UNESCO Digital Learning Week closes with ministerial statement on AI in education
UNESCO's four-day Paris summit on AI and education concluded on 11 September 2026 with ministers adopting a joint statement on education as a common good in the age of AI.
Summary
UNESCO has announced the programme for Digital Learning Week 2026, its yearly flagship gathering on new technologies and the future of education. According to UNESCO, the event runs from 8 to 11 September 2026 at its Paris headquarters with a theme on facts, frictions and frontiers of AI in education. Sessions are offered in English and French, plenary sessions are to be broadcast live on the UNESCO website.
UNESCO expects more than 1,000 people to attend in Paris, with thousands more following online across the four days. It says the agenda rests on three themes: the status of facts amid synthetic knowledge, the frictions AI is creating in education systems, and emerging frontiers such as public interest AI, digital sovereignty, and approaches that are analogue or led by communities. Over 25 ministers are due to endorse a shared statement about keeping education a public good as AI spreads.
The organisation plans to launch a compilation of policy briefs covering AI safety governance, sovereignty, procurement, cost models and age-appropriateness, along with new data from its yearly survey of UNESCO Chairs on AI in higher education. An education technology prize carrying the name of King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa will also announce its winners, this year themed around creativity and critical thinking with AI. Speakers named include Sonia Livingstone, Achille Mbembe and Sal Khan.
UNESCO also describes its wider position, saying teachers should use AI to support rather than replace their judgement. It notes that it issued guidance on generative AI in education in 2023 and two AI competency frameworks in 2024, and says it has directly assisted 58 countries. Its 2021 ethics framework for AI was adopted by its 194 Member States.