MENA AI Hackathon: Building Local AI Tools for Internet Governance

Are you a technologist, journalist, lawyer, academic, student, government officer, or CSO activist passionate about digital rights in the WANA region? Participate in the MENA AI Hackathon: Building Local AI Tools for Internet Governance on October 8–9, 2026.
The MENA AI Hackathon: Building Local AI Tools for Internet Governance brings together 20 participants from across the region, including technologists, journalists, lawyers, CSOs, academia, and higher education students, to explore the use of AI for Internet Governance. Across two days, participants will learn about Internet Governance in the WANA region, including digital rights, surveillance, and cybercrime laws, and receive practical training on building and customizing local AI agents using relevant datasets from the CADE project. 
The training will also cover AI ethics, including bias, transparency, sensitive information, and human monitoring.
Whether you bring technical skills or deep expertise in policy and digital rights, your contribution will help us bridge the gap between AI and social impact.
Why join?
During the first day, you will be working through the region’s real complexities: how to build tools that work in low-connectivity environments, how to ensure AI respects privacy, and how to maintain human monitoring in digital advocacy. 
On the second day, participants will then work in interdisciplinary teams to develop AI agent prototypes addressing challenges such as:

  • Simplifying complex legal and policy texts for advocacy.
  • Tracking and categorizing Internet Governance event discussions for CSOs.
  • Identifying relevant Internet Governance forums and events for CSOs across the region.

Who should apply?
We are looking for a diverse group of 20 participants: technologists, journalists, lawyers, CSOs, academia, and students to collaborate, learn, and prototype solutions.
Apply to our hackathon using the form below.
This hackathon is part of the CADE project, co-funded by the European Union.
 

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