Ethical foundations, inclusive systems, sustained momentum: The conversations we're bringing to Nairobi

The data systems we need to shape the future of AI

The India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi revealed something fundamental about where AI's future is actually being shaped, writes Janet McLaren . It's not by technology alone, but by the data partnerships and systems around it. Join us in Nairobi, 2-5 June, for the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference and be part of that conversation. Read the blog here.

I’m excited to be in Nairobi with a community that’s already moving from AI hype to real-world application across climate, health, gender, and other pressing development challenges. This is an opportunity to connect these efforts, sustain momentum, and strengthen the data systems that make impact at scale possible.

Janet McLaren, Policy Manager

Program and speaker announcements for the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference coming soon! 

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Featured: Six lessons for creating impact from the 2025 partners’ survey

Development takes time, trust, and the right connections. Listening to our network helps anticipate our partners’ needs, catalyze impact, and support progress on development goals. As we prepare for the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference in Nairobi in June, the 2025 Annual Partners Survey is helping to shape the event to deliver what the network needs. Read more

💡 Celebrating seven years of the Inclusive Data Charter | Explore how IDC Champions across the globe have contributed to progress for more inclusive data. 

💡 Strengthening disability data in Paraguay | New guidelines are paving the way to better, more harmonized disability data for more inclusive policy making. 

💡 Nairobi's media momentum in the countdown to June | Event partners hosted a special press event on 10 March to highlight the importance and opportunities of the upcoming Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference. 

💡 E-learning on the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data | From the Collaborative on Citizen Data and partners, this free, online, self-paced course introduces the Copenhagen Framework and everything you need to know about citizen data.

💡 Join the Data Values learning cohort | In collaboration with The Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis , the new learning cohort is a free, virtual peer learning opportunity to share strategies for engaging with data that are equitable, inclusive, and beneficial to all. 

Data Must Reads

🚀 Nairobi 2026: Braced for impact — the big questions that will drive innovation and action | From New York to New Delhi to Nairobi, key players and global leaders are looking for ways to make data and technology work for humanity. Building on the momentum of these events, the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference will bring together the space and data communities to dig deeper into the challenges and start shaping the shared path ahead. | Read more

🌍️ Inclusive data champions keep going in a changing landscape | Alongside the launch of the Inclusive Data Charter's seventh annual report, this blog looks back at the challenges and achievements of 2025. Explore three inspiring examples of IDC Champions advancing inclusion in data and catalyzing action in a changing global context. | Find out more

📊 Building sound statistics for next-generation corruption analytics in Colombia | Colombia is strengthening their statistical capacities to improve corruption measurement. Through the Data for Now initiative, they worked with the United Nations Statistics Division and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to strengthen governance and improve coordination. | Read the impact story

Jobs and opportunities

💼 Data Fellow – Accelerator Program, J-PAL South Asia | India | Application deadline: April 15

💼 Deputy Director, AI Delivery & Government Partnerships-Africa, Gates Foundation | Kenya | Application deadline: April 19

💼 Senior Program Manager, Data for Good, Databricks | USA | Application deadline: April 24

💼 Interns - Innovation & Analytics Hub, United Nations Human Rights | Switzerland | Application deadline: May 1