UN forum sees unveiling of Sino-African Tech-Creative Corridor initiative

Cultural ambassador and founder of BILARTERAL, Bakare Mubarak, has launched the Sino-African Tech-Creative Corridor, an initiative designed to foster greater collaboration between Africa's burgeoning creative industry and global technology ecosystems.

Mubarak presented the initiative during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum in New York, addressing an audience comprising policymakers, diplomats, youth leaders, investors, and venture capitalists. His presentation, titled “The Tech-Creative Corridor: Driving African Innovation with AI,” focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to advance Africa’s creative economy and safeguard digital intellectual property.

He emphasized that Africa's young innovators must take a leading role in the global technology sector, moving beyond merely being consumers of new technologies. "The youth of Africa are no longer passive consumers of global technology; we are the architects of its industrial application," Mubarak stated. He added that BILARTERAL is actively exploring the integration of AI with mobile technology and cryptographic digital provenance to enhance the protection of African intellectual property and unlock new economic avenues for creatives.

A significant aspect of the initiative is the framework it provides for connecting China's advanced technology and AI infrastructure, exemplified by hubs like Shenzhen, with Nigeria's rapidly growing creative industry centered in Lagos. The Sino-African Tech-Creative Corridor aims to cultivate long-term institutional partnerships between African creative enterprises, technology firms, and international investors, moving away from traditional sponsorship models.

Mubarak was invited to present by the leadership of Global Youth Philanthropy and the Peaceland Foundation, a humanitarian organization with consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council. The initiative underscores a commitment to empowering African creatives and positioning them as key players in the global technological and innovative landscape.

“

The global conversation around ‘AI for Good’ routinely overlooks the Global South. The youth of Africa are no longer passive consumers of global technology; we are the architects of its industrial application.