Meta Announces Llama Impact Innovation Awards to Support AI-Driven Organisations in Africa, Middle East and Turkey

 Today, Meta announced the launch of the Meta Llama (Large Language Model Meta AI) Impact Innovation Awards, building on its commitment to open science and empowering developers in every industry to drive breakthroughs, create new products and solutions, and benefit from accelerations in technological advancement and economic growth.

The Meta Llama Impact Innovation Awards supports organisations across Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey that are leveraging Llama 2 or Llama 3 to drive social impact.  With awards of up to $35,000 USD, this program will identify and empower organisations that use Llama as a core element of their work to address challenges in the region.

The Awards is a global program and it’s open to all countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate how their use of Llama 2 or Llama 3 addresses specific issues relevant to their primary location of operation:

• Education: Leverage Llama to improve learning outcomes, increase access to quality education, and enhance the teaching experience. Applications might include AI-powered tutoring, personalized learning platforms, and intelligent tools for teachers.

• Public services: Harness Llama to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in government services. Applications might include but are not limited to solutions for citizen engagement, AI-driven data analysis, and virtual assistants for navigating government processes.

• Healthcare: Apply Llama to improve health outcomes, streamline clinical workflows, and enhance patient experiences. These might include AI-powered diagnostic tools, intelligent tools for healthcare workers, or personalized medicine platforms.

• Safety and Security: Employ Llama to develop innovative solutions that enhance public safety, prevent fraud, and protect vulnerable populations. For example, AI-powered fraud detection, chatbots for emergency response, and predictive analytics for crime prevention.

Application Details

The application window for the Meta Llama Impact Innovation Awards is open from Monday, June 17, 2024, to Friday, July 26, 2024. Organisations in eligible countries are encouraged to submit their applications. All proposals will be evaluated using a selection criteria that assesses:

• Demonstrated utility of Llama: Llama should be a fundamental component of the project or product, and its utility should be clearly defined. As a part of this evaluation, applicants are required to submit public reference to their use of Llama (e.g., blog post, news article, or Github repository outlining how Llama is used for the project or product).

• Applicability: The proposed solution measurably addresses the challenge outlined in their designated track.

• Impact: The proposed solution articulates a vision for how their solution impacts the broader problem space and provides social benefit. This might include how the solution works across geographies, addresses the needs of additional communities, or similar.

• Responsibility: Ideal winners will be able to demonstrate how they utilized the Responsible Use Guidelines in the development of their project or product.

Winners will be notified by September 2024 while applicants-of-interest and runners- up may be notified by or beyond September 2024. If your organisation has a submission for how to use Llama to address the relevant issue topic, Meta invites you to send in your applications before the application window closes and expect more program updates.

For additional information, please see the Terms and Conditions.