This repository contains the policy framework for AI West Africa (AIWA) — a creator-first African collective rights administration and licensing organization that administers, protects, licenses, and monetizes creative and educational works globally while creators retain ownership. As a Gambian-centered multi-format licensing infrastructure, AIWA collects revenues and distributes royalties on behalf of creators across music, video, books, educational content, and cultural works — with a focus on cultural integrity and ensuring rights and revenues remain connected to creators and communities. Within this framework, AIWA operates as contractual and operational compliance infrastructure, not as a sovereign regulator, ministry, court, or public authority.
Core Principle. AIWA administers rights on behalf of rights holders and does not acquire ownership of copyrights, communal heritage, languages, or cultural identity except where expressly agreed in writing.
Version 1.0 — Active All core policy documents, standards, governance documents, and the full policy architecture have been compiled and populated. These documents are the authoritative Version 1.0 policy framework for AI West Africa.
/aiwa-policy/
/docs/
/01-cultural-classification/
cultural-resource-classification-definitions.md (AIWA-DOC-01) — ACTIVE
/02-legal-alignment/
governing-legal-alignment-structural-reality.md (AIWA-DOC-02) — ACTIVE
/03-process-procedures/
process-and-procedures-for-all-works.md (AIWA-DOC-03) — ACTIVE
/policies/
/tier1/ ← Foundational Governance Policies
AIWA-POL-01-rights-administration-licensing.md
AIWA-POL-02-royalty-governance-financial-administration.md
AIWA-POL-03-cultural-heritage-traditional-expressions.md
AIWA-POL-04-ai-governance-dataset-stewardship.md
AIWA-POL-05-rights-verification-provenance.md
/tier2/ ← Operational & Platform Policies
AIWA-POL-06-content-standards-acceptable-use.md
AIWA-POL-07-copyright-enforcement-takedown.md
AIWA-POL-08-educational-informational-content.md
AIWA-POL-09-data-protection-privacy.md
AIWA-POL-10-compliance-international-licensing.md
AIWA-POL-11-platform-enforcement-appeals.md
AIWA-POL-17-platform-terms-of-service.md
AIWA-POL-18-cookie-policy.md
AIWA-POL-19-community-guidelines.md
AIWA-POL-20-terms-of-sale-subscriptions-marketplace-transactions.md
AIWA-POL-21-rewards-points-credits-policy.md
AIWA-POL-22-ai-chat-assistant-policy.md
AIWA-POL-23-contributor-submission-upload-agreement.md
/tier3/ ← Specialized Policies
AIWA-POL-12-ai-dataset-licensing.md
AIWA-POL-13-archive-preservation.md
AIWA-POL-14-translation-localization.md
AIWA-POL-15-developmental-materials-concepts.md
AIWA-POL-16-sensitive-cultural-materials.md
/standards/
terminology.md (AIWA-STD-01) — ACTIVE
definitions.md (AIWA-STD-02) — ACTIVE
classification-matrix.md (AIWA-STD-03) — ACTIVE
/templates/
policy-template.md ← authoring template for policy/definitions documents
procedure-template.md ← authoring template for stage-based procedure documents
/governance/
roles-and-responsibilities.md (AIWA-GOV-01) — ACTIVE
decision-framework.md (AIWA-GOV-02) — ACTIVE
README.md
| Document ID | File | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIWA-DOC-01 | docs/01-cultural-classification/cultural-resource-classification-definitions.md |
Active |
| AIWA-DOC-02 | docs/02-legal-alignment/governing-legal-alignment-structural-reality.md |
Active |
| AIWA-DOC-03 | docs/03-process-procedures/process-and-procedures-for-all-works.md |
Active |
| AIWA-STD-01 | standards/terminology.md |
Active |
| AIWA-STD-02 | standards/definitions.md |
Active |
| AIWA-STD-03 | standards/classification-matrix.md |
Active |
| AIWA-GOV-01 | governance/roles-and-responsibilities.md |
Active |
| AIWA-GOV-02 | governance/decision-framework.md |
Active |
| Document ID | File | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIWA-POL-01 | policies/tier1/AIWA-POL-01-rights-administration-licensing.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-02 | policies/tier1/AIWA-POL-02-royalty-governance-financial-administration.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-03 | policies/tier1/AIWA-POL-03-cultural-heritage-traditional-expressions.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-04 | policies/tier1/AIWA-POL-04-ai-governance-dataset-stewardship.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-05 | policies/tier1/AIWA-POL-05-rights-verification-provenance.md |
Active |
| Document ID | File | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIWA-POL-06 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-06-content-standards-acceptable-use.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-07 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-07-copyright-enforcement-takedown.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-08 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-08-educational-informational-content.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-09 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-09-data-protection-privacy.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-10 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-10-compliance-international-licensing.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-11 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-11-platform-enforcement-appeals.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-17 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-17-platform-terms-of-service.md |
Draft |
| AIWA-POL-18 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-18-cookie-policy.md |
Draft |
| AIWA-POL-19 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-19-community-guidelines.md |
Draft |
| AIWA-POL-20 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-20-terms-of-sale-subscriptions-marketplace-transactions.md |
Draft |
| AIWA-POL-21 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-21-rewards-points-credits-policy.md |
Draft |
| AIWA-POL-22 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-22-ai-chat-assistant-policy.md |
Draft |
| AIWA-POL-23 | policies/tier2/AIWA-POL-23-contributor-submission-upload-agreement.md |
Draft |
| Document ID | File | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIWA-POL-12 | policies/tier3/AIWA-POL-12-ai-dataset-licensing.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-13 | policies/tier3/AIWA-POL-13-archive-preservation.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-14 | policies/tier3/AIWA-POL-14-translation-localization.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-15 | policies/tier3/AIWA-POL-15-developmental-materials-concepts.md |
Active |
| AIWA-POL-16 | policies/tier3/AIWA-POL-16-sensitive-cultural-materials.md |
Active |
Defines what a work is, what folklore is, the five-class classification model, classification levels (Baseline, Elevated, Extreme Case), AI use and monetization boundaries, ownership boundaries, lexical extraction as a system condition for educational archiving, and the five confirmational statements required from all contributors.
Defines the legal hierarchy with Gambian law as the primary authority, AIWA's role as a collective rights administration and licensing organization and designated local steward, the Authorised Publishing Partner model for offshore exploitation, partnership governance protections, publishing partner qualification standards, UNESCO and human rights alignment, ministry jurisdiction and overlap, government authorization handling, institutional-positioning boundaries, and the core structural statements.
Defines the 13-stage controlled process for all works from intake through audit, including lexical extraction, classification, rights review, cultural review, government authorization review, decision gate, implementation, monitoring, appeals, and audit. Also defines system processing rights and contributor breach handling.
Alphabetical reference definitions for all key terms used across the AIWA system.
Core concept definitions for Work, Folklore, Cultural Work, Dataset, AI Use, and Lexical Extraction, plus classification and decision state summaries.
Maps each work type to permitted classifications, monetization eligibility, AI use eligibility, and applicable conditions.
Defines all roles in the AIWA governance structure from the Governance Board through Intake Staff and Authorised Publishing Partners, including responsibilities, authority boundaries, and publishing partner qualification standards for each role.
Defines decision principles, the six allowed decision states, decision authority by case type, decision logic tables for each review stage, control rules, the escalation path, record requirements, and reclassification rules.
The most important policy. Defines AIWA's role as a non-exclusive rights administrator and licensing coordination organization. Establishes the non-ownership declaration, rights categories across all formats, non-exclusive administration standards, sublicensing authority, royalty collection framework, enforcement authority, reservation of ownership, no-obligation-to-exploit clause, and technical use rights.
The trust instrument for financial administration. Defines revenue sources, collection methodology, escrow rules, fraud reserves, currency conversion, dormant and unclaimed royalty procedures, estate and beneficiary handling, audit and transparency standards, chargebacks, and dispute resolution.
The political and governance protection policy. Defines AIWA's non-ownership of cultural heritage, the distinction between creator-owned works and TCEs, sensitive cultural materials review, AI restrictions on heritage materials, provenance and attribution standards, community benefit principles, language preservation commitments, and restricted uses.
Governs ingestion, datasets, provenance, consent, and downstream AI licensing. Defines AI governance principles, dataset intake standards, provenance tracking, consent verification, AI processing permissions, restricted AI uses, AI output rules, synthetic voice and likeness restrictions, cultural dataset safeguards, dataset retention and deletion, model auditability, and anti-reconstruction standards.
The chain-of-title infrastructure. Defines ownership verification standards, contributor identification, split ownership handling, developmental materials verification, metadata integrity, AI-assisted works, community-origin materials, documentary evidence standards, version control, rights revocation, and fraud handling.
Defines metadata integrity standards, AI-generated content standards, fraudulent streaming prohibition, false attribution rules, deepfake restrictions, harmful and illegal content prohibition, educational accuracy standards, and restricted political manipulation rules.
Defines enforcement authority, notice procedures, counter-notice procedures, repeat infringer policy, fraudulent claims handling, AI-generated infringement response, emergency takedowns, platform cooperation requirements, and reinstatement procedures.
Defines accuracy disclaimer requirements, professional advice restrictions, academic attribution standards, AI-generated educational material standards, child-focused content rules, public health and legal information restrictions, and educational standards compliance.
Defines data governance principles, creator and rights holder data protection, voice and biometric data standards, AI dataset data protection, cross-border data transfer rules, third-party licensing disclosure, retention and deletion standards, security measures, and rights of data subjects.
Defines sanctions compliance, AML/KYC standards, export controls, anti-corruption obligations, foreign licensing rules, platform compliance, restricted jurisdictions management, and reporting and monitoring requirements.
Defines account suspension procedures, escalation procedures, human review standards, the appeals process, appeals transparency principles, reinstatement procedures, evidence standards, and enforcement timelines.
Defines the master public-facing platform agreement covering eligibility, accounts, submissions, AI features, payment-linked terms, incorporated policies, moderation, liability boundaries, and governing-law handling.
Defines AIWA's use of cookies and similar technologies, including categories of use, consent standards, user controls, third-party trackers, and retention limits.
Defines public-facing behavioural rules for respectful participation, cultural respect, truthfulness, safety, anti-spam controls, AI/chat conduct, and marketplace interaction standards.
Defines transaction rules for digital sales, subscriptions, recurring billing, refunds, chargebacks, marketplace role allocation, taxes, and compliance-linked order controls.
Defines the contractual status of internal rewards and credits, together with earning, redemption, expiry, non-transferability, anti-fraud, and programme-change rules.
Defines AI interaction transparency, non-reliance rules, prompt and output handling, prohibited AI uses, human review requirements, cultural safeguards, and incident response expectations.
Defines public contributor upload rules, submission authority, operational permissions, cultural declarations, AI-permission boundaries, prohibited uploads, and contributor responsibility for rights and clearances.
Governs external licensing of AIWA-administered works as AI datasets. Defines the licensing framework and categories, approved AI partner standards, prohibited uses, compensation structures, academic research licence safeguards, audit rights, license termination, and dataset recall.
Defines digitization standards, restoration procedures, language preservation standards, metadata preservation, educational archive management, access controls, and preservation ethics.
Defines translation rights and authorization requirements, attribution standards for translations, AI translation governance, cultural context safeguards, quality standards, version control for translations, and localization standards.
Defines the covered material types (drafts, concepts, treatments, outlines, pilots, pitch materials), rights in developmental materials, ownership during development, submission standards, confidentiality, transition to completed works, and abandoned materials procedures.
A specialized subset of AIWA-POL-03. Defines sensitive cultural material designation standards, sacred works handling, ceremonial recordings restrictions, indigenous archives management, oral genealogies protection, restricted traditional materials handling, review procedures, access restrictions, and destruction and recall procedures.
Use the templates in /templates/ when populating document content:
| Template | Use For |
|---|---|
templates/policy-template.md |
AIWA-DOC-01, AIWA-DOC-02, standards documents |
templates/procedure-template.md |
AIWA-DOC-03, any stage-based procedure document |
- Modern work ≠ folklore.
- Cultural influence ≠ folklore.
- Folklore = collective origin + no identifiable author.
- Modern retelling = modern work.
Only these six states are permitted across the entire system:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved | Cleared for the stated scope of use |
| Approved with Limits | Cleared with defined restrictions |
| Held | Paused pending further information or review |
| Restricted | Blocked from the stated use |
| Rejected | Does not meet entry requirements |
| Escalated | Referred to the Governance Board |
No additional states may be introduced.
AI West Africa is a Busumbla Born, Gambian Grown Company.
Copyright (c) 2026 AI West Africa. All rights reserved.