Cetic.br integrates a regional AI in education observatory led by UNESCO

Recently launched, this pioneering initiative was created to support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in integrating artificial intelligence into their educational systems

The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), a department of the Information and Coordination Center of Ponto BR (NIC.br), is one of the partners of the recently launched Artificial Intelligence in Education Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean. Led by UNESCO, the Observatory is a platform aimed at supporting states in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their educational systems, focusing on equity, quality, and sustainable development.

The initiative addresses a dual regional urgency: the learning crisis and the rapid adoption of AI in classrooms. In Brazil, for example, 70% of high school students using the internet already resort to generative artificial intelligence tools for school research, according to the 15th edition of the TIC Education Survey, conducted by Cetic.br. However, only 32% claim to have received guidance in schools on using these technologies. The presence of generative AI is also noted among primary school students in the initial years (15%) and final years (39%).

The Observatory is configured as the first multisectoral cooperation platform designed to support countries in the growing incorporation of emerging technologies in educational teaching, learning, and management processes. More than just a monitoring space, it is an active initiative, which will produce contextualized evidence to guide public policies, strengthen teacher training, and qualify decision-making, in addition to fostering innovations validated in the school environment under ethical frameworks.

"Building a regional agenda on artificial intelligence in education requires cooperation, reliable data, and analytical capacity. The partnership with UNESCO, within the scope of the Observatory, strengthens this effort. It is a strategic opportunity to align use, training, and public policies, preventing these technologies from expanding existing inequalities," says Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br. Since 2012, this area of NIC.br has been functioning as a Category 2 Center of UNESCO, being the first dedicated to the development of information and knowledge societies.

Besides Cetic.br, the initiative involves: the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), the National Artificial Intelligence Center of Chile (CENIA), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the CEIBAL Foundation, the Santillana Foundation, the Monterrey Institute of Technology, ProFuturo, the International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), among other partners.

Launch

The Observatory was launched on the 14th of this month at the headquarters of ECLAC in Santiago (Chile), within the framework of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development 2026. The event brought together authorities, specialists, and representatives of multilateral organizations, academia, the technology sector, and civil society, consolidating itself as a regional articulation space aimed at educational transformation.

This content was automatically translated with the support of artificial intelligence.