International Conference on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Education to Be Held in Ashgabat

On August 29, 2025, Ashgabat will host the International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal in Education (SDG 4),” organized by the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan together with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE). The conference is referenced in United Nations General Assembly resolution of the 79th session A/79/L.94 of 11 June 2025, devoted to regional and national cooperation in Central Asia in the field of artificial intelligence, which specifically highlights the significance of holding this forum in Ashgabat at the end of August 2025 in partnership with UNESCO IITE.

The event will take place in a hybrid format starting at 10:00 (GMT+5). The plenary session will be held at the Yagshygeldi Kakayev International University of Oil and Gas, with parallel sessions at specialized universities in Ashgabat. The program includes presentations by UNESCO representatives, international experts, officials of the Ministry of Education, and Turkmen scholars and educators.

The conference agenda, developed in accordance with the concept note, covers key areas: the transformation of education management and EMIS (Education Management Information Systems) using AI; the development of AI competencies among teachers and learners; personalized learning and the cultivation of critical thinking; strengthening digital and media literacy; and the ethical aspects of responsible AI use in education, in line with UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. The discussions are expected to result in agreed practical recommendations and steps for integrating AI solutions into the educational process.

The conference logically continues the implementation of the Cooperation Roadmap between the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and UNESCO IITE, signed in 2023. The Roadmap provides for the development of education management systems (EMIS), the creation of national standards for teachers’ digital competencies, the promotion of open educational resources, the introduction of intelligent learning systems, and the systematic professional development of teaching staff.

Cooperation between Turkmenistan and UNESCO IITE has been effective and progressive:

Since 2019/2020 — initial official visits and five-day events on EMIS and ICT in education, which launched practical exchanges of experience and methodologies for data management in education (iite.unesco.org).

2023 — signing of the Roadmap, consolidating directions such as EMIS, teachers’ AI competencies, OER, and joint publications and events.

2024 — UNESCO IITE’s participation in regional dialogues on the use of AI in higher education in Central Asia (focus on ethics, workforce, infrastructure), which strengthened regional coordination.

2024–2025 — sectoral forums/conferences and preparation of the current international conference in Ashgabat as a logical step in implementing the Roadmap and UNESCO’s global agenda on AI in education.

As part of this cooperation, joint forums and practicums are organized, and projects on the digital transformation of education are being advanced, accompanied by methodological support, policy consultations, and exchanges of international best practices. The conference in Ashgabat will mark the next milestone in this partnership, aimed at strengthening coordination efforts, expanding networks of collaboration, and accelerating progress toward SDG 4 through the responsible and inclusive deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.