Multistakeholder AI governance event held in New Delhi ahead of India AI Impact Summit
Policymakers, researchers, companies and civil society representatives met in New Delhi on 17 February 2026 to discuss approaches to inclusive AI governance, with a focus on Global South participation.
On 17 February 2026, a multistakeholder event on AI governance was held in New Delhi as an official satellite meeting ahead of the India AI Impact Summit. The convening, titled Reinforcements & Learning: Multistakeholder Convening on AI Governance, was organised by the Centre for Communication Governance (CCG) at National Law University Delhi and the Global Network Initiative (GNI).
According to the organisers, the event brought together representatives from governments, academia, industry, international organisations and civil society. Participants included officials from India, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Kenya and South Africa, as well as representatives from institutions such as UNESCO, UN B-Tech and the OECD. Companies including Airbnb, Amazon, Anthropic, Google and SunbirdAI were also represented, alongside more than 100 civil society organisations and independent experts from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Discussions were structured around three panels and eight workshops. Key themes included collective responsibility in AI governance, safe and trusted AI systems, and the development of context-driven AI infrastructure. A cross-cutting focus was the role of Global South actors in shaping AI governance frameworks.
Participants discussed the importance of multistakeholder engagement in agenda-setting, decision-making and implementation processes. Other topics included the need for AI safety considerations across the full value chain, from data sourcing and model training to deployment and redress mechanisms, as well as the relevance of local data governance, multilingual innovation and digital public infrastructure in building sustainable AI ecosystems.
The event was organised under the Multistakeholder Approaches to Participation in AI Governance (MAP-AI) initiative, launched by GNI and CCG to enhance civil society engagement in AI governance processes connected to the India AI Impact Summit.
The convening formed part of broader discussions taking place in New Delhi during the AI Impact Summit, which addressed international cooperation and governance approaches related to artificial intelligence.
