The IBI Crosscultural Working Group to bring together global experts on Indigenous data sovereignty in AI and neurotechnology
On September 16 - 17, 2026, the International Brain Initiative's Crosscultural Working Group will convene "Operationalising Indigenous Data Sovereignty in the Age of AI and Neurotechnology," a two-day workshop at the University of British Columbia bringing together Indigenous scholars, neuroscientists, ethicists, and legal experts from around the world to move Indigenous data sovereignty from principle into practice.
The workshop is chaired by Prof. Minerva Rivas Velarde (Geneva School of Health Science / University of Geneva), co-chaired by Prof. Hervé Chneiweiss (Centre for Neuroscience Sorbonne Université), and co-hosted by Prof. Judy Illes and Prof. Melissa L. Perreault of Neuroethics Canada and the University of Guelph, respectively, on behalf of the IBI Crosscultural Working Group. It is supported by the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health, Neuroethics Canada, the Brain-Heart Interconnectome, and the Canadian Heart Function Alliance.
Leading scientists will participate from Canada, USA, Mexico, South Africa, Cameroon, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Romania, Norway, Spain, and Germany, reflecting the organizers' intent to draw on a genuinely global, cross-disciplinary base of expertise rather than a single regional perspective.
WHY NOW
The workshop responds to a gap the organizers see clearly: while key legislation now exists in both the neuroethics space and around Indigenous rights, the evidence base for how to implement these principles remains thin. For the organizers, the missing piece is to strengthen a cross-cultural approach to implementation. Over the two days, the group aims to pool its collective knowledge and evidence to help guide the international community's next steps, with the ultimate goal of producing practical guidelines on key governance and scientific innovation issues.
The organizers' work is grounded in epistemic justice and aims to demonstrate how Indigenous sovereignty, wisdom, and rights can drive innovation in AI and neuroethics.
The group will provide a summary of outcomes and key discussion points once the workshop concludes on September 17, 2026.
To learn more about the IBI Crosscultural Working Group activities and initiatives, please visit: https://www.internationalbraininitiative.org/crosscultural