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Many Ugandan cities struggle to track how waste moves through their systems — making it harder to plan, respond, and deliver cleaner communities. Episode 3 explores how data can help change that. Join us for the next Urban Data Dialogue as we explore how digital tools, mapping, and citizen feedback are helping cities improve waste management and sanitation services. Featuring voices from @jinjacity, @KCCAUG, and the @DataCitiesUg consortium. 📅 Thursday, 28 May 2026 🕒 3 PM EAT 📍 Zoom | YouTube | X Space Register here 👉 undp.zoom.us/webinar/regist… #UrbanDataDialogue #WasteManagement #UrbanInnovation #DataForGood

Fort Portal raised UGX 300M in new revenue without new taxes or new staff. Jinja is budgeting smarter with just 60% of the data it needs. Kampala grew property tax collection from 17bn → 68bn in 7 years. On April 30th, @DataCitiesUg unpacked how Uganda's newest cities are using data to collect more, spend better, and deliver more for their citizens. By 2050, 60-70% of Sub-Saharan Africa will live in cities. Most of them are being built right now, and @DataCities_UG is making sure they're built on data. Watch the full session ↓ youtube.com/watch?v=T0iNsN… Next up: data and waste management. Stay tuned to our socials for the next edition. #DataCities #UrbanData #EvidenceBasedGovernance #CityPlanning

For years, @jinjacity managed waste with paper reports, rough estimates, and memory. No one could tell you what was being collected, where, or whether it was working. Together with @jinjacity Authority, we built SafiSiti to change that. We mapped 1,496 waste collection points across two wards — every one assigned a QR code that creates a verified, time-stamped record every time waste is collected. 95% of those codes are now active, giving city officials a real-time picture of waste collection across the city for the very first time. Read how we are turning @jinjacity into a proof of concept for every emerging city in Uganda 👇 @datacitiesuganda/from-guesswork-to-smart-governance-how-jinja-city-is-rethinking-waste-management-970a855834a9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@datacitiesuga…

We are excited to announce the DataCities Uganda Conference 2026! 🎉 For the first time, we are bringing together city leaders, policymakers, technologists, and development partners for a national conversation on strengthening city data systems in Uganda. 🗓5th November 2026 📍 Kampala, Uganda 🎯 Theme: Strengthening City Data Systems for Inclusive Urban Development Save the date. More details coming soon. #UrbanData #DataForGood #innovation

The Multilingual Health Question Answering Challenge is open. Millions across Sub-Saharan Africa can't access maternal, sexual, and reproductive health information in their own language. Models trained on English data don't work for Luganda, Kiswahili, Akan, or Amharic — and that gap costs lives. This challenge, hosted on @ZindiAfrica, asks you to build the model that changes that. 🏆 $5,000 USD in prizes 📅 Closes: 21 Jun 2026 🎙️ Info webinar: 20 May, 6–7 PM GMT+2 Register Here → bit.ly/4u5VrFG #NLP #AfricaHealth #HealthTech #SunbirdAI #AIForSocialGood

This paper, “Real-Time Spoken Instruction Following and Translation in Ugandan Languages,” builds a speech AI system that can take spoken instructions and respond in real time across multiple Ugandan languages, not just translating speech, but acting on it as it comes in. Most speech systems are still slow and layered (speech-to-text → processing → text-to-speech). This work pushes toward a different direction: streaming, low-latency interaction where understanding and response happen almost instantly (~50ms-level response latency in parts of the system). That shift matters in low-resource language contexts where real communication isn’t paused, structured, or clean; it is continuous, multilingual, and fast. This is a step toward AI that can keep up with how people actually speak. Read full paper >> aclanthology.org/2026.africanlp… @BenjaminAkera @wenjiehu198410 @Evyouma @Gilbert35075 @GilbertYig83649 @iBaino @emwebaze @johnquinn_irl @SunbirdAI #EqualyzAI #AfricanNLP #AIforAfrica #SpeechAI #LowResourceLanguages #NLP #InclusiveAI #DigitalInclusion

Are you an organisation that is thinking about how Artificial Intelligence can be used to solve real-world problems in Africa? Book an AI clinic session with us for a practical, hands-on space where learning meets impact. What to expect: 1. Real use cases on how AI can be used for social good. 2. Guidance from AI experts at Sunbird AI 3. Opportunities to ask questions, share ideas, and network. Book a 30-minute slot with us: sunbird.ai #SunbirdAI #AIForSocialGood #InclusiveAI #EthicalAI #AIClinics

Today, we celebrate the people whose work keeps our societies moving, and ask how that work can be better supported. At Sunbird AI, we believe technology should strengthen public systems, amplify human effort, and drive social impact. Happy Labour Day. #SunbirdAI #AIforSocialGood

Meet the speakers for Episode 2 of the Urban Data Dialogue Series: Boosting City Revenue & Service Delivery with Data. Featuring @ChristineKayon2, @FlaviaZabali, Prof. @iBaino and @johnstonebk Register here to save your spot 👉tinyurl.com/2fv82ydz #revenue #UrbanDataDialogue #DataForGood

Uganda's cities have data. The real challenge is using it. Our first Urban Data Dialogue session surfaced something fundamental — the gap between collecting data and actually making decisions with it. Read the full article 👇 medium.com/p/5a47eed32f92… #UrbanDataDialogue #DataForGood

From Kampala to Rabat! We’ve had an incredible start to 2026 at Sunbird AI. From deepening our impact in Uganda to expanding our footprint across the continent, Q1 has been a season of growth, innovation, and cross-border collaboration. Check out the full Q1 update here: 🔗 mailchi.mp/ab000bb03d8f/f… #AIforSocialGood #SunbirdAI

📅 Thursday 30th April, 2026 ⏰ 3:00 PM Register free: tinyurl.com/2fv82ydz If you care about how your city works — this conversation is for you. #UrbanData #SmartCities #Uganda #DataCities #CityPlanning

Why do some cities collect more revenue, fix roads faster, and plan better — with the same resources? The answer is data. Join us this Thursday as we unpack how Ugandan cities are using urban data to improve services and drive smarter decisions. 🧵 Thread 👇

This isn't about surveillance or new taxes. It's about cities finally having the evidence to: ✅ Know which properties are unregistered ✅ Plan services where people actually live ✅ Make budget decisions backed by real numbers — not guesswork

Cities like Kampala and Jinja are sitting on a goldmine of untapped data — from land registries to street parking to infrastructure surveys. When that data is organized and analyzed, city planners can actually SEE where revenue is leaking and where services are failing.

@BernardSabiti Air quality is a serious issue — check out what @AirQo are doing, they have been monitoring and mapping air pollution across African cities for years. Great work is being done there. airqo.net/explore-data/m…

Kampala's air quality is terrible. Emergency measures are needed!

This is a normal day in Kampala. Noise pollution is linked to heart disease, sleep disorders, learning delays in children, and reduced productivity, and African cities have almost no data on noise. We have been building that dataset. 61,821 annotated sound samples across Kampala and Entebbe, to our knowledge, the largest urban sound dataset in existence. We're also working on SunEcho, a model for real-time noise classification on low-cost hardware. The Preprint for Sunecho is live. The full dataset is open and available for researchers, developers, and policymakers to use. Dataset → huggingface.co/datasets/Sunbi… Paper → nature.com/articles/s4159… Nature Africa → nature.com/articles/d4414… SunEcho preprint → researchsquare.com/article/rs-873… Happy World Earth Day. The environment includes what we hear. #WorldEarthDay #NoisePollution #SunbirdAI #AIForSocialGood @KCCAUG @nemaug

Interested in the AI for Reproductive Health in Africa Innovation Challenge? Join our information webinar first. Before you apply, we want to make sure you have everything you need to submit your strongest possible application. Join us this Wednesday, 22nd April, at 3:00 PM EAT for a free, live information session where the organising team will walk you through: 🎯 The challenge tracks, goals & scope. ✅ Eligibility requirements & team composition rules 📋 How to build a compelling application ❓ Live Q&A Whether you're still deciding which track to apply for, looking for clarity on team requirements, or simply want to understand what judges are looking for, this is the session for you. 🗓️ Wednesday, 22nd April 2026 🕒 3:00 PM EAT 💻 Via Zoom 🔗 Register here: bit.ly/4tu4IaQ This Webinar will be conducted in English, French, and Portuguese.

Episode 2 of the Urban Data Dialogue Series is here  Join us as we explore how data can boost city revenue and improve service delivery—turning insights into real impact. 📅 30 April 2026 ⏰ 3 PM 🎥 Live on YouTube & X Register here 👉 tinyurl.com/2fv82ydz #UrbanData #DataForGood