SBCC practitioners, from intervention designers to evaluators, are under pressure from funders, and colleagues alike to ‘lean-in’ to using AI, driven by the allure of scalability, cost-effectiveness and innovation. Many are held back from doing so by legitimate concerns about AI’s reliability, and its erosion of global equity, inclusion, data privacy, and the very humanity at the heart of successful SBCC interventions. Others may fear being left behind, not knowing where to start, let alone what to invest further in.

This ‘beginners’ level workshop responds to this pivotal time for our sector, and is designed for any SBCC professional who’d like to both improve their knowledge and use of AI tools for key SBCC-related tasks, whilst also receiving guidance on if, when, and how to use them responsibly. Participants will receive a comprehensive introduction to the potential uses of AI tools within the SBCC lifecycle, along with real-world examples and demos. Depending on their interest, they will then try out, dissect and discuss different freely available AI tools, experimenting with their utility for SBCC proposal writing, chatbot design, sentiment analysis & more.

Throughout, participants will be given explicit guidance on best practice, drawing from the facilitators’ extensive work researching and advising on the responsible use of AI for SBCC. The session will steer clear of unhelpful binaries relating to AI usage, emphasising the importance of well-informed, contextual agency when it comes to individuals’ and organisations’ decision to use or not use AI for their work.

If you are going to be at the SBCC Summit in Panama on June 22nd, you can sign up using the link below.