Participatory Innovation and Speculative Storytelling for Change

The Learning Pioneers Programme is a two-year journey where six countries partner with the UNICEF Office of Innovation’s Learning Innovation Hub to pilot and accelerate digital learning tools to address the learning crisis and shape the future of learning

In collaboration with University College London (UCL), UNFPA applied cutting edge AI technology to create GENAIE (Generative AI Education), an automated content generation platform that provides large volumes of high quality, consistent e-learning and training content in a matter of minutes so that healthcare professionals can stay updated with the latest regulations and healthcare standards.

Each year the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) conducts an exercise to verify the continuing eligibility of UNJSPF retirees/beneficiaries to the benefits they are receiving. As part of this exercise, each individual in receipt of a benefit must submit an annual proof of existence. The UNJSPF Digital Certificate of Entitlement (DCE) app, launched in 2021, with the support of the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), addresses this challenge of verifying the identity and location of UNJSPF retirees/beneficiaries worldwide. This state-of-the-art mobile authentication solution leverages blockchain, biometrics/facial recognition, and global positioning technologies. The DCE offers a secure, efficient, and eco-friendly alternative to the traditional paper-based proof-of-existence exercise. It allows retirees and beneficiaries to complete the exercise using their mobile devices, either on or off-line, eliminating the need for paper and postal services, with a secure identity verification conducted through facial recognition. Aligned with the UNJSPF strategy to enhance client experience and modernize services, as of November 2023, over 40% of the retiree and beneficiary population has enrolled in the DCE app.

Developed by UNICEF, Oky is a girl-centered digital solution for menstruation, sexual and reproductive health education and period tracking, that addresses the taboos, misconceptions, and lack of quality information surrounding reproductive health. As an approved Digital Public Good, Oky is co-created with and for adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries, including girls with disabilities. Using a gamified interface, Oky, works on low-end devices and for phone sharing, and has highest data protection and privacy by design. Oky is currently live in 12 countries in 17 languages with more than 800,000 users.