On Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 October, the 30^th Lisbon Forum: “AI and Global Governance: Rights, Representativity and Readiness” will brought together 250 policymakers, legal professionals, civil society representatives from different world regions to discuss the need to govern artificial intelligence (AI) in a way that upholds human rights, democracy and cultural diversity.

In response to this challenge, the Council of Europe has adopted the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law — the world’s first binding international treaty on AI —.

The Lisbon Forum featured interventions from H.E. Christopher CUTAJAR, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Tourism at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Malta, H.E. Augustin KIBASSA MALIBA, Minister of Digital Economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ms Neema LUGANGIRA, Member of Parliament, Tanzania, Chair of African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG) and Secretary General of Women Political Leaders (WPL), M. Mohamed BEN AMOR, General Director of the Arab ICT Organisation (AICTO), M. Waldemar GONÇALVES, President-Director of the National Data Protection Authority of Brazil (ANPD), among others.

This edition was organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in close collaboration with the Council of Europe’s Digital Governance and Sport Department and with contributions from AICTO, the Council of Europe’s European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI). It is part of the policy programme of the Maltese Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

For more information about the programme, visit the webpage.

Since 1994, the Lisbon Forum of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe has been a flagship event providing a platform for interregional exchange among representatives of governments, parliaments, regional and local authorities, and civil society to discuss the global role of the Council of Europe in the areas of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. In line with the mandate of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, the Forum maintains a global focus, with particular attention to the Southern Mediterranean region and Africa. 

This edition is organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and part of the joint programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe "Protecting human rights, rule of law and democracy through shared standards in the Southern Mediterranean" (South Programme V), co-financed by both organisations.