From November 5 to 13, 2025, AFRIACT conducted a strategic mission to Dakar, Senegal, led by Ms. Samia Chelbi, as part of the AFRICAT programme managed by WikiStartup.
The mission aimed to explore opportunities for institutional cooperation between Tunisia and Senegal across education, digital innovation, artificial intelligence, culture, and youth employability, while laying the foundations for the deployment of initiatives including TalentVerse, TeensVerse, and 3DGAMEX.
Throughout the mission, the AFRIACT team engaged with a wide range of Senegalese institutions and ecosystem stakeholders, including the Université Virtuelle du Sénégal (UNCHK), UNESCO Dakar, Orange Digital Center, the Direction des Arts du Ministère de la Culture, the Ville de Dakar, AUF, the École d’Art & Métiers de Dakar, and other innovation and technology actors.
The discussions identified several promising areas for future collaboration, including the integration of TalentVerse into digital learning environments, incubation and digital production programmes, multimedia educational content, digital arts and culture, gaming and XR, and AI-focused initiatives.
The mission also explored opportunities connected to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (JOJ 2026), including digital cultural experiences, augmented comics, gaming, and initiatives supporting youth entrepreneurship and employability.
A dedicated mapping of Senegal’s AI ecosystem also highlighted strong opportunities for collaboration in areas such as AI and NLP, EdTech, Big Data, Agritech, HealthTech, and digital cultural industries. Potential initiatives identified include an AI for Culture Lab, bilingual AI and education programmes, and joint hackathons focused on AI, heritage, and gaming.
The Dakar mission represents an important step in expanding AFRIACT’s regional and international network and creating new pathways for cooperation between Tunisia and Senegal in digital education, immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, culture, and youth empowerment.
🔗 Building bridges between African ecosystems through digital innovation and collaboration.
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