The Made in Africa AI in MERL Framework: The Virtual World Cafe Working Session on July 14

We’re excited to take the conversation about Made in Africa AI in MERL from theory to practice and we want you to help shape what comes next.

On July 14, 2026, at 11am ET / 4pm BST / 5pm CAT / 6pm EAT, the Africa AI Learning Group at the Natural Language Processing Community of Practice (NLP-CoP) will convene a special World Café working session

Since publishing the Made in Africa AI in MERL Landscape Study in 2025, we’ve been in ongoing conversation with working group members about what it actually means to use AI in evaluation practice in ways that are grounded, ethical, and locally owned. Most recently, we facilitated a workshop at ICT4D on the competencies required to operationalize Made in Africa AI approaches within evaluation practice. Building on this momentum, we’re ready to take the next step and build a framework together.

What is this framework, and why does it matter to MERL practitioners in Africa?

This will be a practical tool and shared reference point that helps practitioners navigate questions like: How do I integrate AI into my MERL work in a way that reflects African values and contexts? What should I be able to do, and what should I expect from the systems and institutions I work with? Currently, those questions don’t have a shared, agreed-upon answer, and this session is where we start working towards building shared agreements.

What to expect

There are no formal speakers. No presentations to sit through. Instead, participants will work in small groups with peers from across the continent, debating, co-creating, and stress-testing ideas together. The session centers on values and principles: what should a Made in Africa AI in MERL framework actually stand for, and what competencies, i.e technical, ethical, governance-related, and contextual, do evaluators need to put those commitments into practice?

By the end of the session, participants will have 

• Contributed and shaped a  first draft of a Made in Africa AI in MERL Framework
• Clarity on the competencies that will keep them competitive and grounded as an evaluator
• New connections with peers who are grappling with the same questions

We invite you to be part of this important conversation. Anyone who wants to be part of shaping how AI is used in African evaluation practice is welcome to be a part of this. Whether you bring deep technical knowledge, years of evaluation experience, or simply a strong conviction that this needs to get right, we would love to have you participate in this co-creation session. 

Sign up via the link below to join us for this interesting conversation.