UNICEF Innovation

The Central European Initiative - CEI and UNICEF Innovation are coming together in a community of practice of governments scaling UPSHIFT, UNICEF’s social innovator accelerator for young people, within education systems. 🤝 Currently, 12 of 17 CEI member states are harnessing UPSHIFT, equipping youth with essential skills like problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and leadership. ⭐ “Working with governments to equip young people with the skills necessary for a successful transition from learning to earning is an important shared mandate of UNICEF and the CEI Youth Agenda.” Herve Morin Learn more about UPSHIFT 👉 uni.cf/4agiFyT 

Is your startup leveraging existing and new open-source technologies to build digital trust online or creating new insights to assess and mitigate the threats and harms for children in digital environments? 🧒🏻   The UNICEF Venture Fund is offering grant funding of up to US $100K along with technical assistance for one year- for early stage, for-profit tech start-ups in emerging economies building tools to keep children safe online.   Share and learn more by clicking here 👉🏽 uni.cf/DataAndTrust  Deadline to apply is 23 December 📅   Women-led or founded companies and youth-led companies are highly encouraged to apply.    Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland  #StartUps #DigiTech #EmergingTech #DigitalTrust #opensource #Blockchain #AI #ML

Today, we hosted an event as part of the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4): Driving Capital Towards Children and Young People: Innovative and Sustainable Financing Solutions to Accelerate and Fill the SDG Financing Gap. During the event, I highlighted the need to integrate children and young people into the FfD4 agenda. With less than six years to achieve the SDGs, the SDG financing gap demands bold, collaborative action. Yet, children—one-third of the global population—are often overlooked in financing discussions. While there are challenges, there are opportunities: ➡️ Debt relief solutions for children: Reducing the debt burden to free up fiscal resources for education, health, nutrition and other critical areas for children ➡️ Climate Risk Financing: Scaling-up solutions like parametric insurance to manage different levels and types of climate risk. ➡️ Child Lens Investing: A new approach to align investments with measurable impact for children. Children are the most critical stakeholders in today’s decisions. Let’s ensure they are central to the FfD4 agenda, driving sustainable, scalable solutions for their future. #FfD4 #FinancingforDevelopment #InnovativeFinance #SustainableFinance Michael Bennett Rafal Rybacki Vel Gnanendran CMG Odo Tevi Caitlin Rosser Wyatt Yankus Helge Elisabeth Zeitler Francesco Saverio Ambrogetti Cristina Bertolino

"The Game Changers changed my mindset. Thank you so much for being here, because the game starts with you, leading the change", said Aditi,19, India.    At the #GameChangersCoalition and Global Video Games Coalition (GVGC) launch event, six adolescent girls – now video game coders and designers – presented and played their video games with industry leaders and discussed opportunities to shape a more inclusive video game industry.    💙 Find out more 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/dDU5yakW   #GirlGoals #GenerationEquality #Skills4Girls Video Games Europe Entertainment Software Association UNICEF Sweden Regeringskansliet, Utrikesdepartementet

Over 6 weeks, 60 participants from 20 countries came together for Climate X, a masterclass series run by Canopy (CISL) From Brazil to Jamaica, Ghana to the State of Palestine, participating teams are forging connections and advancing impactful, community-focused initiatives to drive meaningful global change. At the core of ClimateX is a mission to cultivate a vibrant climate innovation ecosystem that connects young innovators with UNICEF experts, creating a global pipeline of climate solutions.    Find out more 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/d6DU7W5R #Innovation30 Eleonora G.

Globally, 240 million children with disabilities experience barriers to education.🏫 Through the Accessible Digital Textbooks initiative, UNICEF supports children with disabilities in 11 countries 🌏, by improving access to information in alternative accessible formats and partnering with ministries of education and organizations of persons with disabilities to ensure sustainable impact. Through the initiative: 🔵 Children have access to over a hundred accessible digital textbooks editions and stories titles.  🔵 3,000 teachers have been trained to promote inclusive education and help all children to learn and thrive together. Find out more 👉 https://uni.cf/3B2mJqG   #IDPD #InclusiveEducation #AccessibleDigitalTextbooks #EducationForAll #InternationalDisabilityDay

Up to US $100K Grant Funding Opportunity for Digital Public Goods with the UNICEF Venture Fund 🚀       Join AfriLabs and UNICEF for a webinar designed to help African startups scale their impact through open, safe, and inclusive innovation.      Learn about the equity-free funding from UNICEF Venture Fund available to entrepreneurs developing groundbreaking solutions with AI and Blockchain for Data and Trust.     🗓️ Save the date: 12th December    🕑 2pm WAT | 3pm CAT | 4pm EAT     Register here 👉 https://bit.ly/DPG-FUNDING   

We're delighted to share the shortlist for the 2024 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing 🏆. The award recognizes publishers and initiatives that lead the way in making reading materials accessible to all. This year's finalists are: Publishers: · Book Publishers Association of Alberta (Canada) · Children's Fun Publishing (China) · Gerbera Ediciones (Argentina) Initiatives: · Lithuanian Audiosensory Library · Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities (Australia/New Zealand) · UNICEF Accessible Digital Textbooks Initiative (Finland) The winners will be announced on December 4, 2024, during a ceremony at the International Publishers Association Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico. More: https://lnkd.in/ebWMv3jb #WIPO #Accessibility #AccessibleBooks #Copyright #Publishing #PublishingIndustry

✨ 4 Start-ups announced as UNICEF Venture Fund Health Systems Strengthening Cohort. ✨ Over 500 submissions were received from 71 countries among them 66% were from women-founded or led start-ups.  Congratulations to:   🔵 Fetosense® by CareNX in India, which used off-the-shelf devices and AI to develop the Fetosense App, a fetal heart monitoring system that helps mitigate the shortage of gynecologists in rural areas.  🔵 BitzITC in Kenya, developing an AI-powered open-source call management system for call centers in East and Southern Africa, supporting survivors of gender-based violence and violence against children. 🔵 Moner Bondhu in Bangladesh, offering accessible and affordable well-being services for children and young adults via an AI-powered chatbot. 🔵 Docokids in Colombia, developing an AI-driven, pediatrician-backed chatbot that provides parents in remote areas with 24/7 information and consultation.  Find out more about each one 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/gmQ8psfm   The Venture Fund’s partnership with Takeda made it possible to support startups in emerging economies using tech solutions to strengthen health systems. Doing so helps bridge equity gaps and improve access to essential health services that help children survive and thrive.

In the aftermath of #COP29, focused on climate finance, the report ‘Financing the Future: Unlocking Climate Finance for Young Innovators’, highlights 4 keyways to unlock funding for young climate innovators:     🔵 Develop targeted finance programs that reduce risks for early-stage investments and unlock flexible funding.     🔵 Strengthen capacity through incubators and accelerators to provide mentorship, resources, and businesses development.      🔵 Create a centralized climate finance platform to map global finance opportunities for young innovators.     🔵 Elevate the profile of young innovators through public advocacy. Governments, multilateral organizations and the private sector must  establish dedicated funding streams.     Read the report 👉🏾 https://uni.cf/4fVYppi