Latest news with #AIE
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Daily Maverick partners with Cape Town summit to champion informed dialogue on AI
The new AI Empowered summit in August aims to make artificial intelligence accessible and accountable to ordinary professionals, educators, creatives and citizens – using AI to think bigger, move faster and lead faster. Daily Maverick is proud to announce its support for a new summit focused on making artificial intelligence (AI) accessible, actionable and relevant for South Africans. AI Empowered (AIE) will take place on 7 and 8 August 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. How do we prepare for a future we don't fully understand? As AI accelerates into every part of our lives, South Africans need more than buzzwords. We need clarity, access and serious conversation. It's easy to feel like AI is something happening out there – in techland, in code, in jobs that don't look like yours. But AI is already shaping how we work, how we learn and how we're governed. And in a country like South Africa – where inequality, unemployment and institutional fragility run deep – it's not a trend to observe; it's a force to understand, urgently. PwC South Africa's 'Value in Motion' report estimates that AI could add R129-billion to the country's GDP by 2030, with Africa as a whole standing to gain up to R1.9-trillion. The sectors with the greatest potential impact? Healthcare, education, financial services, agriculture and government. But that future doesn't build itself. And if we don't engage critically with what AI is and what it isn't, we risk repeating the mistakes of every other digital divide. Bringing AI down to Earth That's what makes this summit worth noticing – not for its glitz, but for its grounding. Inspired by the Entrepreneurs' Organization Cape Town, AIE is attempting to make AI accessible and accountable to ordinary professionals, educators, creatives and citizens. It positions itself as a summit about humans, using AI to think bigger, move faster and lead faster. Over two days, AIE will host conversations that go beyond the hype and into the real questions facing South Africans and the world today. With input from local and global thinkers in ethics, policy, education, tech and law, AIE is not selling a product; it's opening a conversation. What's on the table? Yes, there'll be a programme – three stages, 1,500 attendees, keynote speeches, panels and workshops. There'll be big names like Western Cape premier Alan Winde, AI ethics advocate Nazareen Ebrahim and Shoprite CTO Chris Shortt. And, yes, there's a track on how AI is already transforming business strategy, law, creative industries and climate science. But the real value might be in the tone: less promise, more proof. Less marketing, more meaning. AI in a South African context According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report, 44% of core job skills are expected to change in the next five years due to automation and AI. South Africa, with its complex labour market and education challenges, can't afford to sleepwalk through that shift. At the same time, AI presents enormous opportunities for scale and reach. Already, homegrown innovation is using AI for language translation in education, telemedicine in rural clinics and agricultural optimisation in drought-stricken provinces. What's needed now is not just policy, but participation. Why Daily Maverick is watching closely At Daily Maverick, we don't partner lightly. We're here because we believe that a better-informed public is the foundation of any future worth having. And AI, like climate change or inequality, is now a civic issue, not just a technological one. Join the conversation If you're curious, cautious or just craving clarity. Because South Africa can't afford to wait for others to define the future.
Agriland
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Agriland
70% of all appeals to Environmental Commissioner in 2024 were on forestry
The Commissioner for Environmental Information today (Thursday, May 8) disclosed that 70% of appeals made to his office in 2024 related to requests for environmental information on forestry. Ger Deering, the Commissioner for Environmental Information, said that last year, two public bodies – the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Coillte – together received over 1,000 requests under Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) regulations for information related to forestry. The requests for forestry information included requests for monitoring records, license inspections, and harvesting information. According to the commissioner, the purpose of AIE regulations is to 'enable members of the public to have timely and easy access to environmental information' held by government bodies. The 2024 annual review published by the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information today shows that it received 313 appeals in 2024, completed 286 appeals and had 424 appeals on hand at the end of the year. It also issued 168 formal decisions. Environmental Commissioner The Environmental Commissioner said that demand for forestry information had increased in recent years and that DAFM Coillte, and all public bodies, should consider all options which would allow for the proactive dissemination of frequently requested material and avoid the need for an AIE requests. The commissioner also highlighted today the number of decisions of public bodies he has had to overturn. But there was some improvement in 2024 – of the 168 appeals that went to a binding decision in 2024, the commissioner overturned the public body's decision in 66% of cases down on the 2023 figure of 92%. Some of the decisions that are highlighted in the 2024 annual review include the release of chemical information relating to Dublin Airport Authority and the release of forestry licence information held by Coillte. Coillte According to the Environmental Commissioner Coillte decided to refuse access to information sought under the AIE regulations relating to certain forestry felling licences granted to Coillte. On October 10, 2022, an application was made to request access to unredacted 'updated' Appropriate Assessment Determination (AAD) documents associated with nine individual felling licenses granted to Coillte and in respect of which Coillte had been notified by the Forest Service, over the period June – July 2022, of a new Hen Harrier nesting site which overlaps with the licenced area. Coillte refused access to the information because it said it highly confidential and that it only received the information from the Forestry Service for operational reasons. However the commissioner directed that access be given to the information. He noted that related information and Felling Licence Application Maps had already been provided to the requester including through a separate AIE request to Coillte. The commissioner also said that the information that was the subject of the request did not contain any additional information that could narrow down the location of the nesting sites. Deering said today: 'Proactive dissemination of information, without the need for an AIE request, has significant benefits for both the public and public bodies. 'It significantly reduces the administration required by public bodies to respond to AIE requests, while also allowing those who want to participate in environmental decision-making to do so easily and in an informed manner.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Discrimination': Southern York school board cancels Ky the Chemist's residency program
When teachers at Shrewsbury Elementary were seeking a creative way for their students to learn chemistry, bringing in Jakyra Simpson, also known as 'Ky the Chemist," seemed like a great idea to school officials. Simpson, a York native who holds workshops teaching students about chemistry through sneaker culture, was on track to start a residency through a statewide program called Arts in Education, or AIE, which pairs educators with artists who use their creativity to teach core curriculum. At Shrewsbury Elementary, part of the Southern York County School District, the educators had chosen Simpson because of what they were looking to teach. And for several months, the Cultural Alliance and the Shrewsbury PTO had worked together to get the ball rolling for her program to start in early May. But her residency was denied. During a school board meeting Feb. 20, 2025, while presenting the education committee report for district-approved guest speakers, board member Jennifer Henkel shared a list of nine speakers who were considered for in-school learning experiences. Eight of the nine speakers were approved; Simpson's program was "exempt." Previously: York's 'Ky the Chemist' uses sneakers, hip hop to inspire students to pursue science The news came as a shock to Simpson, parents, teachers and members of the Cultural Alliance who worked for months in preparing for the residency. "Everything was signed off with the PTO and faculty, the plans were in place - there was no expectation that this disruption would happen," said Kelley Gibson, president of the Cultural Alliance of York County. On Feb. 28, a virtual meeting was held with Cultural Alliance Arts in Education Director Justin Ayala, Assistant Superintendent Len Reppert, SYCSD member Jennifer Henkel, and Cait Gilbert and Emilee Pallay of the PTO. During the call, Henkel expressed that she was the only board member in the five-member panel to vote no on the residency to move forward, and that the residency did not meet school district policy 109.1, according to a letter Gibson wrote to the school board. During the March SYCSD board meeting, Henkel, responded to public comments made regarding the residency program, stating Simpson's program addressed STEAM with "an emphasis on her perception of cultural bias and prejudice in how science is taught." 'I am looking for speakers who will make all kids excited about chemistry and art here, rather than getting caught up in peripheral social issues,' Henkel added. When the York Daily Record reached out to Henkle for further clarification as to why Simpson's program was canceled, she responded, "I have nothing to say to you." AIE is a statewide program run by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and managed by the Cultural Alliance in Adams, Franklin, Fulton and York counties. The program places trained artists into education and community settings to provide custom-designed learning experiences in schools, senior centers, nonprofits and more. In schools, the process for choosing the artists is based on the need of the teachers and what they want their students to learn, whether it's something their students want to expand on further or if it's a subject their students are struggling to learn and need to be taught in a way that differs from the everyday classroom method. "It helps those who don't learn in traditional means," Gibson said. "It's those students that typically find themselves struggling in traditional learning - they really excel when you bring an artist in residence in and approach a subject in a brand-new way." Artists are often brought into schools, and depending on the subject matter, they'll work in the classroom anywhere from several days to months or even an entire year. It takes months of preparation, including professional development with artists, meetings with educators, parents and fundraising before the artists are brought in. And while the educators are considered "artists," their goal is not to teach art. "They're there to teach core curriculum through their artistic means," Gibson added. And it looks a little different each time, as each residency is filled specifically for an audience. In one instance, a photographer was invited to teach at Alloway Creek Elementary School in Littlestown, when third-graders struggled with understanding the concept of emigration. Through the AIE program, the students learned about the concept of emigrating, through a photographer's lesson, which demonstrated how to take a beautiful photo, before having students take a photo of one item that represents their family, that they would take with them, if they had to leave everything behind and emigrate. For Simpson, her mission for teaching science has always been about the students. "The rejection was a result more of me, and a form of discrimination," Simpson said. Her approach to the residency was to curate the lesson based on the interests of her students. To do so, Simpson would have surveyed the students on their interests in terms of music, games and pop culture. And while touring the classrooms at the school, Simpson said she could see the excitement on the students' faces when they heard about the program. And while her time with the Southern York County School District has come to an end before even starting, Simpson plans to continue teaching science to students in York County and beyond. "The reality is I still want to work with these students. I'm very grateful to the Cultural Alliance, and I'm also grateful for a lot of the (SYCSD) families," who Simpson said have expressed their support for her work following the residency cancellation. Last March, Simpson spoke at a TEDx hosted at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and it's opened doors for her career ever since. Recently, Simpson was invited to teach students in Atlanta about sustainability and its connection to sneakers, by Black Sustainability, a global network working to (re)build sustainable communities and economies. Later this year, she's taking her work to Phoenix, through a partnership with the Arizona Science Center, Crispus Attucks Lancaster and the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg. "When it comes to York, I'm still here to serve the community," she said. When it comes to Shrewsbury, Simpson said she is still interested in serving the community, but rather through an informal learning environment such as a library or community center. "My mission doesn't stop." This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Southern York County school board abruptly cancels Ky the Chemist
