Timeline: 2025-26

Funding organisation: Microsoft

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Global Majority, AI for Good, AI Governance, AI Policy, Digital Inclusion

Call for Papers – AI Adoption for the Global Majority: Charting a Way Forward

A joint initiative by the Geneva Graduate Institute, Microsoft, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Overview

The Geneva Graduate Institute's Tech Hub, in collaboration with Microsoft and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is launching a Call for Papers to explore innovative, inclusive, and impactful pathways to ensure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) benefits the Global Majority.

This initiative invites researchers, practitioners, and innovators to propose policy-oriented research projects that support equitable and sustainable AI development and adoption — with a strong emphasis on strengthening the voices, capabilities, and agency of communities across the Global Majority.

Background and Objectives

Artificial Intelligence is transforming every aspect of global society — from healthcare and education to agriculture and climate resilience. This technology can enhance human and organisational capacity and become a key driver for progress in tackling the world's most pressing challenges. Yet, while the potential is vast, the risks and barriers remain of concern. Bias, privacy concerns, unequal access, and governance gaps threaten to exacerbate global inequalities if left unaddressed. To meet these challenges, this Call for Papers seeks to support interdisciplinary, evidence-based, and policy-oriented research that places the Global Majority at the centre of AI development and policy.

Focus Areas

Proposals should address one or more of the following priority themes:

AI and Data Governance for the Global Majority

• What regulatory, institutional, and policy instruments can strengthen the voices and impact of Global Majority countries within regional and global AI and data governance frameworks?
• What regulatory, institutional, and policy instruments can ensure equitable and responsible AI innovation in Global Majority countries?

AI Diffusion and Adoption for the Global Majority

• What regulatory, institutional, and policy instruments can contribute to accelerating technical capacity, policy expertise, and AI literacy in Global Majority countries?
• What lessons can be drawn from digital and AI literacy education initiatives, as well as AI-for-Good projects across critical sectors—such as health, agriculture, trade, and biodiversity conservation—to inform more inclusive AI adoption and diffusion in Global Majority countries?

Projects should aim to offer creative, pragmatic, and impactful solutions that contribute to inclusive policymaking and capacity-building at local, national, or international levels.

Why This Matters

Inclusive and Human-Centred AI is not just a policy aspiration — it is a global imperative. Ensuring that AI serves the needs of the many, not the few, demands collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and geographies.

This Call for Papers is part of a broader commitment by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Tech Hub, Microsoft, and ITU to promote responsible innovation, strengthen AI capacity across the Global Majority, and contribute to the global governance of emerging technologies. This initiative is in accordance with the principles and objectives promoted by the United Nations, who plays a central role in this process, by driving an inclusive multistakeholder approach as exemplified through the Global Digital Compact.

Who Should Apply

We welcome proposals from:

• Academic researchers
• Think tanks
• Civil society organizations
• Public sector actors
• Private sector innovators

Cross-sector and cross-regional collaborations are especially encouraged.

NB: Teams will have to reflect a geographical and gender balance. Only teams that include women and members of the Global Majority will be considered.

Partners

• The Geneva Graduate Institute is a global leader in research and education in international affairs. Through its Tech Hub, it brings together expertise on technology, governance, and development to explore how emerging technologies reshape global dynamics.
• Microsoft works to democratize access to AI, with a focus on ensuring that the benefits of AI are widely shared, particularly in the Global Majority. Its AI Access Principles guide responsible innovation aligned with sustainable development.
• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication technologies. As the organizer of the AI for Good initiative, ITU fosters international dialogue and collaboration on the safe, inclusive, and effective use of artificial intelligence.

Learn More & Submit Your Project

Applications will be open from 15 June.

Together, let’s shape an AI future that leaves no one behind.