Innovative policy models, new capacity-building efforts, and practical reforms show how data governance is reshaping public services and artificial intelligence applications worldwide.
As governments grapple with how to regulate data and artificial intelligence, UNESCO and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a joint capacity‑building initiative titled Data governance for inclusive digital and AI futures.
Hosted at the ITU Academy and supported by the EU Global Gateway initiative, the training equips government officials with practical tools to design rights‑based data governance frameworks that enable inclusive, transparent and accountable digital transformation. As a core public policy priority, data governance is essential for safeguarding rights, advancing equity, strengthening trust and unlocking the full potential of digital and artificial intelligence technologies.
Facilitated by UNESCO and UNDP experts, the cohort brought together nearly fifty government officials and policymakers from twenty-three countries across Africa, Asia and the Arab States. Selected from more than 740 applicants, the cohort reflects strong global demand for structured policy guidance on data and artificial intelligence governance. The small-group setting supported guided, dialogue-driven learning, enabling direct interaction with instructors and peer exchange on how trusted data ecosystems underpin safe, transparent and inclusive artificial intelligence systems.
Moving from principles to practice
During the first cohort, participants explored data lifecycle practices and applied the framework of the UNESCO Data Governance Toolkit. The toolkit supports Member States in developing inclusive national data strategies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, embedded in UNESCO’s ongoing work on data governance.
The cohort translated theory into action through applied group projects addressing real-world governance challenges across health, social protection and digital identity systems. These included:
Health systems and public services
Improving measles vaccine coverage (MCV1) in the Philippines, supporting the achievement of 95 per cent national immunization targets through stronger data governance.
Transforming patient referral systems in Kenya, using a trusted data framework designed to operate across more than 14,000 health facilities.
Strengthening public health insurance access in Cambodia, through improved data management and citizen‑centred service delivery.
Advancing data governance policy for clinical care in Malaysia, supported by a preliminary data sharing policy.
Digital identity and emerging data domains
Integrating digital identity systems in Nigeria, with safeguards and interoperability across the National Identification Number platform.
Establishing governance approaches for neural data in the Philippines, ensuring the responsible handling of sensitive biometric information.
Social protection
- Designing a data governance framework for Madagascar’s Unique Social Registry (RSU), supporting a more inclusive social protection system.
These projects illustrate how treating data as a strategic public asset can improve transparency, accountability and the protection of fundamental rights. At the same time, the projects demonstrate how participants translate global principles into concrete national solutions.
Peer learning and South-to-South collaboration
As part of the programme model, participants worked in cross-country teams, enabling nations at different stages of digital transformation to learn from one another. This exchange of experience — from regulatory frameworks to institutional design and implementation challenges — is embedded as one of the programme’s most valuable components.
The training also featured insights from practitioners, including Ms Chein Inn Lee, Deputy Director for AI Governance and Safety at the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority. Drawing on Singapore’s experience, she shared how privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) deployed through regulatory sandboxes can embed trust and accountability into national artificial intelligence ecosystems. Her presentation highlighted how PETs helped address three key challenges: limited regulatory clarity and incentives, gaps in knowledge on matching use cases with appropriate PETs, and low levels of trust in solution providers.
Advancing global momentum on data governance
Building on the outcomes of the first cohort, this training forms part of a wide effort to strengthen national data governance capacities across regions. With support from the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative, selected participants were able to attend the course at no cost. A second cohort will be launched in June 2026, expanding access for policymakers seeking structured, hands-on guidance to design rights-based data governance systems for inclusive digital futures.
As countries accelerate their digital transformation efforts, initiatives like this are essential to ensure that artificial intelligence serves the public interest, protects human rights and promotes equitable development.