When you open a call for session proposals and more than 240 practitioners respond from across the world, you are not just building a program. You are asking the sector what it thinks matters most right now. The answer came back clear. A large part of the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference 2026 agenda has come from exactly that process across the data for development field. Explore it here and read on to see what the community said it wanted to talk about.
Two themes rose to the top almost equally across everything submitted: artificial intelligence and emerging technology on one side, and inclusion and accountability on the other. The sector is grappling with a real tension, somewhere between the speed at which new tools are reshaping what's possible, and the persistent question of who those tools are built for. Nairobi is where we want to work through that tension out loud, together.
The program is a mirror of the priorities of the data and development sector, and if you look closely, you will find something that represents or aligns with the work you are doing.
If data governance and AI policy are where your work lives, they’re sessions that explore what good governance looks like in practice, how accountability is built into AI systems, and what today's frameworks will mean for the communities they're meant to serve.
If your focus is on economic inclusion, health, or urban growth across the Global South, there are sessions in the agenda that get into the specifics: from how mobile phone data is being put to work for labor market statistics to what it looks like when informal food systems become data systems, and what it takes to give city governments the evidence they need to stop governing blind.
If your work touches climate, earth observation, or space intelligence, part of the program was built for you. The Global Data Festival and the Kenya Space Expo and Conference share the same stage this year because these two worlds decided their work belonged in the same room, and the sessions here reflect how quickly they are converging. Expect sessions on using satellite imagery to strengthen food and agricultural statistics, geospatial modeling for disaster risk, open spatial data in humanitarian response, and what it means for Africa to build its own capacity in orbit.
"I hope to see a shift in how open geospatial data is perceived and used — from something that is simply available to something that actively informs decisions and drives innovation."
Lorien Innes, ESRI
And if your entry point is through people — voice, representation, community-led data — that thread runs throughout the full agenda. Sessions on community-led data, citizen participation, and the human side of statistical systems make the case, over and over, that the numbers are only as good as the people behind them.
"The data ecosystem and development sector have drastically changed since the SDGs were first adopted in 2015, and the Global Data Fest, bringing the development community together to share learnings and engage in new and innovative areas, comes at a critical time to join forces and continue to push for greater accountability and inclusion."
Fiona Lawless, Sightsavers
There's one more thing worth saying about where all of this is happening.
Nairobi is not a neutral backdrop. Kenya has one of the most dynamic data and technology ecosystems on the continent, and the Kenya Space Agency adds another dimension: a country building its own capacity for earth observation and using this data to make real decisions about people's lives.
The program is live. Explore the sessions, build your journey, and register to join us in Nairobi from 2 to 5 June.
We hope to see you there.
