The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is building a strategic alliance of Commonwealth partners by launching the Gaborone to New Delhi Compact at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. The Summit brought together a diverse range of leaders, including heads of state and institutions, educators, and representatives from the private sector.
COL convened a high-level panel at the Summit, chaired by Professor Peter Scott, COL’s President and CEO. The panel featured senior officials and educational leaders from Fiji, India, Kenya, and Mauritius. Leaders attending the Summit were invited to endorse the Gaborone to New Delhi Compact on teacher-led, localised Frugal AI.
COL’s presentation of the Compact at the Summit invites signatories to work within a Commonwealth alliance toward a framework for deploying a local, open-source approach to AI that respects data sovereignty and national priorities in teaching and learning. The panel of Commonwealth voices included Dr Sumit Kalra, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India; Professor Kannabiran, Director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council, India; Professor Ami Upadhyay, Vice Chancellor, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Gujarat, India; Dr Edwin Tarno, CEO, Kenya School of Technical and Vocational Training, Kenya; Dr Sawkut Rojid, Special Adviser to the Minister for Tertiary Education and Research, Mauritius; and Dr Rajni Chand, Director, Centre for Flexible Learning, University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
This strategic framework in the Compact sets out a sustainable and sovereign approach to AI — one that places educators at the centre of technological integration in learning and reaffirms AI in education as a public good. The Compact makes a clear commitment to inclusivity, equity, and ethical integrity in AI, while focusing on delivering long-term value for Commonwealth Member Countries.
The “Teacher-in-the-Loop” Model
At the heart of the Compact is the “teacher-in-the-loop” approach, which positions AI as a support mechanism for human expertise rather than a replacement for it. By advancing the principles of “Democratising AI” and strengthening “Human Capacities,” the framework encourages the development of local skills, institutional resilience, and accessible infrastructure, advancing the Summit’s core “Chakras” outlined as guiding principles of AI into actional areas for global cooperation.
This Frugal approach to AI was endorsed by leaders from Fiji, India, Kenya, and Mauritius, who highlighted the imperative that AI solutions must create long-term value for Commonwealth Member Countries, their institutions, educators, and learners.
Synergy of Frugality and Sovereignty
For many nations in the Global South, Small Island Developing States, and lower-middle-income countries, conventional cloud-based AI remains financially and technically out of reach, while also raising concerns about data sovereignty and the protection of sensitive information. The Compact addresses this inequity by emphasising Frugal AI as a pragmatic, context-sensitive alternative that lowers barriers to entry while strengthening national control.
Specifically, Frugal AI operates on local servers with minimal bandwidth requirements. This approach safeguards data sovereignty and enables nations to retain control over their intellectual property and cultural narratives and reduces dependency on proprietary systems by prioritising digital public goods and localised hosting.
Fostering a Commonwealth Alliance
More than a policy statement, the Compact provides a blueprint for “sovereign, private, and secure” AI that aligns with national regulatory frameworks and systematically builds domestic capability. By prioritising affordability without sacrificing quality, COL positions the initiative as a practical pathway to narrowing the digital divide for Commonwealth Member Countries and their partners.
Building on the commitments of the Gaborone Statement, COL is building an alliance of Commonwealth partners to translate this vision into technical reality following the India AI Impact Summit 2026. In doing so, COL is laying the groundwork for a scalable architecture within the Commonwealth Digital Skills Alliance, one that empowers youth and others across the Commonwealth and ensures that no nation is left behind in the AI era.
To learn more about Frugal AI or to sign the Compact, please visit www.col.org/Frugal.
