Tag Archives: Doreen Bogdan-Martin

UN, will.i.am (rapper, science advocate, and former member of Black Eyed Peas) and Google team up to train young AI and robotics pioneers in Africa

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Will.i.am has a bit of a history with regard to his science advocacy, from my October 16, 2013 posting,

New York’s recent comics convention (New York ComiCon, Oct. 10 -13, 2013) featured not only a Twitter hijack of its attendees accounts as described in an Oct. 11, 2013 posting on Techdirt by Timothy Geigner but also a presentation by will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas band) about a comic book project, Wizards & Robots, according to David Bruggeman’s Oct. 15, 2013 posting on his Pasco Phronesis blog (Note: Links have been removed),

At this year’s New York Comic Con, Black Eyed Peas musician will.i.am appeared with Brian David Johnson, a futurist who works with (among others) Intel.  They were at the Comic Con to promote their upcoming comic book, Wizards and Robots (H/T STEMDaily).  will sees the project as a means of getting more young people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.  STEM is an interest of will’s, brought about by concerns over the future of the kids he works with in some of his charitable efforts:

“Will had been working with inner city kids for his charity i.am.angel, encouraging them to study math and sciences, and was concerned that technological intelligence was outpacing human’s ability to control it. [emphasis mine]

This September 24, 2025 International Telecommunication Union (UN agency) press release (also received via email) and available on EurekAlert describes wil.i.am’s latest venture,

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the United Nations agency for digital technologies – Google, and musician, tech founder and philanthropist will.i.am have launched an initiative to bring artificial intelligence and robotics training to students across Africa.

Announced during the Digital@UNGA Anchor Event at the UN General Assembly, the programme combines hands-on AI and robotics training for young people in underserved communities, including in those countries where the joint ITU-UNICEF [United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund] Giga initiative is working to help governments connect schools to the Internet.

Digital@UNGA, a week-long series of activities during the General Assembly, spotlights global digital cooperation and opportunities to use digital technologies for good.

“This initiative will open new doors of opportunity for AI literacy among young people, enabling them to lead the digital transformation that is reshaping how we live, work and communicate,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “ITU is working to equip youth across Africa with the training and tools they need to thrive in an AI-powered world.”

The new programme addresses the dual challenge of connecting offline populations and building digital skills in communities that have been harder to reach. Special emphasis will be placed on reaching girls and other underrepresented groups.

While demand for AI skills is increasing rapidly, 2.6 billion people remain offline worldwide, including 1.3 billion children. In Africa, 60 per cent of young people are still unconnected, severely limiting opportunities to learn and thrive in the digital economy.

Once schools are connected to the Internet through the Giga initiative, students aged from 10 to 18 years old will gain access to AI training through ITU’s AI Skills Coalition and Robotics for Good Youth Challenge, initiatives of ITU’s AI for Good programme.

Backed by ITU’s AI Skills Coalition Goodwill Ambassador will.i.am, founder and president of the i.am Angel Foundation, the initiative will deliver hands-on robotics kits, localized AI curricula and teacher training to schools participating in the programme.

“In our global tech-driven economy, it’s urgent that we help bring young people in critically underserved areas up to speed so they can participate,” said will.i.am. “With STEM, robotics and AI skills, bright young minds across Africa will be equipped with the skills required to succeed and help solve the world’s most pressing problems.”

Google, through its philanthropic arm Google.org, will contribute AI expertise and funding of USD 1 million to launch the programme.

For many children, this programme will offer the first chance to access the internet, code and experiment with robotics.

“To take full advantage of the opportunities presented by AI, we must democratize access, making it available to everyone, everywhere,” said James Manyika, Senior Vice President of Research, Labs, Technology & Society at Google. “We see this AI and robotics training program as an important part of how we’re delivering on our mission in Africa, where Google is working to expand connectivity, increase access to AI tools, and build skills across the continent.”

The programme will launch in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa to establish the foundation for bringing AI and robotics skills training into schools across the continent.

Activities will include customizing courses, training teachers and facilitators, distributing robotics kits to schools, and hosting national showcases.

The work in the first five countries will build on existing Robotics for Good competitions and Giga partnerships. Robotics for Good is already active in more than 60 countries around the world, while Giga is engaged in 45.

Over time, the initiative will expand to countries across Africa and eventually worldwide.

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Resources and background information:

  • Learn more about the AI Skills Coalition here.
  • Learn more about the Robotics for Good Global Youth Challenge here.
  • Learn more about Giga here.
  • Learn more about AI for Good here. 

About ITU:

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations agency for digital technologies, driving innovation for people and the planet with 194 Member States and a membership of over 1,000 companies, universities, civil society, and international and regional organizations. Established in 1865, ITU coordinates the global use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbits, establishes international technology standards, drives universal connectivity and digital services, and is helping to make sure everyone benefits from sustainable digital transformation, including the most remote communities. From artificial intelligence (AI) to quantum, from satellites and submarine cables to advanced mobile and wireless broadband networks, ITU is committed to connecting the world and beyond. Learn more: www.itu.int   

Call me cynical but I wonder where the money is coming from and I wonder how Google will profit from this philanthropic endeavour. That said, I hope some good comes of it.

United Nations Virtual Worlds Day on June 14, 2024

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So the United Nations (UN) organization is moving onto virtual worlds in addition to our current world? It makes a kind of sense when you realize the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is a UN agency. Also, in my opinion, the UN has shown increasing interest in emerging technology and science over the last few years.

Here’s more about the UN’s interest in virtual worlds and their potential role in city life in a June 14, 2024 ITU press release (also received via email),

ITU and partners advance virtual worlds to shape future city living

First UN Virtual Worlds Day launches international effort on the CitiVerse

Geneva, 14 June 2024

A global initiative for virtual worlds to support sustainable development and enhance city life was announced today at the first UN Virtual Worlds Day at ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. 

The Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds – Discovering the CitiVerse will define norms and principles to guide the governance of metaverse solutions in cities for areas such as urban planning, education, and municipal services.

Led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN International Computing Centre (UNICC) and Digital Dubai, the initiative will drive capacity development, facilitate sharing of best practices, and develop a sandbox environment for cities to simulate virtual world scenarios.

“By harnessing the transformative power of virtual worlds, we can accelerate progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, [SDGs]” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “The virtual worlds initiative is an essential step on the path of metaverse innovation that can enrich the lives of people in cities around the world.”

Advancing progress on virtual worlds

UN Virtual Worlds Day highlights the transformative power of virtual worlds, including the metaverse and spatial computing, to accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The new initiative launched at the event builds on the work of ITU’s Focus Group on metaverse, which has laid the groundwork for international standards to support an open, inclusive metaverse that drives progress towards the SDGs.

Established in late 2022, the focus group has identified compelling opportunities for the metaverse to support smart cities.

In urban planning and management, city leaders could simulate their innovations before implementation at scale. A virtual city space can also advance education and training, improve access to public services, and support participatory governance.

The Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds will complement the work of ITU’s standardization expert group for the Internet of Things and smart cities and communities, ITU-T Study Group 20. It will also work alongside United for Smart Sustainable Cities, a UN initiative supported by ITU together with 19 UN partners.

The initiative rests on three pillars that will bring the CitiVerse from concept to community:

  1. Bringing the CitiVerse to Life: Developing expert guidance, raising awareness around CitiVerse opportunities and challenges, and developing and adopting key performance indicators.
  2. Connecting Cities with the Virtual and Real Worlds: Advancing cities’ integration of emerging technologies, curating CitiVerse use cases, and developing a sandbox environment and related technical tools.
  3. Tunneling the CitiVerse: Fostering a community of practice to encourage collaboration among cities, organizing urban problem-solving competitions, and implementing training programmes to boost CitiVerse expertise.

Virtual worlds adding real value to city life

The launch of Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds – Discovering the CitiVerse, comes alongside a new UN Executive Briefing developed by ITU, the UN Agency for Digital Technologies, together with 17 UN partners, on the relevance of virtual worlds and the metaverse to the SDGs.

The UN Executive Briefing also stresses the essential factors – such as responsible technology governance, ethical considerations, and privacy and security concerns – that need to be addressed to ensure that the benefits of virtual worlds are fully realized.

If you’re interested in finding out more about this ITU initiative, there’s the Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds – Discovering the CitiVerse webspace.

Some thoughts about Vancouver (Canada) and ‘Discovering the CitiVerse’

What follows is pure self indulgence:

I hope there’s interest from Vancouver in this initiative especially given this description from the ITU Webinars Digital Transformation Episode no. 35,

Description

The citiverse is a concept for a network of interconnected virtual worlds that are synchronized with their physical counterparts. It is envisioned as a way to create more inclusive, sustainable, and participatory cities. [emphasis mine]

Smart city initiatives have often focused on technology for its own sake, rather than on how technology can be used to improve the lives of people. This has led to some smart city projects being expensive, inefficient, and even harmful.
It is important that we develop a people-centered citiverse, which is one that uses technology to solve real-world problems and improve the quality of life for all residents. This means that people should be at the heart of the city planning and development process.
For example, smart city platforms can allow residents to submit feedback on city services or vote on proposed projects. It can also improve the quality of life for residents in a number of ways, such as by reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality, and making it easier to access essential services. Also, it can help to attract new businesses and industries to the city, and they can also help to create new jobs in the citiverse related sector.
Overall, people-centered citiverse have the potential to make cities more livable, sustainable, and equitable for all residents.

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I’m not too hopeful since Vancouver City Council (other municipalities have expressed opposition) recently voted in favour of a plan that provoked outrage over erosion of local democracy and serious concerns about the rush to build. Ostensibly, the initiative [mandated by the province of British Columbia] is intended to solve the homelessness crisis although there are doubts about the proposed solution. (If you’re curious, see this June 13, 2024 article by Elizabeth Murphy, formerly with the City of Vancouver’s housing and properties department,,for The Tyee: “Why BC’s Forced Rush to Rezone Neighbourhoods Is Wrong; The province’s push fails to promote democracy, local planning and once vibrant co-op funding.”)

Not present for the city council vote was Vancouver’s Mayor* Ken Sim who has a spotty attendance record for city council meetings, from a March 14, 2024 article by Lisa Steacy for CTV news online,

Vancouver’s mayor has been absent for nearly a third of votes at public council meetings since taking office, data shows.

The City of Vancouver’s database on voting records shows that members have voted on 777 items since being sworn in on Nov. 7, 2022. Mayor Ken Sim has been marked absent 222 times, including during the vote on one of his most significant campaign promises.

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With a supermajority on council, the mayor’s vote isn’t needed to push forward the agenda that his ABC slate was elected on. However, Prest [Stewart Prest, a lecturer in political science at the University of British Columbia] says voting in and of itself is only a very small part of public meetings, which are opportunities for the mayor to hear feedback from constituents, debate with the opposition, and to tell the public and his colleagues where he stands on an issue and why.

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“The mayor is still elected to represent constituents, to voice opinions and to exercise a leadership role at council. And to take that for granted, to assume other members of ABC can do it just as well in his absence, at a certain point, the question becomes: Well, why do we need Mayor Sim?” [quote from Stewart Prest]

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Apparently, Mayor* Ken Sim was in London, England, from a June 13, 2024 article by Mike Howell for vancouverisawesome.com, Note: A link has been removed,

Council was scheduled to discuss June 11 [2024; the same day as the new rezoning/planning report was up for a vote] what a city staff report described as a “reallocation” of $80,000 from the city clerk’s department to Sim’s office budget, so he can hire an administrative assistant.

Postponement came after Coun. Peter Meiszner successfully moved a motion to defer debate to June 25. Meiszner’s rationale was that Sim was in London, England at a tech conference and would not be available to respond to questions.

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There was a big technology conference in London, England on that date, London Tech Week June 10 -12, 2024, from the Why Attend page,

London Tech Week is the global tech ecosystem – where visionaries and entrepreneurs, investors and enterprise tech leaders come together in the right balance to accelerate the infinite cycle of tech innovation.

it’s not clear to me what value attending this event would have for the mayor of Vancouver who is not a technology entrepreneurr. For the record, Ken Sim is an accountant and the owner of a nursing business and a bagel business.

Fingers crossed, he made time to attend the’ UN Virtual Worlds Day’ on June 14, 2024 in Switzerland where they were considering issues that affect cities.

*November 25, 2024: ‘mayor’ changed to ‘Mayor’ and on November 29, 2024 another instance of ‘mayor was changed to ‘Mayor’.