SunbirdAI

Marathons don't end at the finish line — they leave behind data that can shape a city's future. As part of the @DataCitiesUg consortium, we invite you to Episode 5 of #UrbanDataDialogues: unpacking how data-driven partnerships can drive sports tourism, featuring insights from the @FPcitymarathon. Join us tomorrow, Thursday 30th July at 3:00 PM EAT Register here 👉 undp.zoom.us/webinar/regist… #SportsTourism #aruninparadise

Dr. Ernest Mwebaze sat down with the National ICT Innovation Hub's ICTea podcast to talk about the work behind African language technology and why it matters that AI understands the languages Africans actually speak. Watch the podcast here: youtu.be/jPzXbWCrmJI

Happening now at #DSA2026. Dr. Quinn is presenting previews of Sunbird’s latest language and speech models, developed to support African languages on devices with limited computing power and connectivity. The models support: • Text in 67 African languages • Speech recognition in 51 African languages • Deployment on phones and laptops Full model releases and benchmarks are coming soon. #AIForSocialGood #SunbirdAI #DSA2026

@dsa_org 2026 opens today at Makerere University, Kampala. This year's workshop, running 23-24 July, is chaired by our own Prof. Engineer Bainomugisha as DSA 2026 and brings together researchers and practitioners from across the continent under the theme Foundational and Practical Data Science in the Age of Generative AI. The Sunbird AI team is here. Come find us to talk about our work on African language models, urban noise sensing, and open datasets built for African contexts.

Linguistic sovereignty is a necessity for inclusion. Sunflower is outperforming global giants by prioritizing local context and nuances. Read the paper here: arxiv.org/pdf/2510.07203. Try Sunflower and let us know your thoughts in the comments! sunflower.sunbird.ai #SunflowerLLM #AfricanLanguageTechnology #AIForSocialGood #SunbirdAI #ForAfricasManyVoices

The numbers are in! #DSA2026Kampala is truly global! Today, The DSA community has welcomed attendees from 30+ countries, with the highest representation from Uganda (261), followed by Kenya (60) and Tanzania (22). Has your country been represented? Let us know in the comments

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

Talk to most voice AI systems, and there's a lag before it responds. That's because behind the scenes, three separate systems are working in sequence: one to hear you, one to understand and think, one to speak back. Each handoff adds delay, and for many Ugandan languages, which are spoken far more than they're written, that delay is the difference between a tool that feels usable and one that doesn't. Our team built something faster. Instead of stitching those systems together, we built one model that listens and starts forming its response almost immediately. It can begin replying in as little as 50 milliseconds, with a full spoken response following in around a second, in ten languages common in Uganda. This is a real-time spoken conversation with an AI in these languages, for the first time. Explore the models on Hugging Face:huggingface.co/Sunbird Read the full paper: aclanthology.org/2026.africanlp…

We're counting down to #DSA2026Kampala In just five days, the Data Science Africa community comes together at @Makerere for a week of learning, collaboration, and innovation. 🌐 datascienceafrica.org

Noise above 55 dB is linked to hypertension, stroke, and impaired cognitive development in children. Large parts of Kampala and Entebbe sit above that line, and until now, no one had the data to prove it. @SunbirdAI open-sourced Urban Noise Uganda: 61K, 61,821 annotated noise samples across both cities, published in Nature Scientific Data. This is what evidence-based noise policy looks like. Read more:@sunbird-ai/0fdbeeb0bf5b?sharedUserId=sunbird-ai" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@sunbird-ai/0f…

Sunbird AI is at #AIforGood in Geneva this week. Wed 8 July, 14:30 CEST, Town Square stage. Our ED, Dr. Ernest Mwebaze, presents "31 languages, 45 million people, one model." This session is on building speech and language AI for Uganda's full linguistic range, not just the handful of languages most AI tools cover. At Palexpo? Join us. Hosted by @ITU and @UN with 50+ partners: aiforgood.itu.int/summit26/ 📍 Town Square | #AIforGoodSummit2026 #SunbirdAI

Last week, the @DataCitiesUg team was in @jinjacity to present our urban intelligence tool — combining GIS mapping with AI to give city authorities a clearer, data-grounded picture of their revenue landscape. Instead of relying on guesswork or outdated records, the tool brings spatial and revenue data together in one place, helping city officials make informed, evidence-based decisions about planning and resource allocation. @jinjacity's response was excellent, and we're looking forward to continuing this partnership, supporting the city's own data-driven approach to growth and service delivery. This builds on similar work with @FortPortalCity1 earlier this year, as we continue to equip Uganda's growing cities with practical, data-driven tools for urban development. #DataCities #UrbanGovernance #GIS #AI #EvidenceBasedDecisionMaking

What if pollution isn't just what we can see or smell, but also what we hear? We’re thrilled to be featured in the latest @DeutscheWelle Eco Africa episode exploring the hidden dangers of urban noise pollution and how data can help. Rapid urbanization in cities like Kampala brings a serious, often overlooked public health hazard: excessive noise. At Sunbird AI, we are changing the narrative by using AI-powered, solar-powered sensors to remotely collect, map, and classify urban noise. By putting real-time data into the hands of city planners and environmental authorities, we are working to build healthier, quieter urban environments across Africa. Watch the full feature on DW here: dw.com/en/what-if-pol… #AIForGood #NoisePollution #UrbanPlanning #SmartCities #TechForImpact #Uganda #SunbirdAI

Join us for Episode 4 of the #UrbanDataDialogue series as we explore how evidence is helping us rethink the way we measure the impact of events—beyond the crowd and toward lasting value. 🗓️ Thursday | 25 June 2026 🕒 3:00–4:00 PM EAT 🎟️ Register now: undp.zoom.us/webinar/regist… #DataCities #UrbanData #TourismDevelopment #DataForGood

Why does the #DSA2026Kla theme matter? As LLMs reshape every field globally, Africa’s languages and data realities are still largely missing from the conversation. “Foundational and Practical Data Science in the Age of Generative AI” is about changing that.

⏳ 3 days to go! Every event leaves a footprint. The question is: are we measuring it? Join us for Episode 4 of the #UrbanDataDialogue series as we explore how evidence can help us understand the wider impact of events on tourism, communities, and development. 📅 25 June 2026 🕒 3:00–4:00 PM EAT Register now 👇 undp.zoom.us/webinar/regist… #UrbanData #TourismDevelopment #DataForGood

A festival or marathon comes to town for a weekend. Tourists arrive, money moves, the city buzzes. But once the crowd leaves — what actually stays? Episode 4 of the Urban Data Dialogue Series, "Beyond the Crowd," looks at how to measure the real value of events for tourism, communities, and development. Thursday 25 June 🕒 3–4PM EAT Register to join the session here: undp.zoom.us/webinar/regist… #DataCities #UrbanData #Uganda #Tourism

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 free 30-minute slot with us: sunbird.ai #SunbirdAI #AIForSocialGood #InclusiveAI #EthicalAI #AIClinics

Happy heroes day.

Tomorrow is the day. Join us at the #GlobalDataFestival2026 for the DataCities side event — The Urban Data Clinic: Resuscitating ‘Blind’ Governance in East Africa’s Emerging Cities — happening on 4 June. We’ll be exploring how data can strengthen urban decision-making, improve service delivery, and support more responsive city governance. See you there. 📅 04 June 2026 ⏰ 4:00 PM 📍 Nairobi, Kenya #DataFest2026 #KSEC2026 #DataCities #UrbanData #DataGovernance #DataForGood