The 10th KARMA Conference 2026: Celebrating the 10 - year Milestone!
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Pridelnn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa
(Mombasa - Kenya) - 2nd - 6th November 2026
Theme: “AI-Ready Records for Smart, Accountable Governance”
Background and Rationale
Kenya is undergoing an accelerated digital transformation of government, guided by the Kenya National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032 and the Kenya National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy 2025–2030. These national frameworks underscore the critical role of digital technologies, data, and innovation in improving public service delivery, strengthening governance, and enhancing citizen trust in government institutions. At the centre of this transformation lies records and information management (RIM) as the foundation for reliable data, accountable decision-making, and trustworthy AI systems.
This year’s theme of the 10th KARMA Conference — “AI-Ready Records for Smart, Accountable Governance” — is therefore timely, strategic, and directly aligned with Kenya’s national digital and AI priorities. The National Digital Master Plan emphasizes digitisation of government records, interoperability of systems, secure data management, and the development of digital skills across the public sector. These priorities cannot be achieved without robust records and information management frameworks that ensure information is accurate, accessible, secure, and preserved throughout its lifecycle.
Similarly, the Kenya National AI Strategy (2025–2030) recognises that effective AI adoption in government depends on the availability of high-quality data, strong governance frameworks, ethical safeguards, and skilled professionals. Records and information professionals play a critical role in enabling these conditions by ensuring data integrity, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, protection of personal information, and long-term accountability of AI-supported systems. Without well-managed records, AI systems risk reinforcing bias, undermining transparency, and eroding public trust.
This conference theme deliberately emphasizes practical applications to respond to the needs of government practitioners, regulators, ICT professionals, and information managers implementing digital and AI initiatives, as well as private sector organizations and solution providers. It shifts the conversation from abstract or theoretical discussions to real-world use cases, tools, policies, skills, and governance mechanisms that support smart government. The theme also reflects KARMA’s mandate to promote professional excellence, capacity building, and policy engagement in records and information management across Kenya and the region.
As a milestone 10th Annual Conference, this gathering provides an opportunity to position KARMA and the records and information management profession as key enablers of Kenya’s smart government agenda. By aligning discussions with national policy priorities, the conference will contribute to strengthening institutional readiness for AI adoption, fostering ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies, and ensuring that digital transformation delivers measurable public value, transparency, and trust for citizens.
Topics and Themes
Building Smart and Accountable Government Through AI-Driven Records and Information Management
AI-Enabled Records and Information Management for Public Service Delivery
Governance, Ethics, and Legal Frameworks for AI-Driven Information Systems
Data Protection, Privacy, Security, and Trust in AI-Enabled Government
AI, Archives, and Digital Preservation for Sustainable Public Memory
Capacity Building, Collaboration, and Leadership for AI-Enabled Information Governance
Objectives of this Conference are to:
- Promote understanding of AI applications in records and information management.
- Strengthen collaboration between ICT staff and records professionals in government.
- Discuss legal, ethical, and governance issues related to AI and digital information.
- Share best practices and case studies of digitization, preservation, and AI adoption.
- Build capacity for a digitally enabled and AI-literate government workforce.
- Support national efforts toward open government, accountability, and citizen-centered service delivery.
Expected Outcomes
- Improved awareness of AI’s potential and limitations in public sector information work.
- Strengthened partnerships between ICT and records management in public institutions.
- Public sector staff equipped with current knowledge on digital governance.
- Recommendations for policy, standards, and infrastructure improvement.
- A roadmap for AI-integrated information management in government.
This conference brings together a diverse community of professionals:
- Government records managers & officers
- ICT directors & systems administrators
- Archivists and digital preservation specialists
- AI & data science experts
- Legal and compliance officers
- Public service leaders
- Scholars and Academic researchers
- Donors, partners, and private sector innovators
2026 Program
Now the biggest annual records management conference in Africa, the Kenya Archives and Record Managers Association (KARMA) invites you to join us in engaging professionals from Africa and internationally in this incredible conversation on the 2nd to 6th November 2026, in Mombasa, Kenya.