The 57th United Nations Statistical Commission. The India AI Impact Summit. The East Africa Data Governance Conference. Across continents and sectors, in just the first few months of 2026, it’s clear this year is an important one for tackling shared, urgent challenges on development data, technology, AI, and governance.
From New York to New Delhi to Nairobi, key players and global leaders are looking for ways to make data and technology work for humanity. Building on the momentum of these events, the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference will bring together the space and data communities to dig deeper into the challenges and start shaping the shared path ahead.
Four questions to build a more resilient future
The program will be designed to explore four big questions that will spark innovation, learning, and collective action among 1,500+ participants from 90+ countries:
- How do we ensure there is a more equitable distribution of power in the age of AI and space-derived data?
- How are we turning ideas and breakthroughs into real-world impact?
- What do we need to build data and space systems that underpin sustainable development?
- Where is inclusive innovation working, and how do we fund, replicate, and scale it?
Gathering a community of changemakers
These questions won't be answered by any single sector or discipline, which is why Nairobi in June will bring together voices from across the data and space ecosystems: government agencies, international organizations, early-career data scientists, seasoned policy experts, and everyone in between.
For Erick and Lydia, part of the Global Partnerships’ Data Values Advocates program, the event is the next step in their ongoing project on the intersection of data, power, and participation. The two advocates joined the East Africa Data Governance Conference in March to host a breakout session and gained insights on key challenges and priorities. Now, they’re weaving those learning into their plans for joint event in June where they will collaborate with other advocates and experts towards rebalancing data’s power tp ensure everyone is represented in the data that informs policy.
Returning participants of the the Global Data Festivals and previous Kenya Space Expo & Conferences are equally energized. Fabrizio of Humanitarian Open Streetmap (HOT) who attended the 2023 Global Data Festival in Uruguay, reflects on how much the landscape has shifted, and why that makes this event all the more important:
When data is available in the right hands at the right time, it can serve important purposes, save lives, and make development and humanitarian efforts far more effective. That message resonated clearly with many of the organizations present in Uruguay. Fast forward to today and we are facing a very different landscape. The rapid emergence of AI, evolving data needs, and a shifting context for international cooperation are putting many of our partners under pressure. At the same time, this new landscape also opens space for innovation, greater efficiency, and renewed solidarity across our networks. These are conversations we need to have in Nairobi. The good news is that this community has matured. Over the years we have made a strong case for data for development. In this new moment, I hope our conversations will help shape a future that is more open, responsible, and sustainable.
Nairobi’s media moment
That sense of anticipation was palpable on the ground in Nairobi, too. On March 10, event partners hosted a media briefing, bringing together journalists, officials, and partners over breakfast to outline the significance of this global gathering and the opportunity it represents for Kenya as a host. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Director General, Macdonald George Obudho, captured the ambition of this joint venture:
The merger that we are having here will reflect the growing convergence between statistics, geospatial information, satellite data, and emerging technologies such as AI in addressing development challenges and improving the lives of citizens.
Presentations from leadership of the Kenya Space Agency (KSA), KNBS, and the Global Partnership were joined by remarks from special guest Philip Thigo, Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology, who reaffirmed Kenya's committment to advancing data systems and capacity "development today, we can agree, depends on the accuracy of data, the timeliness of data, and how we trust that data." Read more and explore the media features here
Join us in Nairobi
The questions driving the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference in June won’t be answered in a single week. But Nairobi, a city at the intersection of innovation and possibility, is the right place to start.
Register to attend: Join us for one day or the whole week.
Become an event sponsor: Bring your organization to the hub of innovation and engage changemakers from across sectors in data and space.
Whether you’re coming from down the road or across the world, we’re building something together.
