On 14 April 2026, UNESCO launched the Observatory on Artificial Intelligence in Education for Latin America and the Caribbean at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile, during the 2026 Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development.
Key facts:
- First regional platform anchored in the UN system dedicated to AI in education in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Brings together 33 LAC Ministries of Education plus universities, research centres, and strategic partners
- Partners include: UNESCO, CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), CENIA (Chile), CETIC.br/NIC.br (Brazil), ECLAC, Fundación Ceibal (Uruguay), Fundación Santillana, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, ProFuturo, Universidad del Desarrollo, and IRCAI
- Mandated to generate evidence, strengthen capacities, and support public decision-making on AI in education
- Includes a 2026–2029 roadmap with mobilised commitments from strategic partners
- Features Latam-GPT, the region’s first open large language model developed for and from Latin America, as a key resource for Ministries of Education
Score relevance: Reinforces dim 1 (AI literacy curriculum frameworks exist via UNESCO guidance) and dim 13 (publicly accessible AI literacy resources). Observatory provides free guidance and capacity-building tools to governments. All engagement is voluntary; UNESCO has no enforcement powers.