As a privileged knowledge partner of the G20 under South Africa’s 2025 presidency, UNESCO is supporting the G20’s bold agenda to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation for the public sector. At the heart of this partnership, UNESCO delivered a workshop in Gqeberha, South Africa, on 11 April 2025, gathering G20 members, guest countries and international organizations to accelerate AI capacity building in the public sector.
AI for Public Good: From Vision to Action
With digital transformation being now a cornerstone of modern governance, UNESCO’s workshop tackled the urgent need to equip civil servants with the skills and ethical grounding to deploy AI in line with human rights. The event spotlighted best practices from G20 countries, showcased UNESCO’s AI and Digital Transformation Competency Framework, and mapped new avenues for international collaboration.
UNESCO’s partnership with the G20 represents a critical opportunity to address AI capacity gaps in the public sector and to leverage AI for enhancing what the public sector can offer to the people. Our commitment extends beyond frameworks to practical capacity building initiatives that empower public officials to make informed decisions about technologies that will shape our collective future.
Guilherme CanelaDirector, Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation
Key Insights from the Workshop
- Tailored Training for Impact: Speakers agreed that AI training must be role-specific, ensuring every civil servant—from policy makers to frontline staff—has the right skills for their responsibilities. As Sunil Geness, a private sector representative from South Africa, put it, “The skill set building has to be specific in terms of the roles that the civil servants actually perform.”
- Trust, Human Rights and Ethics at the Core: Building public trust in AI was a central theme. Prof. Karen Bradshaw of Rhodes University emphasized the need for officials to understand AI’s limitations and validate outputs, while other delegates called for ethics to be embedded alongside technical skills.
- Public-Private Innovation: Singapore’s “AI Wednesdays” exemplify how public-private partnerships can spark innovation and accelerate learning. Mavis Chung from Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information emphasized the importance of fostering community between industry, public sector, and civil society to learn, share, and innovate together.
A Call for Global Action
The workshop revealed a clear consensus: as governments worldwide race to integrate AI into public services, capacity building must keep pace. Guidelines and toolkits are vital, but hands-on experience is what gives civil servants the confidence to lead digital transformation. G20 nations have a unique opportunity to join forces and ensure no country is left behind.
The G20’s leadership, coupled with UNESCO’s expertise and commitment to ethical AI, creates a powerful partnership that can truly make a difference in how AI is developed, deployed, and governed.
Clare StarkUNESCO’s Sous Sherpa for the G20
UNESCO’s Ongoing Commitment
Since 2021, UNESCO’s Programme on AI for the Public Sector has empowered civil servants in over 50 countries to design transparent, efficient, and inclusive AI-powered public services. By championing human rights-based digital transformation and fostering cross-sector partnerships, UNESCO is helping governments turn knowledge into action—one innovation at a time.
Stay tuned for updates on UNESCO’s global initiatives as we work with the G20 and partners worldwide to shape a digital future that leaves no one behind.
Source: https://www.unesco.org/
