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Artificial intelligence is reshaping how governments deliver services, make decisions, and interact with citizens. Its potential is significant: AI can help detect disease outbreaks, personalise education, streamline public administration, and expand access to services for millions of people. But there are also substantial risks.Without adequate oversight, AI systems can entrench discrimination, erode privacy, and concentrate power in ways that undermine democratic accountability. For governments, the challenge is not just whether to adopt AI, but how to do so in ways that are ethical, inclusive, and grounded in human rights.Set out to address these challenges, the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia, in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat and GovTech Sri Lanka, brought together nearly 70 civil servants from more than 30 government departments and agencies for a four-day AI Literacy Training in Colombo. Facilitated by members of the AI Ethics Experts without Borders (AIEB) Network, it brought together public servants from across the government to explore not just how AI works, but how it should work in service of the public good. Beyond the formal curriculum, the training surfaced curiosity and concerns about generative AI in government workflows, data privacy, algorithmic risk, and the implications of AI systems for Sri Lanka’s linguistic communities. Grounded in local examples, the sessions made complex concepts concrete and directly relevant to the realities of public administration.The engagement from participants across government institutions underscored both the relevance of AI literacy and the demand for continued capacity-building in the public sector. Discussions focused on how AI can support public service delivery while ensuring transparency, accountability and respect for human rights.“This training was impactful and gave us a shared language for AI — one that connects the technology to the values and responsibilities we already hold as public servants.”— Ms. Naduni T Wanigasinghe, Assistant Secretary to the President, Presidential Secretariat“Understanding AI is essential for civil servants and decision makers — and this programme was a strong step towards making that understanding clearer, and inclusive. There is a need to build on this momentum, especially in areas of priority for Sri Lanka’s digital transformation agenda”— Mr. Sameera Wickramasinghe, Senior Assistant Secretary to the President, Presidential Secretariat Delivered bilingually in Sinhala and English, the training covered the fundamentals of AI, governance frameworks, ethical considerations, public sector AI procurement, and regulatory approaches, while highlighting both national and international challenges related to AI adoption and deployment.As part of UNESCO’s support for the implementation of the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, Sri Lanka has also engaged with the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM), a key tool that helps Member States assess their preparedness for ethical AI governance across legal, institutional, social, and technical dimensions. This training builds on this broader process by strengthening the knowledge and operational capacities of public officials responsible for translating RAM recommendations into practice. This initiative forms part of UNESCO’s broader global work to support Member States in implementing the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the first global normative framework on AI adopted unanimously by 193 Member States.By strengthening AI literacy and institutional capacity within the public sector, UNESCO supports Member States in ensuring that AI systems are designed, procured, deployed, and governed in ways that are ethical, inclusive, transparent, and aligned with human rights and sustainable development. Through initiatives such as this training, UNESCO continues to accompany governments and institutions in building responsible AI governance frameworks and capacities that reflect both global standards and national priorities.