China's first UNESCO Category 1 Center established in Shanghai

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially inaugurated its International Institute for STEM Education in Shanghai on Sunday, establishing it as the first Category 1 center established by the agency in the Asia-Pacific region.

The institute, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), is the 10th Category 1 center globally under UNESCO's framework.

Its main functions include promoting STEM education across all stages from early childhood to adulthood, with a focus on providing inclusive, equitable, relevant and high-quality STEM education for all.

"This is a Category One institute of UNESCO. That means that it has full autonomy, but it's very much a global scope. So we do think that at the time where STEM is the ground for any other important step from AI to quantum technology, to having here this new center, can really meet the demand, the global demand," said Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education.

"Shanghai is an incredibly important international hub for science, technology, universities, higher education, education system and innovation. There is an ecosystem for innovation. So we see it, as UNESCO, as an ideal place to establish an institute which is supposed to become a global hub for improving the quality of education, training, learning and also research in the STEM field," she said.

The center aims to leverage China's practices in STEM and interdisciplinary education to promote the joint development and sharing of global high-quality STEM education resources through international joint research, policy dialogue and training.

"As an institute, it can gather information from around the world, making it easier for us to access the latest global developments and explorations in STEM education. It also provides a platform for China to share its practices, experiences, philosophies, and new models with the international community," said Qin Changwei, Secretary General of the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO.

China's first UNESCO Category 1 Center established in Shanghai

The newly-established World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) marks a major milestone in AI development and a significant step toward global AI governance, international delegates said on Friday.

Twenty-nine countries on Thursday signed an agreement in Shanghai on establishing WAICO, an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai.

The organization aims to promote international cooperation and global governance on AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, thereby promoting its healthy and orderly development to benefit all humanity.

"I think this organization reinforces the need for multilateral cooperation. So you have 29 countries that have come together. I think yesterday's developments underline the importance of the capacity-building that countries around the world are facing an AI divide. There are some countries that do not have the talent, the datasets, the computer infrastructure, the access to the right models, and therefore efforts such as these can help bridge the AI divide," said UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill.

Alaa Abdulaal, chief of Digital Economy Intelligence at the Digital Cooperation Organization, also hailed the launch, saying that cooperation is vital to ensure that no country is structurally excluded from the evolving digital landscape.

"Any initiative that is targeted for opening dialogues and innovation and conversation between countries to make sure that everyone is participating in the digital economy is a huge milestone. Whenever we have cooperation, whenever we have different countries, different representation, making sure that no one is left outside AI, it is a huge achievement, definitely," said Abdulaal.

World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization marks milestone in AI development: int'l delegates