Study on Research Policy Communications — UNESCO

UNESCO has the mandate to promote the development of science and technology from an ethical and human rights approach. Under this framework in November 2021, UNESCO developed the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which the 193 Member States adopted by acclamation at the 41st session of its General Conference, and spearheading its implementation by the Member States through innovative tools and methodologies, such as the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) and the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA).

Through the application of these tools, UNESCO is changing the operating model that drives AI, going beyond principles to develop a range of concrete and practical solutions to ensure fair, inclusive, sustainable and equitable outcomes of AI. The Digital Flanders Agency has launched an Artificial Intelligence Expertise Center (AI EC) ‎‎tasked with enhancing and ‎guiding the adoption of AI across Flemish public administrations. ‎‎The capacity and capability of the AI EC need to be ‎strengthened to empower it to fulfill its ‎‎coordination role among Flemish public administrations in the facilitation and ‎implementation ‎‎of AI projects.

To this end, UNESCO is implementing the AI-Ready Flemish Public Administration project, funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) through the EU's Technical Support Instrument (TSI). The project aims to foster Flemish public administrations' AI-readiness and increase the adoption of AI across the Flemish public administrations in a safe, robust, trustworthy, and ethical manner. Through its three pillars, the project focuses on strengthening: (i) institutional capacity for AI governance; (ii) technical capacity for AI projects; and (iii) human capacity for AI awareness, literacy, and skills within the Flemish public administrations.

The project operates through a close collaboration with Digital Flanders' AI Expertise Centre, whose mandate is to support the 9