Deep Learning Indaba 2023
What is the Maathai Impact Award?
The Wangari Maathai Impact Award encourages and recognises work by African innovators that shows impactful application (including but not limited to technical, societal, environmental, and economic) of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
This award reinforces the legacy of Wangari Maathai in acknowledging the capacity of individuals to be a positive force for change: by recognising ideas and initiatives that demonstrate that each of us, no matter how small, can make a difference.
The award will be presented at the annual Deep Learning Indaba in September 2023. We welcomed applications from individuals, teams and organisations themselves, or nominations by third parties.
How were candidates nominated?
Candidates were either self-nominated or nominated by a third party. The application includes a description of the impactful work being done, the people empowered by this work, and why the work is innovative. Two supporting letters from persons familiar with the work are also provided.
How to assess a nomination
Applications should be assessed based on:
- The impactful work itself on concrete communities
- The breadth of impact they or their work has had in utilising technology to educate about, showcase, or preserve African culture, language and history
- The work’s innovativeness and the extent to which it is grounded in African communities
- The individual/team’s role in empowering individuals and groups affected or involved with machine learning
- The strength of the supporting letters
The review form asks for a 1-5 rating for each of the above items, as well as a longer-length answer (150-200 words) commenting more generally on the nominee and the work they are doing.
More information on eligibility and other application guidelines can be found here.
If you are willing to assist as a reviewer for one or more of the nominations, please provide your details here by the 8th of May 2023.
