Artificial Intelligence is becoming a fundamental layer of the Internet, shaping digital services, public infrastructure, and the ways people access, create, and exchange information. For Africa, this transformation presents a major opportunity, but many young people still face barriers that prevent them from moving from AI users to AI creators. These barriers include limited access to practical skills, affordable and meaningful connectivity, cloud and computing resources, locally relevant datasets, financing, employment pathways, research networks, and opportunities to participate in policymaking and technical standards processes.

This interactive workshop will examine how African youth can take meaningful roles in the development, governance, and responsible use of AI. For this session, an “AI creator” is not limited to a software developer. The term also includes researchers, entrepreneurs, data practitioners, artists, content creators, open-source contributors, language-technology innovators, policy contributors, technical standards participants, and community leaders who adapt AI to address local needs.

Particular attention will be given to young women, rural youth, and young people from underserved communities who face additional structural barriers to accessing AI education, infrastructure, funding, professional networks, and decision-making spaces. The discussion will explore how governments, universities, companies, civil society, the technical community, and youth networks can create stronger pathways from training to employment, entrepreneurship, research, innovation, and policy participation.

The session will also address the security risks faced by young creators in an AI-enabled environment. Artists, entrepreneurs, content creators, and digital innovators may be exposed to AI-enabled social engineering, impersonation, account compromise, intellectual property misuse, fraudulent content, malicious false flags, and automated platform lockouts. These incidents can cause financial, professional, reputational, and personal harm, especially when creators lack cybersecurity support, transparent appeal procedures, or effective redress mechanisms. A practical case study will help participants examine how cybersecurity awareness, identity protection, platform accountability, digital trust, and accessible remedies can support safer participation in the AI economy.

The workshop will combine short expert interventions, facilitated working groups, participant prioritization, and stakeholder commitments. Both onsite and online participants will contribute recommendations on skills and education, infrastructure and computing, innovation and financing, governance and standards, cybersecurity, online safety, human rights, and youth participation.

Participants will identify practical actions that different stakeholder groups can implement within the next 12 months. The session will seek to produce five priority recommendations for a Youth AI Creators Action Framework, a stakeholder responsibility matrix, practical 12-month commitments, and a documented list of fellowships, standards bodies, policy processes, research networks, technical communities, innovation programmes, cybersecurity initiatives, and Internet Governance opportunities open to African youth.

The overall objective is to ensure that African youth are not only consulted about the future of AI, but are equipped and empowered to build, govern, secure, and shape it.