Colombia Launches Nationwide “Day of AI” Effort with Thousands of Teachers Set to Participate
August 21, 2025
Summary
In a bold step toward building AI literacy nationwide, the nation of Colombia will host its first-ever Día Nacional de la IA (“National Day of AI”) on October 2, 2025, with thousands of educators expected to participate. The initiative is the result of a collaborative effort among Computadores para Educar, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, Day of AI, and MIT RAISE.
Launching A National Day of AI
The country-wide celebration in October will center around a flagship event in Manizales, home to the University of Caldas, the first school in all of Latin America to have an entire school within the university dedicated exclusively to AI and related engineering. The event will mark a major milestone in the implementation of “CONPES 4144,” Colombia’s national AI policy launched in February 2025. The policy establishes six strategic axes and defines 106 concrete actions to be implemented by 2030, including initiatives to boost AI literacy and digital talent across the country.
Day of AI team members Jorge Gallardo, Matt Taylor, and Randi Williams are currently visiting Colombia and directly training over 900 teachers and teacher-trainers in the lead-up to the October 2 event. These trainers will go on to scale the program across regions, bringing AI education to tens of thousands of students in the coming weeks, and helping to ensure deep and lasting impact nationwide.
The Day of AI unit being introduced in Colombia was co-designed and localized in partnership with a diverse group of Colombian educators during an intensive workshop held in April 2025. The result is a three-lesson unit designed as a starting point for Colombia’s diverse educational contexts, giving teachers the flexibility to adapt it to their students. The unit culminates in a final project where students involve their communities and share with Colombia and the world what they have learned about AI, presenting imaginative solutions that could be powered by AI while emphasizing ethical and responsible use of the technology.
Championing AI Advancement on the Global Stage
This nationwide rollout of Day of AI also builds momentum toward UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week, where Colombia will host a special showcase in Cartagena from October 22 to 24. As part of this celebration, students and teachers from across Colombia will present projects highlighting how AI can be used to solve real-world challenges aligned to five national development themes.
“This is not just a single day of celebration – it’s the launchpad for a movement,” said Jorge Gallardo, an educator and technologist with Day of AI. “Colombia is showing what national AI literacy can look like in action, and we’re honored to support their vision for equitable and inspiring AI education.”
“This launch shows what’s possible when research, policy, and classroom practice work in concert,” said Professor Cynthia Breazeal, Director of MIT RAISE. “By partnering with Colombian educators and national leaders, we’re turning advanced research into practical classroom experiences that help teachers feel empowered, while inspiring students to become creative, responsible AI innovators.”
In particular, MIT RAISE and Day of AI thank Óscar Sánchez, Director of Computadores para Educar and Colombia’s former Vice Minister for Education, as well as Professor Alfonso Reyes, Rector Emérito of Universidad de Ibague, for their efforts on this project.
About the Organizations
About Day of AI: Started in 2021 through MIT’s RAISE (“Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education”) initiative, Day of AI enables K-12 students, families, and educators to thrive in the age of AI. Day of AI became a stand-alone nonprofit in 2024, while still working closely with MIT’s best-in-class team of researchers. Day of AI’s mission is to equip educators around the planet with the knowledge and tools to integrate AI responsibly into their classrooms, with a free curriculum that can be accessed at dayofai.org.
About MIT RAISE: The MIT RAISE Initiative (raise.mit.edu) empowers everyone to use AI responsibly, authentically, and with impact. Its mission is to advance science and innovation of AI-enabled technologies, experiences, and global programs to deepen learning, spark creativity, and empower everyone to make a better world with AI.