Healthy lives & a healthy planet
Biomedical and clinical AI, climate resilience, agriculture and tools that protect communities and ecosystems.
Africa in AINeurIPS 2026Submit a paper ↗● 1st Africa in AI Workshop · NeurIPS 2026
ROOTS &
REACH
Scaling African AI
for global impact.
WHEN6–12 December 2026
WHERESydney, Australia + Online
FORMATHybrid Workshop
01 / THE WORKSHOPLocal knowledge.
Local knowledge.
Global consequence.
Africa is not waiting for the future of AI. It is building it on its own terms, for its own realities, with lessons for the world.
The Africa in AI Affinity Group brings researchers, practitioners, industry partners and policymakers together at the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainable development. At NeurIPS 2026, we will elevate African perspectives, unlock cross-disciplinary collaboration and advance trustworthy, resource-efficient AI.
“Roots” grounds us in African contexts. “Reach” carries those ideas into the global AI ecosystem.
Research that moves
communities forward.
We welcome original research and position or vision papers spanning computer vision, large language models, robotics, multi-agent systems and AI/ML.
Education & the future of work
Language technologies, cultural heritage, learning systems and pathways to productive, inclusive economies.
Energy & thriving communities
Clean energy, safe water, resilient environments and intelligent infrastructure built for African contexts.
WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN
↗
Low-resource, high-impact
Breakthroughs for African languages and locally relevant datasets.
↗
Innovation infrastructure
Sustainable research labs and practical responses to compute constraints.
↗
Non-WEIRD algorithms
Data sovereignty, AI ethics and models that move beyond Western defaults.
↗
From lab to market
Routes to deploy and commercialise African AI in health, agriculture, language and fintech.
03 / IMPORTANT DATESMark your
Mark your
calendar.
All deadlines are 23:59 Anywhere on Earth unless otherwise stated.
Read submission details →Submission site opens2026
Early deadlineVisa support track
Full paper deadline11:59 PM AoE
Acceptance notificationAll submissions
Camera-ready deadline2026
04 / CALL FOR PAPERSBring your work
Bring your work
to the world.
Submissions must be original, include at least one researcher working or studying in Africa, and follow the published 2026 workshop format.
Submit via OpenReview ↗01
Full paper
8 pages of content plus up to 2 pages of references, submitted as a PDF.
02
Double-blind review
Remove names, affiliations, websites, funding sources and identifying acknowledgements.
03
Original work
Submissions must not have appeared in another venue, proceeding or journal.
04
Submit on OpenReview
Upload your anonymised PDF through the official Africa in AI submission portal.
TRAVEL
AWARDS
AWARDS
Support to reach Sydney.
A limited number of awards will help exceptional African researchers with conference registration, accommodation, flights and presentation development. Applicants must submit a workshop paper and be available for time-sensitive visa processing.
Application deadline · 20 July 2026 · 23:59 AoE
Africa in AI Group and its events adhere to the NeurIPS Code of Conduct Policy and Procedures.