WHAT WE BELIEVE

Dependency constitutes a security risk. A continent that imports the entirety of its security technology, and the doctrines that accompany it, cannot fully secure its own peace. Local capacity, local research and local ownership are therefore prerequisites for durable stability rather than optional extras.

Africa must set its own terms. AI governance frameworks that are written elsewhere, for other contexts, cannot simply be transplanted onto African conflicts, institutions and communities. We hold that peace and technology policy for Africa should be authored substantially by Africans.

Peace is a matter of design, not accident. Technology is never neutral, since every system embeds the priorities of those who built it. We believe that peacebuilding must be designed into technology from the outset, rather than added once harm has already occurred

Prevention is more economical, and more humane, than response. Early warning, dialogue and cohesion building cost a fraction of what conflict and post conflict reconstruction cost, both financially and in human life. Accordingly, we invest upstream. Rigour and lived experience are equally important. Sound policy is grounded both in data and in the realities of those who live with conflict daily. We hold researchers, technologists and policymakers to the same standard, namely proximity to the problem rather than merely proximity to power.

No technology is beyond scrutiny. Whether a system is marketed as being for peace or is openly designed for security and defence purposes, we evaluate it according to what it does in practice rather than how it is branded

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