Mozilla Festival House is opening its doors in Zambia on November 20 to 21, at Lusaka International Convention Center. The event explores the power of AI, data, building community-centered tech alternatives, social justice in tech.
This gathering will see a collection of technologists, artists, activists, funders, policymakers, and researchers, under the theme of “Collective Action for Trustworthy AI.” They will be exploring the power of collective action aimed at co-creating a more responsible, trustworthy, and inclusive digital future.
Momoe Ikeda-Chełmińska, MozFest Director comments: “What makes MozFest unique is our ability to connect technology with activism and art, a formula that’s rare but essential in shaping a more inclusive tech. We are also working in solidarity with multiple social justice movements to co-create a digital future we all deserve.”
What’s MozFest About?
MozFest House events are regional adaptations of the popular, annual Mozilla Festival, exploring trustworthy AI and other digital rights issues from local perspectives. Last year, MozFest House made its debut in Nairobi. And this year in June, the Festival returned to the Netherlands, hosting MozFest House Amsterdam for the second time.
This year, Mozilla Festival is collaborating with Visa as the Presenting Sponsor of the event, and with the Skoll Foundation as the showcase sponsor.
Keynote Speakers Announced
The event features several mainstage plenaries, with a keynote from Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director of Ushahidi, (a global nonprofit tech company). She’ll be discussing the utility of AI and emerging technologies that serve Africa’s diverse communities to achieve impactful public interest outcomes. The keynote will also be live-streamed here via LinkedIn.
Other mainstage speakers from across Zambia are Dr. Chitundu Kasase, Chief Executive Officer, of the National Technology Business Center (NTBC), Tendai Miti, Executive Director of Sistah Sistah, Granville Wood, Director of Open Energy Labs and Priscilla Chomba-Kinywa, Chief Technology Officer at Greenpeace.
Addressing African Digital Challenges
Zambia’s dynamic digital landscape, coupled with its vibrant community of innovators, offers a unique environment to explore the festival’s core themes of inclusivity, accessibility, and collective action in technology. As digital transformation continues to accelerate across Africa, MozFest House Zambia spotlights local and regional voices, fostering connections between global experts and grassroots change makers.
This event underscores a commitment to addressing technology’s most pressing challenges through diverse perspectives, reinforcing Africa’s vital role in shaping an ethical, inclusive, and people-centered digital future.
The Mozilla Foundation, that runs MozFest, is the non-profit, and philanthropy arm of Mozilla — The technology company behind the Firefox web browser. Mozilla Foundation’s mission is to ensure that the Internet is a global public resource, open and accessible to all. This also includes making sure AI and data-driven technologies are more trustworthy.
MozFest House Zambia will also host a range of dynamic sessions exploring critical themes at the intersection of technology, AI, and society.
Event Highlights:
- Mainstage Dialogue & Debates: These centerpiece panels unpack urgent issues at the intersection of tech and society, for example:
- Whose Gig Economy Is It Anyway — Perspectives on an Inclusive and Safe Digital Economy for Africa, taking place on November 20, at 2:20 pm Central Africa Time. The panel will be live-streamed via YouTube. Watch Here
- Whose Gig Economy Is It Anyway — Perspectives on an Inclusive and Safe Digital Economy for Africa, taking place on November 20, at 2:20 pm Central Africa Time. The panel will be live-streamed via YouTube. Watch Here
- Lightning Talks: The Future in 60 Minutes: This is a series of four 15-minute lightning talks on the intersection of technology with art and culture, climate justice, disability justice, gender justice, and philanthropy.
- 20+ interactive sessions and workshops. MozFest events are known for their in-depth, interactive sessions. A sample of these sessions include:
- Co-Create, Code, Care: Building Survivor-Centered AI for Post-Violence Care. The session will explore participatory approaches used to co-create Zuzi, a chatbot designed to support survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). More info here
- Responsible AI for Agriculture: Strategies and Insights for Equitable Technology Adoption. This workshop delves into the intersection of AI, innovation, and inclusion, drawing on insights from innovation projects that implemented AI-driven AgriTech in diverse settings. More info here
