Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 19 to 22 May 2026
Venue: Sipopo Congress Center in Malabo, Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Highlights: Accelerating digital transformation in Africa is key to addressing environmental, climate, and public health challenges, while bridging gaps in connectivity, energy access, affordability, and infrastructure. As digital technologies — including data- and energy-intensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) — expand, standards-based, context-appropriate solutions are needed to ensure sustainability without deepening inequalities. This includes resource-efficient and “right-sized” AI approaches, such as smaller models, TinyML and Edge AI, enabling deployment in low-resource environments while reducing energy consumption and environmental impacts.
Key discussions will focus on energy and material efficiency, sustainable networks and data centres, and their role in supporting ICT solutions and AI-driven services, while ensuring responsible use of energy, materials and water. This includes approaches such as ecodesign, energy- and resource-efficient ICT and AI systems, optimized model design, and transparency frameworks to better understand and reduce the environmental footprint of digital technologies.
The Symposium will also address Digital Product Information Systems (DPIS), including Digital Product Passports, as enablers of transparency, traceability, and circular value chains, in line with the Basel Convention provisions, and will serve as a regional consultation for Africa contributing to the development of a global DPIS framework.
More information about the 16th Symposium is available here.
Organizers: The event was organized by the ITU together with the Ministry of Transport, Telecommunications and Artificial Intelligence Systems of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and co-organized, among others, by the Basel Convention and its Partnership for Action on Challenges relating to E-waste (PACEII), the UNEP One Planet initiative and other partners.
Working language: English
Meeting objectives:
- Bringing together diverse stakeholders to foster innovative solutions in cooperation with PACEII and the Basel Convention.
- Highlight the environmental footprint and enabling role of digital technologies, including AI and data centres.
- Promote the development and adoption of energy-efficient and resource-efficient artificial intelligence.
- Advance circular economy and transparency through discussions on Digital Product Information Systems (DPIS), including Digital Product Passports, eco-design, e-waste management, and standards for sustainable consumption and production.
- Emphasize the importance of policies and national digital strategies, climate strategies and regulatory frameworks related to the ESM of e-waste.
Target Audience: Participation in the Symposium was open to ITU Member States, Ministries of the Environment, E-waste experts and stakeholder from government, industry, academia, and civil society.
Contact Information: Francesca.cenni@un.org