OBREAL has partnered with The Commonwealth, the Association of African Universities and the Symbiosis International University to launch an Interregional Incubator for Youth that combines AI, Innovation, and Multilingualism to produce innovative solutions to common challenges.
The main goal of the program is to fund and foster innovative ideas which, through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), solve common interregional problems in several areas (such as education, gender equality, climate change, etc.). Since these problems are interregional, and therefore are thought and spoken about in different languages, the program also emphasizes the importance of multilingualism and encourages participants to come up with ideas that bring together these three concepts.
The impact of the AI revolution
The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, Commonwealth Secretary-General, assures us that we are “living through a technological revolution every bit as dramatic as the industrial revolution was and with impacts as profound”. -She notes, however, that AI can be a powerful ally, saying “if we can understand and master AI, we can make the world better”.
And that is exactly what the consortium is attempting to do: find innovative solutions to common challenges using AI. The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland describes the consortium as unique because it brings together leading firms, leading academics, Commonwealth governments and international institutions in a partnership to promote innovation, growth and sustainable development. The outcomes, she insists, will go “beyond innovation”.
“This consortium is unique: bringing world leading firms together with the leading academics, Commonwealth governments and international institutions for innovation, growth and sustainable development”
The Secretary General of the AAU, Professor Olusola Oyewole, is also enthusiastic about the impact this initiative may have in Africa. He believes it has the potential to “promote peace and security in Africa, support entrepreneurship among our youth, empower young people to use AI to tackle the most difficult challenges, solve problems or even create jobs“.
Professor Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro-Chancellor of Symbiosis International University, emphasizes the importance of ensuring that AI is used for the right things for society— Something that she believes is “our responsibility”.
Cooperation in each person’s native language
As stated, all the challenges and problems we want to address with the incubator are common in different parts of the world. As a result, these challenges and problems are discussed in different languages. Multilingualism, then, is a key aspect that needs to be taken into account.
OBREAL’s President, Professor Ramon Torrent, deepens the conversation regarding multilingualism, stating that “we can’t consider only one language to be the language of cooperation because we must allow the world’s populations to speak in their own languages. Because those are the languages in which they explain their problems and find solutions to them”.
“In cooperation, we must allow the world’s populations to speak in their own languages, because those are the languages in which they explain their problems and find solutions to them.”
This is where AI can play an important role. So important that in a few years it will be possible, says Ramon Torrent, for people in distress on the outskirts of Barcelona to talk in Catalan about their problems to people in distress on the outskirts of Nairobi, who will listen to them in Swahili… And vice versa.
Call for Proposals
These are the goals and the foundations of a program that seeks to support undergraduate and postgraduate students in turning their innovative ideas into tangible projects with the ultimate goal of finding innovative solutions to common challenges through AI.
Each year, 25 proposals will receive up to €10,000 in seed funding, with the most promising projects receiving additional funding over the following three years.
Find more details about the selection process and funding, and submit your concept note here.
