conseils, des informations et vous aurez l\\u0027occasion de poser directement vos questions aux personnes qui s\\u00e9lectionnent et \\u00e9valuent les candidatures\\u00a0:\\n\\nProf. David Adelani \\u2013 Professeur affili\\u00e9 \\u00e0 Mila, participant au PDS et \\u00e0 la s\\u00e9lection des \\u00e9tudiants via ce processus\\n\\nKarou Diallo \\u2013 Doctorant, membre du comit\\u00e9 d\\u0027\\u00e9valuation du PDS\\n\\nCristina Eickhoff de Oliveira \\u2013 Conseill\\u00e8re aux affaires acad\\u00e9miques et coordinatrice du PDS\\n\\nCarol Altimas \\u2013 \\u00c9tudiante en ma\\u00eetrise\\n\\nComment se pr\\u00e9parer\\u00a0: Pour tirer le meilleur parti de cette session, nous vous encourageons \\u00e0 consulter notre page sur les demandes de supervision et \\u00e0 explorer notre annuaire afin de vous familiariser avec les nombreux professeurs affili\\u00e9s \\u00e0 Mila.\\n\\nInscrivez-vous \\u00e0 cette session et soumettez vos questions en remplissant ce formulaire.\\n\\nRemarque\\u00a0: Mila est un institut de recherche, et non une universit\\u00e9 d\\u00e9livrant des dipl\\u00f4mes. Le programme SRP vous aide \\u00e0 trouver un directeur de th\\u00e8se affili\\u00e9 \\u00e0 Mila. Une fois votre candidature retenue, vous serez inscrit(e) \\u00e0 un programme de master ou de doctorat dans l\\u2019universit\\u00e9 d\\u2019affiliation de votre directeur de th\\u00e8se.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T14:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T15:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":17,\"name\":\"David Adelani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":105,\"name\":\"Karou Diallo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":106,\"name\":\"Cristina Eickhoff de Oliveira\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":107,\"name\":\"Carol Altimas\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":40,\"title\":\"Ideathon Presentations\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Ideathon Presentations\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":66,\"title\":\"African Startups\",\"description\":\"The Deep Learning Indaba brings together entrepreneurs, investors, AI experts, industry leaders, and enthusiasts to discuss strategies, challenges, and opportunities in leveraging AI to scale emerging African businesses. As AI, machine learning, and data science become central to innovation and growth across industries, African companies are increasingly integrating these technologies into their operations, products, and services to drive impact and productivity.\\nThis 90-minute session spotlights innovative African-led startups tackling critical challenges across health, agriculture, education, media, and AI-driven technology, combining a fast-paced showcase with an in-depth panel discussion to foster dialogue, share real-world experience, and inspire collaboration across the continent and beyond.\\nAll selected startups will also have a dedicated exhibition booth during DLI 2026, with each startup assigned a specific booth time slot for hands-on product demos, one-on-one conversations, and peer mentorship throughout the event. \\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"African Startups\",\"description\":\"The Deep Learning Indaba brings together entrepreneurs, investors, AI experts, industry leaders, and enthusiasts to discuss strategies, challenges, and opportunities in leveraging AI to scale emerging African businesses. As AI, machine learning, and data science become central to innovation and growth across industries, African companies are increasingly integrating these technologies into their operations, products, and services to drive impact and productivity.\\nThis 90-minute session spotlights innovative African-led startups tackling critical challenges across health, agriculture, education, media, and AI-driven technology, combining a fast-paced showcase with an in-depth panel discussion to foster dialogue, share real-world experience, and inspire collaboration across the continent and beyond.\\nAll selected startups will also have a dedicated exhibition booth during DLI 2026, with each startup assigned a specific booth time slot for hands-on product demos, one-on-one conversations, and peer mentorship throughout the event. \\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":291,\"name\":\"RIAD\"},\"session_type_id\":291,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T16:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":121,\"name\":\"Lois Dagana\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":122,\"name\":\"Tshiunza Tshibuabua Paulin\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":123,\"name\":\"Mphatso Soko\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":124,\"name\":\"Gift Lubele\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":125,\"name\":\"Daniel Samuel Etukudo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":126,\"name\":\"Almustapha Damilola Usman\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":127,\"name\":\"Tafadzwa Wachenuka\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":128,\"name\":\"John Fiewor\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":11,\"title\":\"African Datasets\",\"description\":\"As part of the Research in Africa Days session, we will showcase exciting work being done around datasets that aim to solve real societal problems across the African continent. A few selected datasets will also be invited to give a 6-minute presentation during the African Datasets session on Tuesday. In addition, we will host a panel discussion under the theme: \\u0022Building and Sustaining Meaningful Datasets in Africa\\u0022. During the panel, selected dataset authors will share insights on:\\nChallenges in building datasets in Africa\\nEnsuring data quality and ethics\\nImpact and reuse of African datasets\\nThe programme will feature 10 dataset presentations, offering concise introductions to a range of datasets, alongside two spotlight talks that explore selected datasets in greater depth.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"African Datasets\",\"description\":\"As part of the Research in Africa Days session, we will showcase exciting work being done around datasets that aim to solve real societal problems across the African continent. A few selected datasets will also be invited to give a 6-minute presentation during the African Datasets session on Tuesday. In addition, we will host a panel discussion under the theme: \\u0022Building and Sustaining Meaningful Datasets in Africa\\u0022. During the panel, selected dataset authors will share insights on:\\nChallenges in building datasets in Africa\\nEnsuring data quality and ethics\\nImpact and reuse of African datasets\\nThe programme will feature 10 dataset presentations, offering concise introductions to a range of datasets, alongside two spotlight talks that explore selected datasets in greater depth.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":291,\"name\":\"RIAD\"},\"session_type_id\":291,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T16:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":50,\"name\":\"Foutse Yuehgoh\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":113,\"name\":\"Adel BENALI\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":114,\"name\":\"Benayad Mohamed\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":115,\"name\":\"Kavuma Lameck\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":116,\"name\":\"Ertony Basilwango\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":117,\"name\":\"John Emeka Eze\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":118,\"name\":\"Chinasa T. Okolo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":119,\"name\":\"Jesse Jojo Johnson\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":120,\"name\":\"Preston Osoro\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":67,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T17:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":68,\"title\":\"Ideathon Networking\",\"description\":\"Connect with fellow participants and potential teammates in dedicated networking spaces. Join the networking sessions to facilitate meeting other interested participants and to speak to previous participants\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Ideathon Networking\",\"description\":\"Connect with fellow participants and potential teammates in dedicated networking spaces. Join the networking sessions to facilitate meeting other interested participants and to speak to previous participants\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":69,\"title\":\"Startups Pitch Competition\",\"description\":\"The Startup Showcase at DLI 2026 offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to present innovative AI-driven ventures, connect with mentors, investors, and industry partners, and compete in the inaugural Indaba Startup Pitch Competition, organised in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Selected startups will participate in a week-long support pipeline, including in-person mentorship, and a live pitch competition where each team will deliver a three-minute pitch followed by a three-minute Q\\u0026A with an expert judging panel. The competition is open to startups at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage or beyond, and only registered DLI 2026 attendees are eligible to apply. Winners will receive prizes including cloud credits worth up to USD 15,000 and an invitation to attend the AI for Good Summit, with awards presented during the DLI 2026 closing ceremony.\\n\\nShortlisted Startup Founders: TBD\\n\\nJudges: Dan Ekpe, Charlene Chen and Babacar Seck\\n\\nOrganisers: Kira D\\u00fcsterwald, Krupa Suchak, Aya Salama, Volvianne Saphir Mfogo\\n\\nSession Chair:  Krupa Suchak and TBD\\n\\nWebsite: https:\\\/\\\/deeplearningindaba.com\\\/2026\\\/924-2\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Startups Pitch Competition\",\"description\":\"The Startup Showcase at DLI 2026 offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to present innovative AI-driven ventures, connect with mentors, investors, and industry partners, and compete in the inaugural Indaba Startup Pitch Competition, organised in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Selected startups will participate in a week-long support pipeline, including in-person mentorship, and a live pitch competition where each team will deliver a three-minute pitch followed by a three-minute Q\\u0026A with an expert judging panel. The competition is open to startups at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage or beyond, and only registered DLI 2026 attendees are eligible to apply. Winners will receive prizes including cloud credits worth up to USD 15,000 and an invitation to attend the AI for Good Summit, with awards presented during the DLI 2026 closing ceremony.\\n\\nShortlisted Startup Founders: TBD\\n\\nJudges: Dan Ekpe, Charlene Chen and Babacar Seck\\n\\nOrganisers: Kira D\\u00fcsterwald, Krupa Suchak, Aya Salama, Volvianne Saphir Mfogo\\n\\nSession Chair:  Krupa Suchak and TBD\\n\\nWebsite: https:\\\/\\\/deeplearningindaba.com\\\/2026\\\/924-2\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":95,\"title\":\"Soft skills to navigate in Academia: from MSc\\\/PhD to Postdoc and permanent position\",\"description\":\"This session will cover topics such as: \\ndeveloping professional networks, \\ncommunicating research effectively, \\nbuilding collaborations, \\nleading research projects, \\nsecuring funding, \\nmaintaining well-being, \\nor making informed career decisions at each stage of the academic journey from MSc and PhD to postdoctoral and permanent research positions.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Soft skills to navigate in Academia: from MSc\\\/PhD to Postdoc and permanent position\",\"description\":\"This session will cover topics such as: \\ndeveloping professional networks, \\ncommunicating research effectively, \\nbuilding collaborations, \\nleading research projects, \\nsecuring funding, \\nmaintaining well-being, \\nor making informed career decisions at each stage of the academic journey from MSc and PhD to postdoctoral and permanent research positions.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":53,\"name\":\"Jonathan Shock\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":112,\"title\":\"Soft skills for a career in Industry\",\"description\":\"This session will cover topics such as: \\njob search strategies and CV\\npreparing for an interview in industry\\nexploring career paths in industry\\nbuilding a strong professional profile\\nnetworking\\neffective communication\\nteamwork, leadership, problem-solving\\nproject and stakeholder management,\\nadapting to workplace culture\\ndeveloping the professional skills needed to thrive in industry from the MSc and PhD level onward.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Soft skills for a career in Industry\",\"description\":\"This session will cover topics such as: \\njob search strategies and CV\\npreparing for an interview in industry\\nexploring career paths in industry\\nbuilding a strong professional profile\\nnetworking\\neffective communication\\nteamwork, leadership, problem-solving\\nproject and stakeholder management,\\nadapting to workplace culture\\ndeveloping the professional skills needed to thrive in industry from the MSc and PhD level onward.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":54,\"name\":\"Avishkar Bhoopchand\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":130,\"name\":\"Sophie Shearer\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":96,\"title\":\"GSMA Social \\u2013\\u2013  African Languages AI initiative [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"sign-up required for the socials \",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"GSMA Social \\u2013\\u2013  African Languages AI initiative [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"sign-up required for the socials \"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":289,\"name\":\"Sponsor Session\"},\"session_type_id\":289,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":42,\"title\":\"Dinner\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Dinner\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-04T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-04T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":43,\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T06:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":130,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"For the last seven years I have worked in industry as a Research Program Manager.  These days, I work in a team mapping out the world after AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), thinking carefully about the risks and opportunities AGI brings and doing rigorous research on these questions (from computational, economic, philosophical and human-computer-interaction perspectives).  In the past I have worked in frontier research teams, and for three years I was a program manager for post-training in Gemini.  I would love to hear what you think AGI will mean for you and your communities!\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat 3 [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Depuis sept ans, je travaille dans l\\u0027industrie en tant que responsable de programmes de recherche. Actuellement, je fais partie d\\u0027une \\u00e9quipe qui imagine le monde post-AGI (Intelligence Artificielle G\\u00e9n\\u00e9rale). Nous analysons en profondeur les risques et les opportunit\\u00e9s que l\\u0027AGI repr\\u00e9sente et menons des recherches rigoureuses sur ces questions (sous des angles computationnels, \\u00e9conomiques, philosophiques et d\\u0027interaction homme-machine). Auparavant, j\\u0027ai travaill\\u00e9 dans des \\u00e9quipes de recherche de pointe et j\\u0027ai \\u00e9t\\u00e9 responsable de programme de suivi post-formation au sein du projet Gemini pendant trois ans. J\\u0027aimerais beaucoup conna\\u00eetre votre avis sur l\\u0027impact de l\\u0027AGI pour vous et vos communaut\\u00e9s\\u00a0!\\n\\nInscription\\u00a0: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"},{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"For the last seven years I have worked in industry as a Research Program Manager.  These days, I work in a team mapping out the world after AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), thinking carefully about the risks and opportunities AGI brings and doing rigorous research on these questions (from computational, economic, philosophical and human-computer-interaction perspectives).  In the past I have worked in frontier research teams, and for three years I was a program manager for post-training in Gemini.  I would love to hear what you think AGI will mean for you and your communities!\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":140,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 5 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This session\\u0027s mentor is an experienced artificial intelligence researcher and engineering leader with expertise spanning machine learning, data science, cloud computing, and large-scale AI systems. They have led and contributed to the development of AI solutions across both research and industry, building production-ready machine learning systems, scalable data platforms, and cloud-native AI infrastructure.\\nTheir work has included applying AI to real-world challenges across multiple domains, including digital health, where they contributed to developing AI-powered solutions that assist clinicians in delivering mental health services. Their experience also includes designing end-to-end AI pipelines, developing intelligent applications, and translating research into practical, impactful technologies. They are passionate about helping aspiring engineers develop the skills needed to succeed in modern AI and data-driven industries while fostering responsible and impactful adoption of AI.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 5 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This session\\u0027s mentor is an experienced artificial intelligence researcher and engineering leader with expertise spanning machine learning, data science, cloud computing, and large-scale AI systems. They have led and contributed to the development of AI solutions across both research and industry, building production-ready machine learning systems, scalable data platforms, and cloud-native AI infrastructure.\\nTheir work has included applying AI to real-world challenges across multiple domains, including digital health, where they contributed to developing AI-powered solutions that assist clinicians in delivering mental health services. Their experience also includes designing end-to-end AI pipelines, developing intelligent applications, and translating research into practical, impactful technologies. They are passionate about helping aspiring engineers develop the skills needed to succeed in modern AI and data-driven industries while fostering responsible and impactful adoption of AI.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat 5 [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Le mentor de cette session est un chercheur et ing\\u00e9nieur chevronn\\u00e9 en intelligence artificielle, expert en apprentissage automatique, science des donn\\u00e9es, informatique en nuage et syst\\u00e8mes d\\u0027IA \\u00e0 grande \\u00e9chelle. Il a dirig\\u00e9 et contribu\\u00e9 au d\\u00e9veloppement de solutions d\\u0027IA dans la recherche et l\\u0027industrie, en concevant des syst\\u00e8mes d\\u0027apprentissage automatique pr\\u00eats pour la production, des plateformes de donn\\u00e9es \\u00e9volutives et une infrastructure d\\u0027IA native du nuage.\\n\\nSes travaux ont notamment consist\\u00e9 \\u00e0 appliquer l\\u0027IA \\u00e0 des probl\\u00e9matiques concr\\u00e8tes dans de multiples domaines, dont la sant\\u00e9 num\\u00e9rique, o\\u00f9 il a contribu\\u00e9 au d\\u00e9veloppement de solutions d\\u0027IA pour aider les cliniciens \\u00e0 fournir des services de sant\\u00e9 mentale. Son exp\\u00e9rience inclut \\u00e9galement la conception de pipelines d\\u0027IA de bout en bout, le d\\u00e9veloppement d\\u0027applications intelligentes et la transformation de la recherche en technologies pratiques et performantes. Il a \\u00e0 c\\u0153ur d\\u0027aider les jeunes ing\\u00e9nieurs \\u00e0 acqu\\u00e9rir les comp\\u00e9tences n\\u00e9cessaires pour r\\u00e9ussir dans les secteurs modernes de l\\u0027IA et des donn\\u00e9es, tout en favorisant une adoption responsable et impactante de l\\u0027IA.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":131,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a PhD researcher at the University of Montreal and the Mila Quebec AI Institute. He works at the intersection of Neuroscience and AI, i.e. drawing inspiration from the thalamocortical gating mechanism to come up with sophisticated AI algorithms to mitigate the problem of catastrophic forgetting and compositional generalization. The mentor is happy to talk about anything.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat 4 [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Le mentor est doctorant \\u00e0 l\\u0027Universit\\u00e9 de Montr\\u00e9al et \\u00e0 l\\u0027Institut d\\u0027intelligence artificielle Mila Qu\\u00e9bec. Ses travaux portent sur l\\u0027intersection des neurosciences et de l\\u0027IA\\u00a0; il s\\u0027inspire notamment du m\\u00e9canisme de contr\\u00f4le thalamocortical pour concevoir des algorithmes d\\u0027IA sophistiqu\\u00e9s visant \\u00e0 att\\u00e9nuer les probl\\u00e8mes d\\u0027oubli catastrophique et de g\\u00e9n\\u00e9ralisation compositionnelle. Le mentor est disponible pour discuter de tout sujet.\\n\\nInscription\\u00a0: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"},{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a PhD researcher at the University of Montreal and the Mila Quebec AI Institute. He works at the intersection of Neuroscience and AI, i.e. drawing inspiration from the thalamocortical gating mechanism to come up with sophisticated AI algorithms to mitigate the problem of catastrophic forgetting and compositional generalization. The mentor is happy to talk about anything.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":44,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is currently technical lead at HCDS, University of Hamburg. His expertise is NLP in general and Social NLP for low-resource languages, AI model integration for low-resource domains such as healthcare, agriculture and so on.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is currently technical lead at HCDS, University of Hamburg. His expertise is NLP in general and Social NLP for low-resource languages, AI model integration for low-resource domains such as healthcare, agriculture and so on.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat 1 [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Le mentor est actuellement responsable technique au HCDS de l\\u0027Universit\\u00e9 de Hambourg. Il est sp\\u00e9cialis\\u00e9 en traitement automatique du langage naturel (TALN) en g\\u00e9n\\u00e9ral et en TALN social pour les langues \\u00e0 faibles ressources, ainsi qu\\u0027en int\\u00e9gration de mod\\u00e8les d\\u0027IA pour des domaines \\u00e0 faibles ressources tels que la sant\\u00e9, l\\u0027agriculture, etc.\\n\\nInscription\\u00a0: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":129,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is platform engineer and Google Developer Expert who brings four years of standalone experience managing production infrastructure. He is also a highly successful startup competitor, having won multiple national hackathons and research grants, including a major funding award for an AI and blockchain-driven fraud detection system. His unique background combines technical execution with proven pitching success. As a mentor, he helps builders turn technical ideas into working solutions. He provides direct, honest feedback on pitch decks, technical narratives, and product demos to ensure technical claims land effectively with evaluators.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat 2 [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Le mentor est ing\\u00e9nieur de plateforme et expert Google Developer, fort de quatre ann\\u00e9es d\\u0027exp\\u00e9rience en gestion d\\u0027infrastructures de production. Il a \\u00e9galement brill\\u00e9 dans le monde des startups, remportant de nombreux hackathons nationaux et obtenant plusieurs subventions de recherche, dont un financement important pour un syst\\u00e8me de d\\u00e9tection de fraude bas\\u00e9 sur l\\u0027IA et la blockchain. Son parcours unique allie expertise technique et succ\\u00e8s av\\u00e9r\\u00e9 dans la pr\\u00e9sentation de projets. En tant que mentor, il accompagne les d\\u00e9veloppeurs dans la transformation de leurs id\\u00e9es techniques en solutions op\\u00e9rationnelles. Il leur fournit un retour direct et constructif sur leurs pr\\u00e9sentations, leurs descriptions techniques et leurs d\\u00e9monstrations de produits, afin de garantir l\\u0027impact de leurs arguments techniques aupr\\u00e8s des \\u00e9valuateurs.\\n\\nInscription\\u00a0: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"},{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is platform engineer and Google Developer Expert who brings four years of standalone experience managing production infrastructure. He is also a highly successful startup competitor, having won multiple national hackathons and research grants, including a major funding award for an AI and blockchain-driven fraud detection system. His unique background combines technical execution with proven pitching success. As a mentor, he helps builders turn technical ideas into working solutions. He provides direct, honest feedback on pitch decks, technical narratives, and product demos to ensure technical claims land effectively with evaluators.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":45,\"title\":\"GCs Housekeeping\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"GCs Housekeeping\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T09:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":46,\"title\":\"What Do Our Benchmarks Actually Measure? Evaluation Challenges for African Language AI\",\"description\":\"Over the past decade, research on African languages in natural language processing and speech technologies has accelerated significantly. New datasets, multilingual models, and collaborative research initiatives have led to measurable improvements across tasks such as machine translation, automatic speech recognition, and language modeling. These developments demonstrate that progress for historically under-resourced languages is both possible and increasingly visible.\\n\\nHowever, as the field begins to envision supporting thousands of the world\\u0027s languages, a critical question emerges: how should progress actually be measured? Many current evaluation benchmarks in NLP were designed for well-resourced languages and rely on assumptions about standardized text, stable orthographies, and abundant labeled data. When applied to African and other Indigenous languages, these frameworks often capture only a narrow slice of linguistic reality while privileging what is easiest to measure.\\n\\nIn this talk, Prof. Marivate will explore the growing gap between advances in language modeling and the evaluation methods used to assess them. Drawing on emerging analyses of African language benchmarks, including work examining task difficulty and model performance variation where he argues that rethinking evaluation is essential for enabling truly multilingual AI. Moving forward, evaluation frameworks must better reflect linguistic diversity, community priorities, and the complex sociotechnical contexts in which these languages are used.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"What Do Our Benchmarks Actually Measure? Evaluation Challenges for African Language AI\",\"description\":\"Over the past decade, research on African languages in natural language processing and speech technologies has accelerated significantly. New datasets, multilingual models, and collaborative research initiatives have led to measurable improvements across tasks such as machine translation, automatic speech recognition, and language modeling. These developments demonstrate that progress for historically under-resourced languages is both possible and increasingly visible.\\n\\nHowever, as the field begins to envision supporting thousands of the world\\u0027s languages, a critical question emerges: how should progress actually be measured? Many current evaluation benchmarks in NLP were designed for well-resourced languages and rely on assumptions about standardized text, stable orthographies, and abundant labeled data. When applied to African and other Indigenous languages, these frameworks often capture only a narrow slice of linguistic reality while privileging what is easiest to measure.\\n\\nIn this talk, Prof. Marivate will explore the growing gap between advances in language modeling and the evaluation methods used to assess them. Drawing on emerging analyses of African language benchmarks, including work examining task difficulty and model performance variation where he argues that rethinking evaluation is essential for enabling truly multilingual AI. Moving forward, evaluation frameworks must better reflect linguistic diversity, community priorities, and the complex sociotechnical contexts in which these languages are used.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":252,\"name\":\"Keynote\"},\"session_type_id\":252,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T09:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T10:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":45,\"name\":\"Vukosi Marivate\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":47,\"title\":\"Community Session: Celebrating Grassroots AI Initiatives\",\"description\":\"African AI communities are driving innovation, expanding access to education, and creating opportunities for the next generation of researchers and practitioners. This year\\u0027s Community Session celebrates these grassroots efforts by bringing together community leaders, innovators, and ecosystem partners to share their experiences, showcase impactful initiatives, and discuss strategies for building sustainable AI ecosystems across the continent.\\nThe session opens with **Voices of Underrepresented Communities**, where emerging communities highlight their journeys, challenges, successes, and failures in fostering inclusive participation in AI. This is followed by a **guest talk** on building and empowering AI communities for long-term sustainability, offering practical insights into strengthening local ecosystems through partnerships, capacity building, and strategic investment.\\nParticipants will then discover innovative, community-led AI projects during the Community Innovation Showcase, featuring outstanding initiatives that demonstrate how local communities are applying AI to address real-world challenges. The session concludes with a panel discussion, **\\u0022Funding the Vision: How African AI Communities Are Securing Support for Sustainable Growth\\u0022** bringing together community leaders to explore funding models, partnerships, and lessons learned in creating resilient and impactful AI communities.\\nWhether you are an established community leader, an aspiring organizer, a researcher, or simply passionate about the future of AI in Africa, this session offers an opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired by the people shaping the continent\\u0027s AI landscape. Join us to celebrate their achievements, gain valuable knowledge, and be inspired by the collective efforts of our affiliate DLI community.\\nMore details on the session:\\n\\n**Voices of Underrepresented Communities (20 minutes)**\\n- HCFCAD \\u2013 RCA AI Pioneers by Kadidja Janny POMBOT FALL\\n- Mauritanian Women\\u200b in Machine Learning (MWiML) by Rahma Boghale\\n- ChadAI Women by Lauriane Mbagdje Dorenan\\n- AI Eswatini by Samkelo Msibi\\n\\n**Guest Talk** on Building and Empowering AI Communities for Long-Term Sustainability by Dr. Brando Okolo (African Union Development Agency)   (10 minutes)\\n\\n**Community Innovation Showcase (20 minutes)**\\n\\n\\n- AI4Africa by Faruq Afolabi\\n- Data Science Nigeria, Ekiti State University (DSN EKSU) by Favour Falade\\n- AI Eswatini by Samkelo Msibi\\n- MedVi by Victor Ogundele\\n\\n**Panel Discussion:** Funding the Vision: How African AI Communities Are Securing Support for Sustainable Growth (40 minutes)\\n\\nThe communities involved in the panel discussion are:\\n- Data Science Nigeria by Aanu Oyeniran \\n- ML Collective by Chinonyelum Rosemary Igwe \\n- Her AI Africa by Petra Agien\\n- GeoAI by Gilles Quentin Hacheme\\n- Moderator: Paul Kennedy  (Zindi)\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Community Session: Celebrating Grassroots AI Initiatives\",\"description\":\"African AI communities are driving innovation, expanding access to education, and creating opportunities for the next generation of researchers and practitioners. This year\\u0027s Community Session celebrates these grassroots efforts by bringing together community leaders, innovators, and ecosystem partners to share their experiences, showcase impactful initiatives, and discuss strategies for building sustainable AI ecosystems across the continent.\\nThe session opens with **Voices of Underrepresented Communities**, where emerging communities highlight their journeys, challenges, successes, and failures in fostering inclusive participation in AI. This is followed by a **guest talk** on building and empowering AI communities for long-term sustainability, offering practical insights into strengthening local ecosystems through partnerships, capacity building, and strategic investment.\\nParticipants will then discover innovative, community-led AI projects during the Community Innovation Showcase, featuring outstanding initiatives that demonstrate how local communities are applying AI to address real-world challenges. The session concludes with a panel discussion, **\\u0022Funding the Vision: How African AI Communities Are Securing Support for Sustainable Growth\\u0022** bringing together community leaders to explore funding models, partnerships, and lessons learned in creating resilient and impactful AI communities.\\nWhether you are an established community leader, an aspiring organizer, a researcher, or simply passionate about the future of AI in Africa, this session offers an opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired by the people shaping the continent\\u0027s AI landscape. Join us to celebrate their achievements, gain valuable knowledge, and be inspired by the collective efforts of our affiliate DLI community.\\nMore details on the session:\\n\\n**Voices of Underrepresented Communities (20 minutes)**\\n- HCFCAD \\u2013 RCA AI Pioneers by Kadidja Janny POMBOT FALL\\n- Mauritanian Women\\u200b in Machine Learning (MWiML) by Rahma Boghale\\n- ChadAI Women by Lauriane Mbagdje Dorenan\\n- AI Eswatini by Samkelo Msibi\\n\\n**Guest Talk** on Building and Empowering AI Communities for Long-Term Sustainability by Dr. Brando Okolo (African Union Development Agency)   (10 minutes)\\n\\n**Community Innovation Showcase (20 minutes)**\\n\\n\\n- AI4Africa by Faruq Afolabi\\n- Data Science Nigeria, Ekiti State University (DSN EKSU) by Favour Falade\\n- AI Eswatini by Samkelo Msibi\\n- MedVi by Victor Ogundele\\n\\n**Panel Discussion:** Funding the Vision: How African AI Communities Are Securing Support for Sustainable Growth (40 minutes)\\n\\nThe communities involved in the panel discussion are:\\n- Data Science Nigeria by Aanu Oyeniran \\n- ML Collective by Chinonyelum Rosemary Igwe \\n- Her AI Africa by Petra Agien\\n- GeoAI by Gilles Quentin Hacheme\\n- Moderator: Paul Kennedy  (Zindi)\\n\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"Session communautaire\\u00a0: C\\u00e9l\\u00e9bration des initiatives citoyennes en mati\\u00e8re d\\u2019IA\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T10:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":55,\"name\":\"Kadidja Janny POMBOT FALL\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":56,\"name\":\"Rahma Boghale\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":57,\"name\":\"Lauriane Mbagdje Dorenan\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":58,\"name\":\"Samkelo Msibi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":59,\"name\":\"Brando Okolo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":60,\"name\":\"Faruq Afolabi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":61,\"name\":\"Favour Falade\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":62,\"name\":\"Victor Ogundele\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":63,\"name\":\"Aanu Oyeniran\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":64,\"name\":\"Chinonyelum Rosemary Igwe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":65,\"name\":\"Petra Agien\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":66,\"name\":\"Gilles Quentin Hacheme\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":67,\"name\":\"Paul Kennedy\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":48,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T11:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T12:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":49,\"title\":\"IndabaX Orals\",\"description\":\"10 nominees for the Research in Africa Showcase day from the different IndabaX Chapters across the continent will give 3 minute pitches of their research that they will be presenting as posters.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"IndabaX Orals\",\"description\":\"10 nominees for the Research in Africa Showcase day from the different IndabaX Chapters across the continent will give 3 minute pitches of their research that they will be presenting as posters.\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"IndabaX\",\"description\":\"Dix candidats s\\u00e9lectionn\\u00e9s pour la journ\\u00e9e de pr\\u00e9sentation de la recherche en Afrique, issus des diff\\u00e9rents chapitres IndabaX du continent, pr\\u00e9senteront leurs recherches en 3 minutes, sous forme d\\u0027affiches.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":291,\"name\":\"RIAD\"},\"session_type_id\":291,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T12:45:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":68,\"name\":\"TWITE NDEZE\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":69,\"name\":\"ASMAA MOHAMED IBRAHIM KHALIL MOAWAD\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":70,\"name\":\"Yusupha Sinjanka\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":71,\"name\":\"Foromo Pierre Guilavogui\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":72,\"name\":\"Mtende Kuyokwa\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":73,\"name\":\"Filipe Jone\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":74,\"name\":\"Paule Marcelle Elanga\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":75,\"name\":\"Folasewa Abdulsalam\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":76,\"name\":\"Mum Mayiik Kiir Deng\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":77,\"name\":\"Tinevimbo Musingadi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":106,\"title\":\"Publication Orals\",\"description\":\"The Deep Learning Indaba 2026 invites researchers to submit their most substantial, original, and impactful work in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and AI, particularly those that address Africa\\u2019s unique challenges and opportunities. Accepted papers will be presented at the Research in Africa Showcase, providing a platform for engagement with leading AI scholars, industry experts, and policymakers. All accepted papers will be published as Indaba proceedings. \\n\\nSession Chair:  Atnafu Lambebo \\n\\nThe following papers will be presented orally at the Indaba:\\n\\n- Attention-Guided Structural Pruning for Cross-Modal \\nAlignment Preservation in Vision-Language Models - Jean Gabriel Mpuhwezimana, Boniface Chukwuemeka Godwin, Awud Mohamed\\n\\n- Large-Scale ASR Benchmark for Low-Resource Languages in Africa: Evaluating Accuracy, Efficiency and Architectural Trade-offs - Jean Gabriel Mpuhwezimana, Mercy Muchai, Nick Mumero Mwangi, Kevin Chege, Samuel Chege Maina \\n\\n- Interpretable Multi-Source Machine Learning for Urban Classification in Data-Scarce Regions - Peter Edemewe Ugege, John Aigbokhan, Emmanuel Akalumhe\\n\\n- Directional Hallucinations in African Neural Machine Translation - Alfred Malengo Kondoro\\u00ad, Chikezie Simon Amalagu, Verrah Akinyi Otiende, Okechukwu God\\u0027spraise\\n\\n- Data Capability Maturity Assessment: A Framework for Quantifying Data-Centric AI Readiness in Public Sector Systems - Terefe Feyisa Mamo, Zinawork Assefa Tura, Getachew Getu Enyew, Seble Hailu\\n\\n- Neural Density Estimation for Presence-Only Modelling of Aedes Mosquito Distributions under Data Sparsity - Rumbidzai Gwinji, Houriiyah Tegally, Carlin Foka\\n\\n- Auditing the Portability of SHAP Explanations Across Domains: From Standard Sentiment Benchmarks to Nigerian Text - chioma kamalu, Blessing Ogbuokiri, Jennifer Iloekwe\\n\\n- FloodTriage: A Decision-Theoretic Tri-Fold Deferral Policy for Human-AI Collaboration in Streamflow Forecasting - Lionel Cedric Gohouede\\n\\n- Listen, Attend, Understand: a Regularization Technique for Stable E2E Speech Translation Training on High Variance labels - Yacouba Diarra\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"IndabaX\",\"description\":\"La conf\\u00e9rence Deep Learning Indaba 2026 invite les chercheurs \\u00e0 soumettre leurs travaux les plus substantiels, originaux et percutants en apprentissage automatique, apprentissage profond et intelligence artificielle, en particulier ceux qui abordent les d\\u00e9fis et les opportunit\\u00e9s propres \\u00e0 l\\u0027Afrique. Les articles retenus seront pr\\u00e9sent\\u00e9s lors de la session \\u00ab\\u00a0Research in Africa Showcase\\u00a0\\u00bb, offrant ainsi une plateforme d\\u0027\\u00e9change avec des chercheurs de renom en IA, des experts du secteur et des d\\u00e9cideurs politiques. Tous les articles accept\\u00e9s seront publi\\u00e9s dans les actes de la conf\\u00e9rence.\\n\\nPr\\u00e9sident de s\\u00e9ance\\u00a0: Atnafu Lambebo\\n\\nLes communications suivantes seront pr\\u00e9sent\\u00e9es oralement lors de l\\u2019Indaba\\u00a0:\\n\\n- \\u00c9lagage structurel guid\\u00e9 par l\\u2019attention pour la pr\\u00e9servation de l\\u2019alignement intermodal dans les mod\\u00e8les vision-langage - Jean Gabriel Mpuhwezimana, Boniface Chukwuemeka Godwin, Awud Mohamed\\n\\n- \\u00c9valuation comparative \\u00e0 grande \\u00e9chelle de la reconnaissance automatique de la parole pour les langues africaines \\u00e0 faibles ressources\\u00a0: pr\\u00e9cision, efficacit\\u00e9 et compromis architecturaux - Jean Gabriel Mpuhwezimana, Mercy Muchai, Nick Mumero Mwangi, Kevin Chege, Samuel Chege Maina\\n\\n- Apprentissage automatique multi-sources interpr\\u00e9table pour la classification urbaine dans les r\\u00e9gions \\u00e0 donn\\u00e9es rares - Peter Edemewe Ugege, John Aigbokhan, Emmanuel Akalumhe\\n\\nHallucinations directionnelles dans la traduction automatique neuronale africaine - Alfred Malengo Kondoro, Chikezie Simon Amalagu, Verrah Akinyi Otiende Okechukwu God\\u0027spraise\\n\\n- \\u00c9valuation de la maturit\\u00e9 des capacit\\u00e9s de donn\\u00e9es\\u00a0: un cadre pour quantifier la pr\\u00e9paration de l\\u0027IA centr\\u00e9e sur les donn\\u00e9es dans les syst\\u00e8mes du secteur public - Terefe Feyisa Mamo, Zinawork Assefa Tura, Getachew Getu Enyew, Seble Hailu\\n\\n- Estimation de la densit\\u00e9 neuronale pour la mod\\u00e9lisation de la pr\\u00e9sence uniquement des distributions de moustiques Aedes en contexte de donn\\u00e9es \\u00e9parses - Rumbidzai Gwinji, Houriiyah Tegally, Carlin Foka\\n\\n- Audit de la portabilit\\u00e9 des explications SHAP entre les domaines\\u00a0: des benchmarks d\\u0027analyse des sentiments standard aux textes nig\\u00e9rians - Chioma Kamalu, Blessing Ogbuokiri, Jennifer Iloekwe\\n\\n- FloodTriage\\u00a0: une politique de report tripartite bas\\u00e9e sur la th\\u00e9orie de la d\\u00e9cision pour la collaboration humain-IA dans la pr\\u00e9vision des d\\u00e9bits - Lionel Cedric Gohouede\\n\\n- \\u00c9couter, \\u00eatre attentif, comprendre\\u00a0: une technique de r\\u00e9gularisation pour un entra\\u00eenement stable \\u00e0 la traduction vocale de bout en bout sur des \\u00e9tiquettes \\u00e0 forte variance - Yacouba Diarra\"},{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Publication Orals\",\"description\":\"The Deep Learning Indaba 2026 invites researchers to submit their most substantial, original, and impactful work in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and AI, particularly those that address Africa\\u2019s unique challenges and opportunities. Accepted papers will be presented at the Research in Africa Showcase, providing a platform for engagement with leading AI scholars, industry experts, and policymakers. All accepted papers will be published as Indaba proceedings. \\n\\nSession Chair:  Atnafu Lambebo \\n\\nThe following papers will be presented orally at the Indaba:\\n\\n- Attention-Guided Structural Pruning for Cross-Modal \\nAlignment Preservation in Vision-Language Models - Jean Gabriel Mpuhwezimana, Boniface Chukwuemeka Godwin, Awud Mohamed\\n\\n- Large-Scale ASR Benchmark for Low-Resource Languages in Africa: Evaluating Accuracy, Efficiency and Architectural Trade-offs - Jean Gabriel Mpuhwezimana, Mercy Muchai, Nick Mumero Mwangi, Kevin Chege, Samuel Chege Maina \\n\\n- Interpretable Multi-Source Machine Learning for Urban Classification in Data-Scarce Regions - Peter Edemewe Ugege, John Aigbokhan, Emmanuel Akalumhe\\n\\n- Directional Hallucinations in African Neural Machine Translation - Alfred Malengo Kondoro\\u00ad, Chikezie Simon Amalagu, Verrah Akinyi Otiende, Okechukwu God\\u0027spraise\\n\\n- Data Capability Maturity Assessment: A Framework for Quantifying Data-Centric AI Readiness in Public Sector Systems - Terefe Feyisa Mamo, Zinawork Assefa Tura, Getachew Getu Enyew, Seble Hailu\\n\\n- Neural Density Estimation for Presence-Only Modelling of Aedes Mosquito Distributions under Data Sparsity - Rumbidzai Gwinji, Houriiyah Tegally, Carlin Foka\\n\\n- Auditing the Portability of SHAP Explanations Across Domains: From Standard Sentiment Benchmarks to Nigerian Text - chioma kamalu, Blessing Ogbuokiri, Jennifer Iloekwe\\n\\n- FloodTriage: A Decision-Theoretic Tri-Fold Deferral Policy for Human-AI Collaboration in Streamflow Forecasting - Lionel Cedric Gohouede\\n\\n- Listen, Attend, Understand: a Regularization Technique for Stable E2E Speech Translation Training on High Variance labels - Yacouba Diarra\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":291,\"name\":\"RIAD\"},\"session_type_id\":291,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T12:45:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":78,\"name\":\"Boniface Chukwuemeka Godwin\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":79,\"name\":\"Mercy Muchai\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":80,\"name\":\"Peter Edemewe Ugege\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":81,\"name\":\"Chikezie Simon Amalagu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":82,\"name\":\"Terefe Feyisa Mamo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":83,\"name\":\"Rumbidzai Gwinji\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":84,\"name\":\"Jennifer Iloekwe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":241,\"name\":\"Lionel Cedric Gohouede\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":50,\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T15:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":51,\"title\":\"Poster session 1\",\"description\":\"Posters are a cornerstone of the Research in Africa Days, providing an\\ninteractive and visual way to share ideas.\\nThis year, we have four distinct poster categories:\\n\\n- IndabaX Posters: Featuring projects and initiatives from local IndabaX events across the\\ncontinent.\\n\\n- Publications Posters: Highlighting work that has been submitted as scientific  paper through the publications stream.\\n\\n- General Posters: Open to all researchers across Africa, showcasing a diverse range of\\ntopics in AI and machine learning.\\n\\n- Dataset Posters: Highlights work that has been submitted under African datasets\\n\\nLink: https:\\\/\\\/deeplearningindaba.com\\\/2026\\\/posters-2026\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Poster session 1\",\"description\":\"Posters are a cornerstone of the Research in Africa Days, providing an\\ninteractive and visual way to share ideas.\\nThis year, we have four distinct poster categories:\\n\\n- IndabaX Posters: Featuring projects and initiatives from local IndabaX events across the\\ncontinent.\\n\\n- Publications Posters: Highlighting work that has been submitted as scientific  paper through the publications stream.\\n\\n- General Posters: Open to all researchers across Africa, showcasing a diverse range of\\ntopics in AI and machine learning.\\n\\n- Dataset Posters: Highlights work that has been submitted under African datasets\\n\\nLink: https:\\\/\\\/deeplearningindaba.com\\\/2026\\\/posters-2026\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":240,\"name\":\"Poster session\"},\"session_type_id\":240,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T17:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":52,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T17:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":53,\"title\":\"Poster session 2\",\"description\":\"Posters are a cornerstone of the Research in Africa Days, providing an\\ninteractive and visual way to share ideas.\\nThis year, we have four distinct poster categories:\\n\\n- IndabaX Posters: Featuring projects and initiatives from local IndabaX events across the\\ncontinent.\\n\\n- Publications Posters: Highlighting work that has been submitted as scientific  paper through the publications stream.\\n\\n- General Posters: Open to all researchers across Africa, showcasing a diverse range of\\ntopics in AI and machine learning.\\n\\n- Dataset Posters: Highlights work that has been submitted under African datasets\\n\\nLink: https:\\\/\\\/deeplearningindaba.com\\\/2026\\\/posters-2026\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Poster session 2\",\"description\":\"Posters are a cornerstone of the Research in Africa Days, providing an\\ninteractive and visual way to share ideas.\\nThis year, we have four distinct poster categories:\\n\\n- IndabaX Posters: Featuring projects and initiatives from local IndabaX events across the\\ncontinent.\\n\\n- Publications Posters: Highlighting work that has been submitted as scientific  paper through the publications stream.\\n\\n- General Posters: Open to all researchers across Africa, showcasing a diverse range of\\ntopics in AI and machine learning.\\n\\n- Dataset Posters: Highlights work that has been submitted under African datasets\\n\\nLink: https:\\\/\\\/deeplearningindaba.com\\\/2026\\\/posters-2026\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":240,\"name\":\"Poster session\"},\"session_type_id\":240,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T17:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":54,\"title\":\"Culture Dinner\",\"description\":\"This year, the Indaba will feature a \\u0022Cultural Night\\u0022 session, inviting attendees to showcase aspects of their cultural heritage. This vibrant celebration of culture will be held alongside dinner on Wednesday evening. All attendees are encouraged to bring traditional attire and participate in an evening filled with music, dance, storytelling, poetry, and more.\\n\\t\\nAttendees will be serenaded with vibrant cultural performances from across Africa, celebrating the continent\\u0027s rich heritage and diversity. The spirit of Indaba is rooted in community, connection, and inclusion, and we want Lagos to feel like your home away from home. So, bring your cultural flair, your flags, lace up your dancing shoes, and get ready to celebrate the African way! \\n\\nThe evening will also \\nFeatures:\\n- Traditional Attire\\n- Performances (music and dance)\\n\\n**Don\\u0027t forget to wear your cultural outfit**\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Culture Dinner\",\"description\":\"This year, the Indaba will feature a \\u0022Cultural Night\\u0022 session, inviting attendees to showcase aspects of their cultural heritage. This vibrant celebration of culture will be held alongside dinner on Wednesday evening. All attendees are encouraged to bring traditional attire and participate in an evening filled with music, dance, storytelling, poetry, and more.\\n\\t\\nAttendees will be serenaded with vibrant cultural performances from across Africa, celebrating the continent\\u0027s rich heritage and diversity. The spirit of Indaba is rooted in community, connection, and inclusion, and we want Lagos to feel like your home away from home. So, bring your cultural flair, your flags, lace up your dancing shoes, and get ready to celebrate the African way! \\n\\nThe evening will also \\nFeatures:\\n- Traditional Attire\\n- Performances (music and dance)\\n\\n**Don\\u0027t forget to wear your cultural outfit**\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-05T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-05T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":92,\"name\":\"Chinazo Anebelundu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":20,\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T06:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":21,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This session mentor is a university lecturer, research lab director and an award-winning computational neuroscientist whose work spans theoretical neuroscience, computational linguistics, and machine learning. As a former Google PhD Fellow and Commonwealth Scholar, they have collaborated with top international institutions like UCL to study how brain structures process sensory inputs. Ultimately, their research aims to decode how these biological mechanisms enable human reasoning, language acquisition, and goal-oriented decision-making.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This session mentor is a university lecturer, research lab director and an award-winning computational neuroscientist whose work spans theoretical neuroscience, computational linguistics, and machine learning. As a former Google PhD Fellow and Commonwealth Scholar, they have collaborated with top international institutions like UCL to study how brain structures process sensory inputs. Ultimately, their research aims to decode how these biological mechanisms enable human reasoning, language acquisition, and goal-oriented decision-making.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":133,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a senior data scientist and biostatistician with extensive experience leading data science and AI initiatives in public health across Africa. She oversees multidisciplinary programmes focused on strengthening data systems, building research capacity, and promoting responsible data use. She also leads continental initiatives that foster collaboration, data harmonization, and capacity building in data science and health research.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a senior data scientist and biostatistician with extensive experience leading data science and AI initiatives in public health across Africa. She oversees multidisciplinary programmes focused on strengthening data systems, building research capacity, and promoting responsible data use. She also leads continental initiatives that foster collaboration, data harmonization, and capacity building in data science and health research.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":132,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a full professor and research group leader at a prominent Swedish university who specializes in socially aware artificial intelligence (AI) and multi-agent systems. With 40 years of experience in AI, they worked on projects in different parts of the world using many different techniques ranging from fishery management, radicalization and housing to rural health, single parenting and war games. An elected Fellow of a major European AI association, they also hold honorary and affiliate research positions at universities in the Netherlands, Australia, and the Czech Republic. Their work focuses on developing computational models that integrate human social structures, such as norms, practices, and values, into AI systems.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a full professor and research group leader at a prominent Swedish university who specializes in socially aware artificial intelligence (AI) and multi-agent systems. With 40 years of experience in AI, they worked on projects in different parts of the world using many different techniques ranging from fishery management, radicalization and housing to rural health, single parenting and war games. An elected Fellow of a major European AI association, they also hold honorary and affiliate research positions at universities in the Netherlands, Australia, and the Czech Republic. Their work focuses on developing computational models that integrate human social structures, such as norms, practices, and values, into AI systems.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":134,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a full Professor and Data Science Chair at a prominent South African university and a leading computer scientist specializing in Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). His research fundamentally intersects with Natural Language Processing (NLP), focusing heavily on enhancing tools, methodologies, and data availability for low-resource languages. As the director of a dedicated research lab, he pilots projects utilizing data science to address major social challenges.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a full Professor and Data Science Chair at a prominent South African university and a leading computer scientist specializing in Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). His research fundamentally intersects with Natural Language Processing (NLP), focusing heavily on enhancing tools, methodologies, and data availability for low-resource languages. As the director of a dedicated research lab, he pilots projects utilizing data science to address major social challenges.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":141,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 5 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This session\\u0027s mentor has been working at the intersection of Trustworthy AI, Data-centric AI, Geospatial Machine Learning, and Multi-modal Fusion, first, at IBM Research and, now, at Microsoft AI for Good Lab. My experience includes applying AI methods to real-world challenges, especially in areas like environmental monitoring and public health. I am also open to discuss non-technical points e.g., graduate studies, studying abroad, and career in industry research labs.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 5 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"This session\\u0027s mentor has been working at the intersection of Trustworthy AI, Data-centric AI, Geospatial Machine Learning, and Multi-modal Fusion, first, at IBM Research and, now, at Microsoft AI for Good Lab. My experience includes applying AI methods to real-world challenges, especially in areas like environmental monitoring and public health. I am also open to discuss non-technical points e.g., graduate studies, studying abroad, and career in industry research labs.\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat 5 [inscription requise]\",\"description\":\"Le mentor de cette session travaille \\u00e0 l\\u0027intersection de l\\u0027IA de confiance, de l\\u0027IA centr\\u00e9e sur les donn\\u00e9es, de l\\u0027apprentissage automatique g\\u00e9ospatial et de la fusion multimodale, d\\u0027abord chez IBM Research, puis au Microsoft AI for Good Lab. Mon exp\\u00e9rience comprend l\\u0027application de m\\u00e9thodes d\\u0027IA \\u00e0 des probl\\u00e9matiques concr\\u00e8tes, notamment dans des domaines comme la surveillance environnementale et la sant\\u00e9 publique. Je suis \\u00e9galement dispos\\u00e9 \\u00e0 aborder des sujets non techniques, comme les \\u00e9tudes sup\\u00e9rieures, les s\\u00e9jours d\\u0027\\u00e9tudes \\u00e0 l\\u0027\\u00e9tranger et les carri\\u00e8res dans les laboratoires de recherche industriels.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":14,\"title\":\"Data Science for Health in Africa\",\"description\":\"This workshop brings together researchers, practitioners, and healthcare professionals to explore how deep learning can improve healthcare outcomes across Africa. Beyond sharing knowledge, we aim to build with the community, not for the community, by fostering collaboration on locally relevant AI solutions for healthcare challenges.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/datascienceforhealthafrica.site\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Data Science for Health in Africa\",\"description\":\"This workshop brings together researchers, practitioners, and healthcare professionals to explore how deep learning can improve healthcare outcomes across Africa. Beyond sharing knowledge, we aim to build with the community, not for the community, by fostering collaboration on locally relevant AI solutions for healthcare challenges.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/datascienceforhealthafrica.site\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":134,\"name\":\"Ditiro Rampate\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":135,\"name\":\"Marvellous Ajala\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":136,\"name\":\"Imane Hamzaoui\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":137,\"name\":\"Ifeoluwa Oladeji\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":138,\"name\":\"Seipone Talama Sebina\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":139,\"name\":\"Comfort Adesina\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":140,\"name\":\"Eman Ehab Nasef\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":141,\"name\":\"Aondona Moses Iorumbur\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":142,\"name\":\"Kareem Waly\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":143,\"name\":\"Sean Thawed\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":144,\"name\":\"Daphne Machangar\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":70,\"title\":\"From Prototype to Impact: Scaling Responsible Climate AI from Africa\",\"description\":\"Across Africa, a growing number of AI innovations are being developed to address climate variability, but most never reach the communities they were designed to serve, not because the science is weak, but because the pathways to scale are not well understood and underdeveloped. The result is a graveyard of technically sound prototypes and pilots that stalled at the interface between research and the public sector. This session will bring together live demonstrations of African climate AI innovations already in deployment, works through the hard unresolved questions of what responsible scaling actually requires in the African context, and foster the data, research, and funding partnerships that sustain innovations at the intersection of climate and AI. This workshop is hosted by the AI4D Research and Innovation for Climate Hub (RICH), a continent-wide initiative co-led by the Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), AfriClimate AI and CIFOR-ICRAF to bridge the gap between promising African climate AI research and real-world, community-scale deployment.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/climatehub.developlocal.org\\\/events\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"From Prototype to Impact: Scaling Responsible Climate AI from Africa\",\"description\":\"Across Africa, a growing number of AI innovations are being developed to address climate variability, but most never reach the communities they were designed to serve, not because the science is weak, but because the pathways to scale are not well understood and underdeveloped. The result is a graveyard of technically sound prototypes and pilots that stalled at the interface between research and the public sector. This session will bring together live demonstrations of African climate AI innovations already in deployment, works through the hard unresolved questions of what responsible scaling actually requires in the African context, and foster the data, research, and funding partnerships that sustain innovations at the intersection of climate and AI. This workshop is hosted by the AI4D Research and Innovation for Climate Hub (RICH), a continent-wide initiative co-led by the Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), AfriClimate AI and CIFOR-ICRAF to bridge the gap between promising African climate AI research and real-world, community-scale deployment.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/climatehub.developlocal.org\\\/events\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":145,\"name\":\"Leonida Mutuku\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":146,\"name\":\"Mark Gachara\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":147,\"name\":\"Rendani Mbuvha\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":148,\"name\":\"Josiah Kimani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":149,\"name\":\"Helena Kamper\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":150,\"name\":\"Isaac Rutenberg\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":13,\"title\":\"The NeuroAI Workshop at the Deep Learning Indaba 2026\",\"description\":\"The workshop is designed for the future leaders of the NeuroAI movement. We are targeting early-career researchers, from curious undergraduates to specialized postgraduates who recognize that the deepest understanding of intelligence will come from bridging the gap between biological and machine learning. The session is tailored for:\\n\\n- AI\\\/ML students who want to move beyond engineering benchmarks and draw inspiration from the only working example of intelligence: the brain.\\n\\n- Neuroscience students who want to harness the power of deep learning to analyze complex datasets and build models of cognitive function.\\n\\nCrucially, we aim to create a welcoming and accessible environment for students from across Africa, regardless of whether their background is primarily technical or scientific, ensuring that the future of NeuroAI is built on diverse perspectives.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/dlineuroai-workshop.github.io\\\/neuroai-2026\\\/index.html\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"The NeuroAI Workshop at the Deep Learning Indaba 2026\",\"description\":\"The workshop is designed for the future leaders of the NeuroAI movement. We are targeting early-career researchers, from curious undergraduates to specialized postgraduates who recognize that the deepest understanding of intelligence will come from bridging the gap between biological and machine learning. The session is tailored for:\\n\\n- AI\\\/ML students who want to move beyond engineering benchmarks and draw inspiration from the only working example of intelligence: the brain.\\n\\n- Neuroscience students who want to harness the power of deep learning to analyze complex datasets and build models of cognitive function.\\n\\nCrucially, we aim to create a welcoming and accessible environment for students from across Africa, regardless of whether their background is primarily technical or scientific, ensuring that the future of NeuroAI is built on diverse perspectives.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/dlineuroai-workshop.github.io\\\/neuroai-2026\\\/index.html\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":157,\"name\":\"Abdel Njupoun\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":158,\"name\":\"Cyril Akafia\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":159,\"name\":\"Gertrude Alayine\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":160,\"name\":\"Samuel Mba\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":161,\"name\":\"Ibeachu Chinagorom\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":162,\"name\":\"Prosper Singadi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":71,\"title\":\"MASAKHANE: Cultivating Sovereign African NLP\",\"description\":\"Africa is home to over 2,000 languages, yet remains critically under-resourced in linguistic data for AI. This two-session workshop, led by the Masakhane African Languages Hub, moves beyond diagnosing the problem; equipping participants with practical skills to discover non-traditional data sources, transform them using OCR and digitization tools, and protect them through ethical licensing frameworks. It directly serves the Indaba\\u0027s 2026 \\u0022Sovereign Intelligence\\u0022 theme by ending with the live launch of Masakhane\\u0027s Community Pilot Grants, funding IndabaX-led data collection projects across the continent. Participants leave not just informed, but resourced and ready to build Africa\\u0027s sovereign AI future.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/nlpdlindaba\\\/2026  \\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"MASAKHANE: Cultivating Sovereign African NLP\",\"description\":\"Africa is home to over 2,000 languages, yet remains critically under-resourced in linguistic data for AI. This two-session workshop, led by the Masakhane African Languages Hub, moves beyond diagnosing the problem; equipping participants with practical skills to discover non-traditional data sources, transform them using OCR and digitization tools, and protect them through ethical licensing frameworks. It directly serves the Indaba\\u0027s 2026 \\u0022Sovereign Intelligence\\u0022 theme by ending with the live launch of Masakhane\\u0027s Community Pilot Grants, funding IndabaX-led data collection projects across the continent. Participants leave not just informed, but resourced and ready to build Africa\\u0027s sovereign AI future.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/nlpdlindaba\\\/2026  \\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":151,\"name\":\"Lydia Taban\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":152,\"name\":\"Tajjudeen Gwadabe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":153,\"name\":\"Chenai Chair\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":154,\"name\":\"Kevin Harerimana\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":155,\"name\":\"Chijioke Okorie\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":156,\"name\":\"Idris Abdulmumin\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":72,\"title\":\"Building Red-Teaming Capacity for AI Safety Evaluation in African Contexts: A Hands-On Protocol Workshop\",\"description\":\"AI systems are being deployed across African contexts and languages faster than the tools to evaluate their safety. Red-teaming, the systematic and adversarial probing of AI systems for harmful or misaligned behaviour, is a core methodology for surfacing these failures. This three-hour interactive workshop is a working introduction to red-teaming as a method: what it is, how it works, and how researchers can apply and adapt it to their own contexts, including African languages and use cases.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/africa-redteaming.github.io\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Building Red-Teaming Capacity for AI Safety Evaluation in African Contexts: A Hands-On Protocol Workshop\",\"description\":\"AI systems are being deployed across African contexts and languages faster than the tools to evaluate their safety. Red-teaming, the systematic and adversarial probing of AI systems for harmful or misaligned behaviour, is a core methodology for surfacing these failures. This three-hour interactive workshop is a working introduction to red-teaming as a method: what it is, how it works, and how researchers can apply and adapt it to their own contexts, including African languages and use cases.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/africa-redteaming.github.io\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":53,\"name\":\"Jonathan Shock\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":131,\"name\":\"Sumaya Nur Adan\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":132,\"name\":\"Joanna Wiaterek\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":133,\"name\":\"Annette H\\u00fcbschle\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":97,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T11:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T12:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":76,\"title\":\"Building Africa\\u2019s Human Data Infrastructure: Capacity Building for Community-Led Dataset Creation and Sustainable AI Pipelines\",\"description\":\"The rapid growth of generative AI and foundation models has intensified demand for high-quality datasets, yet African AI development remains constrained by gaps in human data infrastructure: the people, skills, and coordinated pipelines required to create, translate, validate, and maintain datasets for African languages and contexts. Practitioners working on African language datasets frequently encounter limited documentation, lack of standardised workflows and fragmented training resources. This workshop, hosted by Tonative Africa, brings together data curators and AI enthusiasts to discuss guidelines, identify challenges and co-develop a roadmap for sovereign, sustainable, locally owned AI ecosystems across the continent.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/www.tonative.org\\\/indaba-2026\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Building Africa\\u2019s Human Data Infrastructure: Capacity Building for Community-Led Dataset Creation and Sustainable AI Pipelines\",\"description\":\"The rapid growth of generative AI and foundation models has intensified demand for high-quality datasets, yet African AI development remains constrained by gaps in human data infrastructure: the people, skills, and coordinated pipelines required to create, translate, validate, and maintain datasets for African languages and contexts. Practitioners working on African language datasets frequently encounter limited documentation, lack of standardised workflows and fragmented training resources. This workshop, hosted by Tonative Africa, brings together data curators and AI enthusiasts to discuss guidelines, identify challenges and co-develop a roadmap for sovereign, sustainable, locally owned AI ecosystems across the continent.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/www.tonative.org\\\/indaba-2026\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":172,\"name\":\"Cynthia Amol\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":173,\"name\":\"Alfred Kondoro\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":174,\"name\":\"Sharon Ibejih\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":175,\"name\":\"Chinenye Anikwenze\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":176,\"name\":\"Joy Olusanya\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":177,\"name\":\"Armand Bukama\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":178,\"name\":\"Faisal Muhammad Adam\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":179,\"name\":\"Godspraise Okechukwu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":142,\"title\":\"MASAKHANE: Cultivating Sovereign African NLP\",\"description\":\"Africa is home to over 2,000 languages, yet remains critically under-resourced in linguistic data for AI. This two-session workshop, led by the Masakhane African Languages Hub, moves beyond diagnosing the problem; equipping participants with practical skills to discover non-traditional data sources, transform them using OCR and digitization tools, and protect them through ethical licensing frameworks. It directly serves the Indaba\\u0027s 2026 \\u0022Sovereign Intelligence\\u0022 theme by ending with the live launch of Masakhane\\u0027s Community Pilot Grants, funding IndabaX-led data collection projects across the continent. Participants leave not just informed, but resourced and ready to build Africa\\u0027s sovereign AI future.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/nlpdlindaba\\\/2026  \\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"MASAKHANE: Cultivating Sovereign African NLP\",\"description\":\"Africa is home to over 2,000 languages, yet remains critically under-resourced in linguistic data for AI. This two-session workshop, led by the Masakhane African Languages Hub, moves beyond diagnosing the problem; equipping participants with practical skills to discover non-traditional data sources, transform them using OCR and digitization tools, and protect them through ethical licensing frameworks. It directly serves the Indaba\\u0027s 2026 \\u0022Sovereign Intelligence\\u0022 theme by ending with the live launch of Masakhane\\u0027s Community Pilot Grants, funding IndabaX-led data collection projects across the continent. Participants leave not just informed, but resourced and ready to build Africa\\u0027s sovereign AI future.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/nlpdlindaba\\\/2026  \\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":151,\"name\":\"Lydia Taban\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":152,\"name\":\"Tajjudeen Gwadabe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":153,\"name\":\"Chenai Chair\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":154,\"name\":\"Kevin Harerimana\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":155,\"name\":\"Chijioke Okorie\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":156,\"name\":\"Idris Abdulmumin\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":74,\"title\":\"Quantum Machine Learning for Africa (QML4Africa)\",\"description\":\"Quantum Machine Learning (QML) sits at the intersection of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, bringing together advances in quantum algorithms and machine learning to explore new computational approaches for solving complex problems. As quantum technologies continue to mature, understanding QML is becoming increasingly important for researchers and practitioners seeking to prepare for the future of AI. Building on the success of the inaugural QML4Africa workshop at Deep Learning Indaba, this second edition will provide participants with a hands-on introduction to the principles, algorithms, and practical implementation of QML. Through expert talks, interactive discussions, and coding tutorials using leading frameworks such as PennyLane and Qiskit, attendees will explore hybrid quantum-classical models, quantum neural networks, variational algorithms, and emerging applications of QML. The workshop aims to empower the African AI community with the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to actively contribute to the growing global quantum ecosystem.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/qml4africa\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Quantum Machine Learning for Africa (QML4Africa)\",\"description\":\"Quantum Machine Learning (QML) sits at the intersection of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, bringing together advances in quantum algorithms and machine learning to explore new computational approaches for solving complex problems. As quantum technologies continue to mature, understanding QML is becoming increasingly important for researchers and practitioners seeking to prepare for the future of AI. Building on the success of the inaugural QML4Africa workshop at Deep Learning Indaba, this second edition will provide participants with a hands-on introduction to the principles, algorithms, and practical implementation of QML. Through expert talks, interactive discussions, and coding tutorials using leading frameworks such as PennyLane and Qiskit, attendees will explore hybrid quantum-classical models, quantum neural networks, variational algorithms, and emerging applications of QML. The workshop aims to empower the African AI community with the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to actively contribute to the growing global quantum ecosystem.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/qml4africa\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":31,\"name\":\"Yousra Farhani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":180,\"name\":\"Stephanie M\\u00fcller\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":181,\"name\":\"Nouhaila Innan\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":182,\"name\":\"Ndivhuwo Nyase\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":77,\"title\":\"AI on Digital Public Infrastructure: Building Inclusive and Impact-Driven Public Intelligence Systems in Emerging Economies\",\"description\":\"This workshop explores how AI can be layered onto Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) \\u2014 identity, health, education, and payment systems \\u2014 to close the language gap that excludes indigenous-language speakers from services built around colonial or official languages. Through case studies and design exercises, participants will work with multilingual LLMs and voice interfaces to make DPI usable in local languages. It matters to Indaba because it turns African NLP research into something deployed at population scale, not stuck in papers.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/datasciencenigeria.org\\\/ai-on-digital-public-infrastructure-workshop\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"AI on Digital Public Infrastructure: Building Inclusive and Impact-Driven Public Intelligence Systems in Emerging Economies\",\"description\":\"This workshop explores how AI can be layered onto Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) \\u2014 identity, health, education, and payment systems \\u2014 to close the language gap that excludes indigenous-language speakers from services built around colonial or official languages. Through case studies and design exercises, participants will work with multilingual LLMs and voice interfaces to make DPI usable in local languages. It matters to Indaba because it turns African NLP research into something deployed at population scale, not stuck in papers.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/datasciencenigeria.org\\\/ai-on-digital-public-infrastructure-workshop\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":7,\"name\":\"Ife Adebara\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":129,\"name\":\"Olubayo Adekanmbi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":163,\"name\":\"Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":164,\"name\":\"Uche Edwin\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":75,\"title\":\"Beyond Benchmarks: Scaling Multi-Turn Participatory AI Evaluations\",\"description\":\"While traditional AI benchmarks are essential for baseline testing, they fall short in mapping exactly where models falter across precise use cases and diverse population segments. Co-organized by YUX Cultural AI Lab and Microsoft Research Africa , this hands-on workshop draws on health and education studies in Rwanda, Kenya, and Senegal to teach researchers how to bridge this gap using participatory methods and longitudinal diary studies. The ultimate goal is to equip researchers with a technical and methodological toolkit using Kitala.ai to pinpoint specific model failure modes and evaluate long-term user resonance across distinct demographic realities. \\nhttps:\\\/\\\/yux-cultural-ai-lab.github.io\\\/Beyond-Benchmarks-Workshop-DLI-2026\\\/\\n\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Beyond Benchmarks: Scaling Multi-Turn Participatory AI Evaluations\",\"description\":\"While traditional AI benchmarks are essential for baseline testing, they fall short in mapping exactly where models falter across precise use cases and diverse population segments. Co-organized by YUX Cultural AI Lab and Microsoft Research Africa , this hands-on workshop draws on health and education studies in Rwanda, Kenya, and Senegal to teach researchers how to bridge this gap using participatory methods and longitudinal diary studies. The ultimate goal is to equip researchers with a technical and methodological toolkit using Kitala.ai to pinpoint specific model failure modes and evaluate long-term user resonance across distinct demographic realities. \\nhttps:\\\/\\\/yux-cultural-ai-lab.github.io\\\/Beyond-Benchmarks-Workshop-DLI-2026\\\/\\n\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":79,\"name\":\"Mercy Muchai\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":165,\"name\":\"Yann Le Beux\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":166,\"name\":\"Oluchi Audu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":167,\"name\":\"Mame Coumba Ka\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":168,\"name\":\"Oche Ankeli\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":169,\"name\":\"Millicent Ochieng\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":170,\"name\":\"Stephanie Nyairo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":171,\"name\":\"Felermino Ali\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":15,\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T15:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":102,\"title\":\"Wamoja.Africa: Building a pan-African community lowering barriers to entry for participation in collective intelligence and cooperative \\\/ democratic AI \\u2014 through art, research and practice\",\"description\":\"Wamoja.Africa (\\u201cThose who are one\\u201d \\u2014 Swahili) is a grassroots community helping make African collective intelligence (CI), cooperative AI  and democratic infrastructure more accessible across the continent. CI is field of study growing in popularity, that provides a framing with the potential to weave together networks of ideas and minds across domains and scales. Microbiology, neuroscience, group psychology, sociology, economics, ecology - are all examples of these domains. CI seeks to investigate common patterns throughout these - from cells to societies, from microbes to markets. Though it remains surprisingly hard to find an accessible onramps to participate in CI as a dedicated field of study. Wamoja.Africa lowers barriers to participation through four complementary modes of entry \\u2014 art\\\/story telling, research, practice, and enthusiasm. Democratically owned and governed infrastructure (e.g. African cooperatives for data, compute and education) that enables African CI and Cooperative AI, can itself benefit from development of these capacities in a potential virtuous cycle - Wamoja.Africa aims to help coordinate such efforts. This workshop marks the official launch of Wamoja.Africa - join us online and in-person after the Deep Learning Indaba for seminar series, workshops, ideathons, projects, conversations, fundraising and more!\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/www.wamoja.africa\\\/workshop\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Wamoja.Africa: Building a pan-African community lowering barriers to entry for participation in collective intelligence and cooperative \\\/ democratic AI \\u2014 through art, research and practice\",\"description\":\"Wamoja.Africa (\\u201cThose who are one\\u201d \\u2014 Swahili) is a grassroots community helping make African collective intelligence (CI), cooperative AI  and democratic infrastructure more accessible across the continent. CI is field of study growing in popularity, that provides a framing with the potential to weave together networks of ideas and minds across domains and scales. Microbiology, neuroscience, group psychology, sociology, economics, ecology - are all examples of these domains. CI seeks to investigate common patterns throughout these - from cells to societies, from microbes to markets. Though it remains surprisingly hard to find an accessible onramps to participate in CI as a dedicated field of study. Wamoja.Africa lowers barriers to participation through four complementary modes of entry \\u2014 art\\\/story telling, research, practice, and enthusiasm. Democratically owned and governed infrastructure (e.g. African cooperatives for data, compute and education) that enables African CI and Cooperative AI, can itself benefit from development of these capacities in a potential virtuous cycle - Wamoja.Africa aims to help coordinate such efforts. This workshop marks the official launch of Wamoja.Africa - join us online and in-person after the Deep Learning Indaba for seminar series, workshops, ideathons, projects, conversations, fundraising and more!\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/www.wamoja.africa\\\/workshop\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":186,\"name\":\"Chris Fourie\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":187,\"name\":\"Ilze Wessles\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":188,\"name\":\"Ayantola Alayande\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":78,\"title\":\"When Research Meets Reality: AI Engineering in Africa \\u2014 A Deep-Dive Discussion\",\"description\":\"This session invites researchers and founders to interrogate one of the most consequential \\u2014 and under explored \\u2014 transitions in African AI: the journey from a research insight to a product that works in the wild. Three African AI practitioners each deliver a focused lightning talk (7\\u20138 minutes) drawn from lived experience, designed to provoke rather than instruct. The bulk of the hour is then given over to structured open discussion anchored by a set of opening questions. The goal is not consensus but clarity: sharper mental models for how African researchers and founders can navigate the research-to-production gap together.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/dataspires.com\\\/indaba\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"When Research Meets Reality: AI Engineering in Africa \\u2014 A Deep-Dive Discussion\",\"description\":\"This session invites researchers and founders to interrogate one of the most consequential \\u2014 and under explored \\u2014 transitions in African AI: the journey from a research insight to a product that works in the wild. Three African AI practitioners each deliver a focused lightning talk (7\\u20138 minutes) drawn from lived experience, designed to provoke rather than instruct. The bulk of the hour is then given over to structured open discussion anchored by a set of opening questions. The goal is not consensus but clarity: sharper mental models for how African researchers and founders can navigate the research-to-production gap together.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/dataspires.com\\\/indaba\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":189,\"name\":\"Krupa Suchak\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":190,\"name\":\"Naira Abdou Mohamed\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":191,\"name\":\"Luc Okalobe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":143,\"title\":\"Quantum Machine Learning for Africa (QML4Africa)\",\"description\":\"Quantum Machine Learning (QML) sits at the intersection of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, bringing together advances in quantum algorithms and machine learning to explore new computational approaches for solving complex problems. As quantum technologies continue to mature, understanding QML is becoming increasingly important for researchers and practitioners seeking to prepare for the future of AI. Building on the success of the inaugural QML4Africa workshop at Deep Learning Indaba, this second edition will provide participants with a hands-on introduction to the principles, algorithms, and practical implementation of QML. Through expert talks, interactive discussions, and coding tutorials using leading frameworks such as PennyLane and Qiskit, attendees will explore hybrid quantum-classical models, quantum neural networks, variational algorithms, and emerging applications of QML. The workshop aims to empower the African AI community with the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to actively contribute to the growing global quantum ecosystem.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/qml4africa\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Quantum Machine Learning for Africa (QML4Africa)\",\"description\":\"Quantum Machine Learning (QML) sits at the intersection of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, bringing together advances in quantum algorithms and machine learning to explore new computational approaches for solving complex problems. As quantum technologies continue to mature, understanding QML is becoming increasingly important for researchers and practitioners seeking to prepare for the future of AI. Building on the success of the inaugural QML4Africa workshop at Deep Learning Indaba, this second edition will provide participants with a hands-on introduction to the principles, algorithms, and practical implementation of QML. Through expert talks, interactive discussions, and coding tutorials using leading frameworks such as PennyLane and Qiskit, attendees will explore hybrid quantum-classical models, quantum neural networks, variational algorithms, and emerging applications of QML. The workshop aims to empower the African AI community with the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to actively contribute to the growing global quantum ecosystem.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/view\\\/qml4africa\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":31,\"name\":\"Yousra Farhani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":180,\"name\":\"Stephanie M\\u00fcller\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":181,\"name\":\"Nouhaila Innan\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":182,\"name\":\"Ndivhuwo Nyase\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":79,\"title\":\"Reflecting on Online Polarization and Weaponization of Social Media in Africa:  The Prospect of AI for Peacebuilding\",\"description\":\"This workshop explores how digital platforms in conflict-prone African regions can be weaponized through disinformation, hate speech, and polarization amplifying violence, displacement, and gender-based harm. Drawing on an in-depth, reflective account from Ethiopia\\u0027s Northern Ethiopia War alongside results from the POLAR1 study (a large multilingual dataset spanning 22 languages), it also examines how ethically designed NLP approaches can support detection and early-warning efforts. It matters to the Indaba community because it bridges social science and computer science to promote context-aware, inclusive digital tools, and reinforces the role of media\\\/digital literacy in countering harmful online dynamics.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/inworkshops.github.io\\\/afripolar\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Reflecting on Online Polarization and Weaponization of Social Media in Africa:  The Prospect of AI for Peacebuilding\",\"description\":\"This workshop explores how digital platforms in conflict-prone African regions can be weaponized through disinformation, hate speech, and polarization amplifying violence, displacement, and gender-based harm. Drawing on an in-depth, reflective account from Ethiopia\\u0027s Northern Ethiopia War alongside results from the POLAR1 study (a large multilingual dataset spanning 22 languages), it also examines how ethically designed NLP approaches can support detection and early-warning efforts. It matters to the Indaba community because it bridges social science and computer science to promote context-aware, inclusive digital tools, and reinforces the role of media\\\/digital literacy in countering harmful online dynamics.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/inworkshops.github.io\\\/afripolar\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T16:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":183,\"name\":\"Adem Chanie Ali\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":184,\"name\":\"Seid Muhie Yimam\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":185,\"name\":\"Shamsuddeen Hassan Muhammed\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":16,\"title\":\"Faculty Session: Faculty, Industry Linkage: Who builds, who owns, who benefits\",\"description\":\"This year, the Indaba will have a dedicated Faculty Engagement Session. The goal of this session is to bring together academics that attend the Indaba to share thoughts, expertise and experiences on AI research and learning in Africa. We hope to have an engaging panel discussion on the limitations, challenges and opportunities for performing AI research on the continents especially in universities. We will wrap up the day with an open networking session to connect, collaborate, and inspire each other. The committee will be engaging faculty members in attendance in discussions on AI education, policy, academic equity, and infrastructure needs  on the continent .\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Faculty Session: Faculty, Industry Linkage: Who builds, who owns, who benefits\",\"description\":\"This year, the Indaba will have a dedicated Faculty Engagement Session. The goal of this session is to bring together academics that attend the Indaba to share thoughts, expertise and experiences on AI research and learning in Africa. We hope to have an engaging panel discussion on the limitations, challenges and opportunities for performing AI research on the continents especially in universities. We will wrap up the day with an open networking session to connect, collaborate, and inspire each other. The committee will be engaging faculty members in attendance in discussions on AI education, policy, academic equity, and infrastructure needs  on the continent .\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":247,\"name\":\"Faculty Session\"},\"session_type_id\":247,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T16:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":7,\"name\":\"Ife Adebara\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":8,\"name\":\"Nelson Ijumba\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Daniel Bj\\u00f6rkegren\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":11,\"name\":\"Narjes Bellamine Ben Saoud\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":12,\"name\":\"Stephen Gbenga Fashoto\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":13,\"name\":\"Chinalu B\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":14,\"name\":\"Ujah-Ogbuaga\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":101,\"name\":\"Frank Dignum\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":102,\"name\":\"Ndolo Anthony\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":81,\"title\":\"Startup Pitch Competition\",\"description\":\"The Startup Showcase at DLI 2026 offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to present innovative AI-driven ventures, connect with mentors, investors, and industry partners, and compete in the inaugural Indaba Startup Pitch Competition, organised in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Selected startups will participate in a week-long support pipeline, including in-person mentorship, and a live pitch competition where each team will deliver a three-minute pitch followed by a three-minute Q\\u0026A with an expert judging panel. The competition is open to startups at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage or beyond, and only registered DLI 2026 attendees are eligible to apply. Winners will receive prizes including cloud credits worth up to USD 15,000 and an invitation to attend the AI for Good Summit, with awards presented during the DLI 2026 closing ceremony.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Startup Pitch Competition\",\"description\":\"The Startup Showcase at DLI 2026 offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to present innovative AI-driven ventures, connect with mentors, investors, and industry partners, and compete in the inaugural Indaba Startup Pitch Competition, organised in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Selected startups will participate in a week-long support pipeline, including in-person mentorship, and a live pitch competition where each team will deliver a three-minute pitch followed by a three-minute Q\\u0026A with an expert judging panel. The competition is open to startups at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage or beyond, and only registered DLI 2026 attendees are eligible to apply. Winners will receive prizes including cloud credits worth up to USD 15,000 and an invitation to attend the AI for Good Summit, with awards presented during the DLI 2026 closing ceremony.\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T16:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T17:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":3,\"name\":\"Babacar Seck\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":57,\"name\":\"Lauriane Mbagdje Dorenan\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":93,\"name\":\"Ruby O Khupe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":94,\"name\":\"Martin Koome Karimi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":95,\"name\":\"Tafadzwa K Munzwa\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":96,\"name\":\"Robert Selemani\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":97,\"name\":\"Cherno Basiru Jallow\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":98,\"name\":\"Kolade Afolabi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":99,\"name\":\"Bami Oni\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":100,\"name\":\"Obongofon Udombat\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":103,\"name\":\"Dan Ekpe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":104,\"name\":\"Charlene Chen\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":17,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T17:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T18:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":18,\"title\":\"1-few Mentorship Session (A) [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Format:\\nThis new format addresses feedback received from past editions where mentees wished for small group discussions to share more personal experience.\\nOrganized following a \\u201cSpeed dating\\u201d format, in which each mentor is seated at a table and discusses with one mentee at a time for a limited amount of time. Once time is up, mentees join another table to pursue the discussion with another mentor.  \\nTo allow as many mentees as possible to participate in the 1-few sessions, each mentee will be able to alternate between mentors a limited number of times. \\nDue to this limited capacity, attendance in the 1-few sessions will be subject to selection based on the personal motivation of each mentee. \\nThis new format complements the breakfast mentorship and is a great opportunity for the mentees to have a more engaging and personal discussion with the mentors\\n\\nSign-up Link: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/hHNvtqXWYXCUTyTW8\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"1-few Mentorship Session (A) [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Format:\\nThis new format addresses feedback received from past editions where mentees wished for small group discussions to share more personal experience.\\nOrganized following a \\u201cSpeed dating\\u201d format, in which each mentor is seated at a table and discusses with one mentee at a time for a limited amount of time. Once time is up, mentees join another table to pursue the discussion with another mentor.  \\nTo allow as many mentees as possible to participate in the 1-few sessions, each mentee will be able to alternate between mentors a limited number of times. \\nDue to this limited capacity, attendance in the 1-few sessions will be subject to selection based on the personal motivation of each mentee. \\nThis new format complements the breakfast mentorship and is a great opportunity for the mentees to have a more engaging and personal discussion with the mentors\\n\\nSign-up Link: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/hHNvtqXWYXCUTyTW8\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":117,\"title\":\"1-few Mentorship Session (C) [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Format:\\nThis new format addresses feedback received from past editions where mentees wished for small group discussions to share more personal experience.\\nOrganized following a \\u201cSpeed dating\\u201d format, in which each mentor is seated at a table and discusses with one mentee at a time for a limited amount of time. Once time is up, mentees join another table to pursue the discussion with another mentor.  \\nTo allow as many mentees as possible to participate in the 1-few sessions, each mentee will be able to alternate between mentors a limited number of times. \\nDue to this limited capacity, attendance in the 1-few sessions will be subject to selection based on the personal motivation of each mentee. \\nThis new format complements the breakfast mentorship and is a great opportunity for the mentees to have a more engaging and personal discussion with the mentors\\n\\nSign-up Link: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/hHNvtqXWYXCUTyTW8\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"1-few Mentorship Session (C) [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Format:\\nThis new format addresses feedback received from past editions where mentees wished for small group discussions to share more personal experience.\\nOrganized following a \\u201cSpeed dating\\u201d format, in which each mentor is seated at a table and discusses with one mentee at a time for a limited amount of time. Once time is up, mentees join another table to pursue the discussion with another mentor.  \\nTo allow as many mentees as possible to participate in the 1-few sessions, each mentee will be able to alternate between mentors a limited number of times. \\nDue to this limited capacity, attendance in the 1-few sessions will be subject to selection based on the personal motivation of each mentee. \\nThis new format complements the breakfast mentorship and is a great opportunity for the mentees to have a more engaging and personal discussion with the mentors\\n\\nSign-up Link: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/hHNvtqXWYXCUTyTW8\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"1 \\u00e0 quelques s\\u00e9ances de mentorat (B)\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":116,\"title\":\"1-few Mentorship Session (B) [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Format:\\nThis new format addresses feedback received from past editions where mentees wished for small group discussions to share more personal experience.\\nOrganized following a \\u201cSpeed dating\\u201d format, in which each mentor is seated at a table and discusses with one mentee at a time for a limited amount of time. Once time is up, mentees join another table to pursue the discussion with another mentor.  \\nTo allow as many mentees as possible to participate in the 1-few sessions, each mentee will be able to alternate between mentors a limited number of times. \\nDue to this limited capacity, attendance in the 1-few sessions will be subject to selection based on the personal motivation of each mentee. \\nThis new format complements the breakfast mentorship and is a great opportunity for the mentees to have a more engaging and personal discussion with the mentors\\n\\nSign-up Link: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/hHNvtqXWYXCUTyTW8\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"1-few Mentorship Session (B) [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"Format:\\nThis new format addresses feedback received from past editions where mentees wished for small group discussions to share more personal experience.\\nOrganized following a \\u201cSpeed dating\\u201d format, in which each mentor is seated at a table and discusses with one mentee at a time for a limited amount of time. Once time is up, mentees join another table to pursue the discussion with another mentor.  \\nTo allow as many mentees as possible to participate in the 1-few sessions, each mentee will be able to alternate between mentors a limited number of times. \\nDue to this limited capacity, attendance in the 1-few sessions will be subject to selection based on the personal motivation of each mentee. \\nThis new format complements the breakfast mentorship and is a great opportunity for the mentees to have a more engaging and personal discussion with the mentors\\n\\nSign-up Link: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/hHNvtqXWYXCUTyTW8\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":119,\"title\":\"Ideathon Mentorship Session\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Ideathon Mentorship Session\",\"description\":\"\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"S\\u00e9ance de mentorat Ideathon\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":4,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":118,\"title\":\"Faculty Mentorship Circles\",\"description\":\"We will be connecting experienced professors\\\/researchers with early-career academics for knowledge exchange, joint research planning, and pedagogical support.  \",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Faculty Mentorship Circles\",\"description\":\"We will be connecting experienced professors\\\/researchers with early-career academics for knowledge exchange, joint research planning, and pedagogical support.  \"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T18:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":101,\"title\":\"WIML Social\",\"description\":\"Join us for an inclusive social event that brings together the Women in Machine Learning community with the broader Indaba network. This session features a panel discussion and roundtable conversations exploring career journeys, challenges, and personal perspectives, especially around what it means to navigate the tech and research world as a woman. While centered on women\\u2019s experiences, the insights shared offer valuable career advice for everyone. Come for thoughtful discussion, stay for relaxed networking and connection.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"WIML Social\",\"description\":\"Join us for an inclusive social event that brings together the Women in Machine Learning community with the broader Indaba network. This session features a panel discussion and roundtable conversations exploring career journeys, challenges, and personal perspectives, especially around what it means to navigate the tech and research world as a woman. While centered on women\\u2019s experiences, the insights shared offer valuable career advice for everyone. Come for thoughtful discussion, stay for relaxed networking and connection.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":44,\"name\":\"Raesetje Sefala\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":49,\"name\":\"Tejumade Afonja\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":50,\"name\":\"Foutse Yuehgoh\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":64,\"name\":\"Chinonyelum Rosemary Igwe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":86,\"name\":\"Hellina Hailu Nigatu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":90,\"name\":\"Aisha Alaagib\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":92,\"name\":\"Chinazo Anebelundu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":19,\"title\":\"Dinner\",\"description\":\"Sponsor Socials [sign-up required]\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Dinner\",\"description\":\"Sponsor Socials [sign-up required]\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-06T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-06T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":23,\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Breakfast\",\"description\":\"\"},{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"Petit-d\\u00e9jeuner\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T06:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":136,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a West African data engineer and biostatistician who serves as a Research Associate at a pan-African artificial intelligence and climate science initiative. His work focuses on building affordable, parameter-efficient machine learning models to improve localized weather forecasting and climate resilience across the continent. Concurrently, he conducts postgraduate research in AI for Science, biostatistics, and epidemiology through prominent pan-African and international institutions.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 3 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a West African data engineer and biostatistician who serves as a Research Associate at a pan-African artificial intelligence and climate science initiative. His work focuses on building affordable, parameter-efficient machine learning models to improve localized weather forecasting and climate resilience across the continent. Concurrently, he conducts postgraduate research in AI for Science, biostatistics, and epidemiology through prominent pan-African and international institutions.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":2,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":135,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is an experienced venture capitalist and former corporate executive who serves as the Founder and Managing Partner of an investment firm dedicated to building technology and artificial intelligence companies across Africa. Over his career, he has backed nearly twenty startups including two early regional unicorns. Previously, he served as the CEO of a major digital ecosystem initiative and was a founding member of a prominent development finance venture capital program.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 2 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is an experienced venture capitalist and former corporate executive who serves as the Founder and Managing Partner of an investment firm dedicated to building technology and artificial intelligence companies across Africa. Over his career, he has backed nearly twenty startups including two early regional unicorns. Previously, he served as the CEO of a major digital ecosystem initiative and was a founding member of a prominent development finance venture capital program.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":1,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":137,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a technical staff on the Agents team at a Canadian company where he currently focuses on agentic evaluations, and long horizon exploration in LLM agents. His previous work covered multi-teacher offline distillation for multilingual model training, and also other orthogonal fields such as image generation.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 4 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a technical staff on the Agents team at a Canadian company where he currently focuses on agentic evaluations, and long horizon exploration in LLM agents. His previous work covered multi-teacher offline distillation for multilingual model training, and also other orthogonal fields such as image generation.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":3,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":22,\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a data scientist and computational mathematician who focuses on transforming STEM education across Africa by building an AI-powered academy for gifted and neurodiverse learners. Over an impactful career, they have taught creative mathematics, data science, and AI literacy to over 3,000 students while designing data-driven education solutions for emerging markets and global leaders. Driven by the belief that mathematics is a tool for liberation, they advocate for inclusive education innovation and are also the author of a debut transformative novel.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Mentorship Session 1 [sign-up required]\",\"description\":\"The mentor is a data scientist and computational mathematician who focuses on transforming STEM education across Africa by building an AI-powered academy for gifted and neurodiverse learners. Over an impactful career, they have taught creative mathematics, data science, and AI literacy to over 3,000 students while designing data-driven education solutions for emerging markets and global leaders. Driven by the belief that mathematics is a tool for liberation, they advocate for inclusive education innovation and are also the author of a debut transformative novel.\\n\\nSign-up: https:\\\/\\\/forms.gle\\\/3hdfByzoYxSC5PDj7\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":251,\"name\":\"Mentorship\"},\"session_type_id\":251,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T07:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":99,\"title\":\"GeoAI for a Climate-Resilient Africa\",\"description\":\"The GeoAI for a Climate-Resilient Africa Workshop focuses on advancing geospatial AI methods to support climate adaptation, disaster response, and environmental sustainability across Africa. It brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to bridge cutting-edge Earth observation AI with real-world needs in data-scarce and high-impact contexts. The workshop is important to the Indaba community because it connects frontier machine learning research with pressing African challenges, emphasizing equitable, deployable, and socially grounded AI systems.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/geoai-climate-f6a90b.gitlab.io\\\/#\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"GeoAI for a Climate-Resilient Africa\",\"description\":\"The GeoAI for a Climate-Resilient Africa Workshop focuses on advancing geospatial AI methods to support climate adaptation, disaster response, and environmental sustainability across Africa. It brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to bridge cutting-edge Earth observation AI with real-world needs in data-scarce and high-impact contexts. The workshop is important to the Indaba community because it connects frontier machine learning research with pressing African challenges, emphasizing equitable, deployable, and socially grounded AI systems.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/geoai-climate-f6a90b.gitlab.io\\\/#\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":147,\"name\":\"Rendani Mbuvha\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":206,\"name\":\"Steffen Knoblauch\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":207,\"name\":\"Gilles Hacheme\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":208,\"name\":\"Shruti Nath\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":209,\"name\":\"Catherine Wanjiru\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":210,\"name\":\"Jackline Tum\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":211,\"name\":\"Yawogan Jean Eudes Gbodjo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":212,\"name\":\"Serah Akojenu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":85,\"title\":\"4th TrustAI Workshop at the Deep Learning Indaba: How Trustworthy Are LLM-as-Judges? Implications for the African Continent\",\"description\":\"The 4th TrustAI Workshop examines a growing but underexplored practice in AI research: the use of large language models as automated evaluators (LLM-as-judges), questioning how reliable and culturally fair these systems truly are. Because most state-of-the-art LLMs are trained predominantly on Western data, their use as judges risks embedding Global North biases into evaluation frameworks, potentially marginalizing African languages, knowledge systems, and cultural contexts. This matters deeply to the Indaba community, as African researchers, often under-resourced are among those most likely to rely on LLM-as-judges, while also being the most affected by their cultural blind spots and by the displacement of African data workers that automated evaluation accelerates. By creating space for critical dialogue, the workshop seeks to empower the African AI community to build evaluation practices that are inclusive, accountable, and grounded in diverse ways of knowing.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/trustaideepindaba.github.io\\\/organizers  \\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"4th TrustAI Workshop at the Deep Learning Indaba: How Trustworthy Are LLM-as-Judges? Implications for the African Continent\",\"description\":\"The 4th TrustAI Workshop examines a growing but underexplored practice in AI research: the use of large language models as automated evaluators (LLM-as-judges), questioning how reliable and culturally fair these systems truly are. Because most state-of-the-art LLMs are trained predominantly on Western data, their use as judges risks embedding Global North biases into evaluation frameworks, potentially marginalizing African languages, knowledge systems, and cultural contexts. This matters deeply to the Indaba community, as African researchers, often under-resourced are among those most likely to rely on LLM-as-judges, while also being the most affected by their cultural blind spots and by the displacement of African data workers that automated evaluation accelerates. By creating space for critical dialogue, the workshop seeks to empower the African AI community to build evaluation practices that are inclusive, accountable, and grounded in diverse ways of knowing.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/trustaideepindaba.github.io\\\/organizers  \\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":192,\"name\":\"Allassan Tchangmena A Nken\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":193,\"name\":\"Belona Sonna\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":194,\"name\":\"Dalia Yousif Ali\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":195,\"name\":\"Deborah Dormah Kanubala\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":86,\"title\":\"4th Workshop on Robotics and Automation in Africa\",\"description\":\"The 4th Workshop on Robotics and Automation in Africa centers on the theme of \\u0022LLMs in Robotics,\\u0022 exploring how large language models and vision-language-action models are transforming how robots understand the world and interact with humans. Through an interactive, hands-on tutorial and a panel discussion featuring industry experts, participants will gain practical skills alongside insights into how these frontier AI technologies apply to African contexts. This workshop is vital to the Indaba community because it directly aligns with the continent\\u0027s path in frontier AI while launching the Akili African Robotics Community (AARC), a new network dedicated to lowering barriers to entry, promoting resource accessibility, and fostering long-term collaboration across Africa.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/aarc-africa.org\\\/indaba-2026\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"4th Workshop on Robotics and Automation in Africa\",\"description\":\"The 4th Workshop on Robotics and Automation in Africa centers on the theme of \\u0022LLMs in Robotics,\\u0022 exploring how large language models and vision-language-action models are transforming how robots understand the world and interact with humans. Through an interactive, hands-on tutorial and a panel discussion featuring industry experts, participants will gain practical skills alongside insights into how these frontier AI technologies apply to African contexts. This workshop is vital to the Indaba community because it directly aligns with the continent\\u0027s path in frontier AI while launching the Akili African Robotics Community (AARC), a new network dedicated to lowering barriers to entry, promoting resource accessibility, and fostering long-term collaboration across Africa.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/aarc-africa.org\\\/indaba-2026\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":196,\"name\":\"Alexandra Barry\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":197,\"name\":\"Geraud Nangue Tasse\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":198,\"name\":\"Jenalea Rajab\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":199,\"name\":\"Kamryn Norton\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":200,\"name\":\"Ndivhuwo Makondo\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":201,\"name\":\"Sicelukwanda Zwane\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":202,\"name\":\"Tamlin Love\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":203,\"name\":\"Zukisa Mbuli\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":84,\"title\":\"How Do We Know AI Works? Lessons from Real Evaluations\",\"description\":\"\\u0022How Do We Know AI Works? Lessons from Real Evaluations\\u0022 is a 3-hour workshop organized by APHRC and the Agency Fund, bringing together AI researchers, health system implementers, clinicians, and policymakers to examine what rigorous real-world evaluation of AI health tools actually looks like in practice. It addresses a critical gap: while AI clinical decision support tools are rapidly proliferating, robust evidence on their effectiveness and safety, especially in LMICs, remains thin. For the DLI community specifically, the workshop offers a rare bridge between technical AI development and the messy realities of health system deployment, stress-testing evaluation approaches and surfacing lessons on bias, generalizability, and failure detection. It\\u0027s directly relevant to researchers who want their work to have real-world impact and to understand what it takes for AI to earn trust in high-stakes clinical settings across Africa and beyond.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/aphrc.org\\\/data-science-program\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"How Do We Know AI Works? Lessons from Real Evaluations\",\"description\":\"\\u0022How Do We Know AI Works? Lessons from Real Evaluations\\u0022 is a 3-hour workshop organized by APHRC and the Agency Fund, bringing together AI researchers, health system implementers, clinicians, and policymakers to examine what rigorous real-world evaluation of AI health tools actually looks like in practice. It addresses a critical gap: while AI clinical decision support tools are rapidly proliferating, robust evidence on their effectiveness and safety, especially in LMICs, remains thin. For the DLI community specifically, the workshop offers a rare bridge between technical AI development and the messy realities of health system deployment, stress-testing evaluation approaches and surfacing lessons on bias, generalizability, and failure detection. It\\u0027s directly relevant to researchers who want their work to have real-world impact and to understand what it takes for AI to earn trust in high-stakes clinical settings across Africa and beyond.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/aphrc.org\\\/data-science-program\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":213,\"name\":\"Agnes Kiragga\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":214,\"name\":\"Miranda Barasa\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":215,\"name\":\"Edmund Korley\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":83,\"title\":\"An Introspective Look at the African AI Landscape\",\"description\":\"Spaces like DLI are at the forefront of shaping the direction of homegrown African AI innovation and technology, resulting in a thriving AI community. Yet, deliberations around what distinguishes African AI research\\\/practice from Western traditions, what African values we should attempt to anchor our technical work in, or what kind of uniquely African future we should envision are largely missing. This workshop is oriented towards active co-deliberation and community-guided introspection around \\u201cWhat is uniquely African about the African AI community?\\u201d The workshop will take a deep dive into decolonial theories and engage AI researchers and practitioners, ethics researchers, and sociologists in conversation to distill the core principles of an African AI ecosystem that primarily centers African values.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/berkeley.edu\\\/introspectivelookatafricaai\\\/home\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"An Introspective Look at the African AI Landscape\",\"description\":\"Spaces like DLI are at the forefront of shaping the direction of homegrown African AI innovation and technology, resulting in a thriving AI community. Yet, deliberations around what distinguishes African AI research\\\/practice from Western traditions, what African values we should attempt to anchor our technical work in, or what kind of uniquely African future we should envision are largely missing. This workshop is oriented towards active co-deliberation and community-guided introspection around \\u201cWhat is uniquely African about the African AI community?\\u201d The workshop will take a deep dive into decolonial theories and engage AI researchers and practitioners, ethics researchers, and sociologists in conversation to distill the core principles of an African AI ecosystem that primarily centers African values.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/sites.google.com\\\/berkeley.edu\\\/introspectivelookatafricaai\\\/home\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T08:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T11:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":86,\"name\":\"Hellina Hailu Nigatu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":204,\"name\":\"Abeba Birhane\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":205,\"name\":\"Teanna Barrett\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":82,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T11:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T12:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":103,\"title\":\"Sovereign Supply Chains: Frontier AI for Resilient African Logistics\",\"description\":\"This 90-minute interactive session bridges the gap between AI innovation and intellectual property governance. The first half is a live podcast recording where experts respond to pressing IP questions from the African ML community. The second half pivots to an unconference, using a \\u0022human spectrogram\\u0022 and open-floor dialogue to surface tensions between open science, proprietary innovation, and African data sovereignty.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/datasciencelawlab.africa\\\/deep-learning-indaba-2026\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Sovereign Supply Chains: Frontier AI for Resilient African Logistics\",\"description\":\"This 90-minute interactive session bridges the gap between AI innovation and intellectual property governance. The first half is a live podcast recording where experts respond to pressing IP questions from the African ML community. The second half pivots to an unconference, using a \\u0022human spectrogram\\u0022 and open-floor dialogue to surface tensions between open science, proprietary innovation, and African data sovereignty.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/datasciencelawlab.africa\\\/deep-learning-indaba-2026\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":225,\"name\":\"Jesse Mac Donald\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":226,\"name\":\"Obakeng Moepya\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":227,\"name\":\"Dario Fanucchi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":228,\"name\":\"Precious Adekunle\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":229,\"name\":\"Kelian Massa\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":230,\"name\":\"Asha Tailor\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":90,\"title\":\"Whose Intelligence? Building Agentic AI in Africa without Frontier Model Dependency.\",\"description\":\"Agentic AI is arriving in Africa on someone else\\u0027s terms, and we have not been honest enough about what that means. This workshop pressure-tests four tensions: AI safety and policy, AI Infrastructure, cultural alignment, and value extraction; that sit at the heart of building agentic AI in Africa without frontier model dependency. Through positional talks, a workshop challenge, and a structured fishbowl dialogue, we convene researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to have the conversation the African AI community needs to have. The outputs will be published as an open preprint, so the conversation does not end in the room.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/ml-collective-africa.github.io\\\/dl-indaba-2026\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Whose Intelligence? Building Agentic AI in Africa without Frontier Model Dependency.\",\"description\":\"Agentic AI is arriving in Africa on someone else\\u0027s terms, and we have not been honest enough about what that means. This workshop pressure-tests four tensions: AI safety and policy, AI Infrastructure, cultural alignment, and value extraction; that sit at the heart of building agentic AI in Africa without frontier model dependency. Through positional talks, a workshop challenge, and a structured fishbowl dialogue, we convene researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to have the conversation the African AI community needs to have. The outputs will be published as an open preprint, so the conversation does not end in the room.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/ml-collective-africa.github.io\\\/dl-indaba-2026\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":235,\"name\":\"Chisom Chibuike\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":236,\"name\":\"Ifihanagbara Olusheye\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":237,\"name\":\"Honour-Jesus Bezaleel\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":238,\"name\":\"Busayo Awobade\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":239,\"name\":\"Chialuka Onuoha\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":240,\"name\":\"Prince Mireku\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":88,\"title\":\"Data, Culture, and Community: An Interactive Exhibition of the AfricaNLP Playbook and Annotation Tool\",\"description\":\"African issues for AI emerge from data. But it does not stop just at data, it extends to infrastructure, expertise, and true community engagement. We did not build just a tool for annotation, but a comprehensive guideline and an interactive playbook. In this workshop, we introduce the AfricaNLP Dataset Creation Playbook and a mobile-first offline-support annotation platform, through live demos, hands-on tasks, and community dialogue. Come and join us to explore, test, and enhance your future tools built to make African language data creation more exciting, accessible, governed, and sustainable.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/inworkshops.github.io\\\/afriplaybookntool\\\/\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Data, Culture, and Community: An Interactive Exhibition of the AfricaNLP Playbook and Annotation Tool\",\"description\":\"African issues for AI emerge from data. But it does not stop just at data, it extends to infrastructure, expertise, and true community engagement. We did not build just a tool for annotation, but a comprehensive guideline and an interactive playbook. In this workshop, we introduce the AfricaNLP Dataset Creation Playbook and a mobile-first offline-support annotation platform, through live demos, hands-on tasks, and community dialogue. Come and join us to explore, test, and enhance your future tools built to make African language data creation more exciting, accessible, governed, and sustainable.\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/inworkshops.github.io\\\/afriplaybookntool\\\/\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":156,\"name\":\"Idris Abdulmumin\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":184,\"name\":\"Seid Muhie Yimam\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":185,\"name\":\"Shamsuddeen Hassan Muhammed\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":222,\"name\":\"Abinew Ali Ayele\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":223,\"name\":\"Tadesse Destaw Belay\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":224,\"name\":\"Ibrahim Said Ahmad\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":87,\"title\":\"Sovereign assets: Navigating the intellectual property frontier of African AI (A live podcast and unconference  on Africa\\u2019s path to sovereign intelligence)\",\"description\":\"This 90-minute interactive session bridges the gap between AI innovation and intellectual property governance. The first half is a live podcast recording where experts respond to pressing IP questions from the African ML community. The second half pivots to an unconference, using a \\u0022human spectrogram\\u0022 and open-floor dialogue to surface tensions between open science, proprietary innovation, and African data sovereignty.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Sovereign assets: Navigating the intellectual property frontier of African AI (A live podcast and unconference  on Africa\\u2019s path to sovereign intelligence)\",\"description\":\"This 90-minute interactive session bridges the gap between AI innovation and intellectual property governance. The first half is a live podcast recording where experts respond to pressing IP questions from the African ML community. The second half pivots to an unconference, using a \\u0022human spectrogram\\u0022 and open-floor dialogue to surface tensions between open science, proprietary innovation, and African data sovereignty.\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":155,\"name\":\"Chijioke Okorie\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":231,\"name\":\"Hamza Mokaree\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":232,\"name\":\"Nander Esmeralda Ndam\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":233,\"name\":\"Abimbola Modupe\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":234,\"name\":\"Zinzi Shabangu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":89,\"title\":\"Building Africa\\u0027s Digital Future: DIGITAfrica AI\\\/ML and Connectivity Blueprints for a Pan-African Research Infrastructure in Digital Sciences\",\"description\":\"DIGITAfrica is a Horizon Europe EU\\u2013Africa project building the blueprints for a pan-African Research Infrastructure in Digital Sciences. This showcase presents two co-designed outputs \\u2014 an AI\\\/ML Blueprint and a Connectivity Blueprint \\u2014 laying out practical pathways for African institutions to own their compute, govern their data, and lead their research agendas. For a community gathered under the theme of Sovereign Intelligence, this is the infrastructure work that makes that sovereignty real.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/indaba.digitafrica.eu\\\/\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Building Africa\\u0027s Digital Future: DIGITAfrica AI\\\/ML and Connectivity Blueprints for a Pan-African Research Infrastructure in Digital Sciences\",\"description\":\"DIGITAfrica is a Horizon Europe EU\\u2013Africa project building the blueprints for a pan-African Research Infrastructure in Digital Sciences. This showcase presents two co-designed outputs \\u2014 an AI\\\/ML Blueprint and a Connectivity Blueprint \\u2014 laying out practical pathways for African institutions to own their compute, govern their data, and lead their research agendas. For a community gathered under the theme of Sovereign Intelligence, this is the infrastructure work that makes that sovereignty real.\\n\\nhttps:\\\/\\\/indaba.digitafrica.eu\\\/\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":248,\"name\":\"Workshops\"},\"session_type_id\":248,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T12:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T13:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":11,\"name\":\"Narjes Bellamine Ben Saoud\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":216,\"name\":\"Jean Louis Fendji\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":217,\"name\":\"Joachim Nedaouka\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":218,\"name\":\"Cherif Ghazel\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":219,\"name\":\"Joyce Mwangama\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":220,\"name\":\"Damien Saucez\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":221,\"name\":\"Nikos Makris\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":25,\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Lunch\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T13:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T15:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":91,\"title\":\"What does a credible path to African AI sovereignty look like in 2035?\",\"description\":\"The Indaba concludes with a forward-looking keynote panel examining what a credible path to African AI sovereignty could look like over the coming decades. Bringing together leaders from government, industry, research, and investment, the discussion will explore the policies, infrastructure, talent, governance, and partnerships needed to build AI ecosystems that are locally driven, globally competitive, and aligned with Africa\\u0027s priorities. The session aims to move beyond vision-setting toward practical recommendations for advancing sovereign, inclusive, and responsible AI across the continent.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"fr\",\"title\":\"\\u00c0 quoi ressemblera une voie cr\\u00e9dible vers la souverainet\\u00e9 en mati\\u00e8re d\\u0026#39;IA en 2035 ?\",\"description\":\"\"},{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"What does a credible path to African AI sovereignty look like in 2035?\",\"description\":\"The Indaba concludes with a forward-looking keynote panel examining what a credible path to African AI sovereignty could look like over the coming decades. Bringing together leaders from government, industry, research, and investment, the discussion will explore the policies, infrastructure, talent, governance, and partnerships needed to build AI ecosystems that are locally driven, globally competitive, and aligned with Africa\\u0027s priorities. The session aims to move beyond vision-setting toward practical recommendations for advancing sovereign, inclusive, and responsible AI across the continent.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":243,\"name\":\"Keynote Panel\"},\"session_type_id\":243,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T15:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T16:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Akua Gyekye\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":3,\"name\":\"Babacar Seck\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":4,\"name\":\"Nyalleng Moorosi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":5,\"name\":\"Olatunbosun Alake\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":6,\"name\":\"Quincey Stumpner\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":112,\"name\":\"Prince Abudu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":92,\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":null,\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Coffee Break \\u0026 Networking\",\"description\":\"\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T16:30:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T17:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":104,\"title\":\"Closing remarks and award ceremony\",\"description\":\"The Closing Ceremony brings the week to a close with celebration and recognition. Together, we\\u0027ll reflect on the highlights of DLI 2026, celebrate outstanding contributions through awards, thank the many individuals and partners who made the event possible, and look ahead to the future of the Deep Learning Indaba community. The celebrations continue immediately afterwards at the Closing Party. The session will be anchored by this year\\u2019s General Chairs: Aisha Alaagib, Albert Kahira and Chinazo Anebelundu\\n\\nThe Closing Remarks will feature Bayo Adekanmbi, Founder and CEO of Data Science Nigeria. Reflecting on Nigeria\\u0027s role as host of DLI 2026, he will acknowledge the efforts of the local organising committee, led by Co-General Chair Chinazo Anebelundu, celebrate the community\\u0027s achievements throughout the week, and officially pass the mantle to the next Deep Learning Indaba host.\\n\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Closing remarks and award ceremony\",\"description\":\"The Closing Ceremony brings the week to a close with celebration and recognition. Together, we\\u0027ll reflect on the highlights of DLI 2026, celebrate outstanding contributions through awards, thank the many individuals and partners who made the event possible, and look ahead to the future of the Deep Learning Indaba community. The celebrations continue immediately afterwards at the Closing Party. The session will be anchored by this year\\u2019s General Chairs: Aisha Alaagib, Albert Kahira and Chinazo Anebelundu\\n\\nThe Closing Remarks will feature Bayo Adekanmbi, Founder and CEO of Data Science Nigeria. Reflecting on Nigeria\\u0027s role as host of DLI 2026, he will acknowledge the efforts of the local organising committee, led by Co-General Chair Chinazo Anebelundu, celebrate the community\\u0027s achievements throughout the week, and officially pass the mantle to the next Deep Learning Indaba host.\\n\"}],\"session_type\":{\"id\":253,\"name\":\"Main plenary\"},\"session_type_id\":253,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T17:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T18:30:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":90,\"name\":\"Aisha Alaagib\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":91,\"name\":\"Albert Kahira\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":92,\"name\":\"Chinazo Anebelundu\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null},{\"id\":129,\"name\":\"Olubayo Adekanmbi\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]},{\"id\":26,\"title\":\"Closing Party\",\"description\":\"The Closing Party is our grand finale\\u2014a high-energy celebration with live music, dancing, entertainment, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate the friendships, collaborations, and memories made throughout the week. Join us as we close DLI 2026 in true Indaba spirit.\",\"translations\":[{\"language\":\"en\",\"title\":\"Closing Party\",\"description\":\"The Closing Party is our grand finale\\u2014a high-energy celebration with live music, dancing, entertainment, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate the friendships, collaborations, and memories made throughout the week. Join us as we close DLI 2026 in true Indaba spirit.\"}],\"session_type\":null,\"session_type_id\":null,\"start_time\":\"2026-08-07T19:00:00+01:00\",\"end_time\":\"2026-08-07T22:00:00+01:00\",\"sort_order\":0,\"speakers\":[{\"id\":91,\"name\":\"Albert Kahira\",\"photo_url\":null,\"bio\":null}],\"tracks\":[]}]<\/script>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"bep-root\"><noscript>Please enable JavaScript to view the event programme.<\/noscript><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-1061","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1061"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1094,"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1061\/revisions\/1094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeplearningindaba.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}