South Africa's Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has challenged youth in BRICS countries to take the lead in setting global standards for artificial intelligence governance, warning that if not steered by diverse voices the technology risks deepening inequality rather than advancing equality.
Delivering the keynote address at the fourth BRICS Youth Innovation Summit 2026 at the Tshwane University of Technology, Chikunga positioned youth as central actors in shaping a more equitable global order. Held under the theme “Youth-led Innovation for Sustainable Development”, the summit runs from 8-10 April and brings together young entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors and experts from BRICS-plus countries and the Global South.
“AI should work for people and their well-being – not the other way around,” Chikunga said. “This means emphasizing African and BRICS participation in setting global AI governance standards. This means focusing on who owns the data, who benefits from the models, and who bears the costs if the models fail. There is no innovation progress in AI without democratic accountability. This is a new form of engagement.”
Chikunga noted that the BRICS bloc now represents more than 45% of the world's population and more than a third of global GDP, and argued that its importance lies in emphasizing that global governance architecture should reflect contemporary realities rather than those of 1945. He pointed to the young demographics of the BRICS countries as a defining strategic asset: the average age in India is 28 years, in South Africa 27 years and in Ethiopia 19 years.
He said, “The question is not whether these young populations will shape global markets, labor forces, and innovation ecosystems. The question is whether you will do so on terms that serve your own society – or on terms set by others.”
Chikunga outlined four priorities for BRICS youth: developing indigenous technical capacity and data governance frameworks to protect citizens from digital extraction; challenging orthodox economic models in favor of industrial strategy and redistributive growth; looking at AI critically rather than adopting it uncritically; and strengthening people-to-people ties in member countries through cultural exchange, academic mobility and shared intellectual production.
He also used the occasion to call for accountability on the commitments made to youth at the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023. He said, “The summit should serve as a space where young people exercise their right to hold their governments to the promises made in their name – and demand evidence that commitments to youth leadership are being translated from declarations into young people's realities.”
Concluding his address, Chikunga urged delegates to embrace the agency in the face of global uncertainty. He said, “The world you have inherited is not the world that was promised. But you have not inherited this world as passive recipients. You are here because you have chosen to act.”