Paris AI Action Summit: Highlight of Our Key Engagement

The Paris AI Action Summit took place on February 10th and 11th, 2025. It brought heads of government, leaders of international organizations, small and large companies, representatives of academia, and non-governmental organizations, including civil society.

The event preceded the Bletchley Park Summit (UK) in 2023 and the Seoul Summit in 2024. The third global AI Summit in Paris oversaw the expansion of a broader range of topics under five thematic areas: public interest AI, future of work, innovation and culture, trust in AI, and global AI governance. As it aimed to be inclusive, various stakeholders participated in the core discussions and officially affiliated side events.

Official side events are designed to facilitate discussions on crucial AI governance issues and encourage greater participation. In this regard, our director, Zakariyau Yusuf, invited and participated in four official side events due to alignment with our mission and expertise in these areas. 

This post highlights our engagement in these events, reaffirming our commitment to inclusive and responsible AI governance.

Events Engagement

• Shaping AI safety: Contributing to the "AI Safety as a Collective Challenge" Workshop. During the dialogue, Zakariyau emphasized the importance of communication and stakeholder engagement during the planning and implementation of these framings. He noted that insufficient communication and engagement can hinder cooperation and efforts to treat AI safety as a global public good. He also highlighted the need for incentive mechanisms to encourage stakeholders, particularly from the global majority, to get involved in these initiatives. The AI Safety as a Collective Challenge event was co-hosted by the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Tsinghua University (Center for International Security and Strategy & Institute for AI International Governance), and Concordia AI, focused on addressing the current underprovision of AI safety measures across regions and stakeholders. Participation in the event provided valuable insights into the thinking around global AI governance setup and how we could potentially tailor our engagement strategy to the African stakeholders to align with those evolving thinking. The event also allows us to connect with aligned individuals and organizations, widening our network.

  
  

• Global AI Governance: Empowering Civil Society. During this event, Zakariyau shared insights on how African civil society can effectively contribute to international AI governance. He stressed the importance of capacity building alongside advocacy, arguing that without effectively developing the skills of African stakeholders regarding AI risks, they will struggle to recognize the necessity for collaborative governance. He warned that any direct advocacy or engagement without this essential capacity building could result in unsatisfactory outcomes. The Global AI Governance: Empowering Civil Society was co-organized by the Renaissance Numérique, Wikimedia France, Connected by Data, Avaaz, The Future Society, and the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law to gather feedback on strengthening an inclusive approach to thinking about AI. At the event's conclusion, Zakariyau networks and engages with individuals and organization leaders, including Safer AI, Future Society, and Renaissance Numérique.

  
  

• African Engagement in Global AI Governance: In this workshop, Zakariyau urged African stakeholders to think and define their non-negotiables for global AI governance due to the unique context of the continent. The Council of Europe organized this workshop with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event explored strengthening opportunities for African engagement in AI governance, including via the accession of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. Participation in this event was timely for us; it allowed us to experience how African stakeholders engage in AI discussions, providing insights on tailoring our capacity-building initiative to enhance their engagement.

  
  

  

• Africa AI Village: This event featured a fireside chat with ICT ministers from Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo. During these discussions, we gained valuable insights into the priorities of African stakeholders regarding AI. A key topic of conversation was the importance of building an inclusive AI ecosystem in Africa. However, there was less emphasis on strategies for addressing AI risks and fostering governance cooperation. This highlights the ongoing need for a greater commitment to enhancing understanding and awareness of AI risks among African stakeholders. Effective engagement in risk governance is crucial, as current discussions tend to focus more on cooperation in developing AI ecosystems rather than addressing AI risks.

  
  

We look forward to continuing these conversations and contributing to responsible and inclusive AI governance development. If you have feedback or want to engage with us, please email us at info@tgov.org.