ECOWAS Parliament Speaker Hadja Ibrahima urged the creation of a strong legal framework to regulate Artificial Intelligence development across West Africa during a meeting in Dakar on Monday.
The delocalised session of the parliament’s Joint Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Health, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, held in Senegal, focused on advancing education technology. Represented by Second Deputy Speaker Adjaratou Coulibaly, Ibrahima stressed the need for new learning models to align with global technological demands.
Ibrahima highlighted challenges like poor infrastructure and digital inequality hindering educational progress in the region. She called for regional strategies to promote inclusive digital learning and advocated for a community-wide legal framework to guide AI development responsibly.
Senegal’s Minister of National Education, Moustapha Guirassy, emphasized Africa’s role as AI creators and regulators. He detailed Senegal’s 130 billion CFA investment in digital education and the use of AI to monitor school performance, alongside teacher training in AI basics.
The meeting, themed ‘Prioritising Education Technology and Innovation,’ concluded with Guirassy proposing a West African Pact on AI in education, supported by an ethical charter and digital resources in African languages.
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