UN Women AI School

Powering a movement where women learn, build, and govern safe, inclusive and effective AI.

UN Women AI School

UN Women AI School is a regional movement and learning programme that equips UN staff, policy makers, civil society and young leaders to learn, build and govern safe, gender-inclusive AI. Through a shared core curriculum on AI foundations, responsible use and prompt craft—plus weekly Expert Talks and hands-on Innovation Labs—participants turn ideas into policy briefs, tools and datasets that serve communities across the region. A 24/7 Companion GPT supports practice and catch-up, and the Grand Challenge spotlights standout projects. All toolkits and templates are open for replication across Asia and the Pacific.

How we work

Learn–Build–Deploy: short concept bursts → live demos → hands-on sprints you can deploy. The 20/80 rule: we focus on the vital 20 per cent of concepts that unlock 80 per cent of value. Ethics by design: bias checks, privacy/consent, accessibility and provenance are baked into every exercise. Community first: peer reviews, expert clinics and a mentor network create a supportive space to co-learn and co-create. Accessible & local: captions, alt-text, screen-reader-friendly materials, and options for low-bandwidth/offline use. Open and reusable: toolkits, prompt packs and templates are released for easy adaptation and replication.

Three learning tracks

Design gap

Format: 5 sessions × 1 hour (delivered over 2 days, in person or virtual).

Highlights: AI foundations; responsible AI; prompt engineering; custom GPTs for UN workflows; quick wins for RBM, multilingual comms and early warning.

Policy gap

Format: 5 sessions × 1 hour.

Highlights: AI governance and risk tiers; gender-responsive AI policies and procurement; standards & safeguards; regulatory case studies; evidence-ready policy briefs.

Access gap

Format: 3 months, weekly classes + expert talks + labs.

Highlights: Full curriculum (see below), project mentoring, and a graduation challenge. Designed for CSOs, youth leaders, journalists, educators and social innovators.

All tracks share a common core curriculum, then branch to role-specific labs and assignments. Everyone can join weekly Expert Talks and Innovation Labs.

What you’ll learn (core modules)

Foundations of AI: AI/ML/Deep Learning/Generative AI made practical.

Responsible AI & Bias Mitigation: fairness, privacy, consent, accessibility, content credentials.

Prompt Engineering: direct, few-shot, chaining, chain/tree-of-thought; evaluation and efficiency.

Custom GPTs & RAG: build mission-aligned copilots with guard-rails and trusted sources.

AI for Communication & Campaigns: inclusive messaging, multilingual workflows, and safety.

AI-Generated Media & Storytelling: image/video/audio ethics, alt-text/captions, deepfake awareness.

Knowledge Management & RBM: auto-tagging, evidence briefs, SDG-linked reporting.

Small/Edge Models & Low Connectivity: SLMs, offline/field deployment.

Thematic Labs: AI × climate action, humanitarian response, disability inclusion, peacebuilding.

Expert Talks & Innovation Labs

The agenda below shines a light on the topics covered in weekly sessions with practitioners across government, tech, academia and civil society covering topics from AI governance to safety & humanitarian corridors, AI at work, disability-inclusive design, offline AI, and more.

Innovation Labs

The AI School Companion (Custom GPT)

A 24/7 tutor that quizzes you, explains concepts in plain language, suggests catch-up plans, and runs quick checks on bias, accessibility and sourcing in your assignments.

Graduation projects & Grand Challenge

All participants can submit a policy brief, knowledge product, dataset or AI tool. Grand Challenge: What does a gender-inclusive AI look like? Re-imagine design, data, deployment and governance so women and girls shape outcomes. Top projects are showcased on the AI School classroom; select teams receive mentorship to replicate the School in their communities.

Who should join

  • UN personnel are improving gender inclusive programmes and reporting.
  • Policy makers/regulators crafting safeguards and standards.
  • CSOs and youth networks are building community-level solutions.
  • Educators, journalists and innovators advancing inclusive digital futures.

Impact we track

Since May 2024, the AI School has engaged 2,000+ participants across Asia and the Pacific, with 100 per cent overall satisfaction reported. Learners describe the experience as “transformative,” moving “from zero level and fear of technology to a better understanding of AI tools—and how to use them safely and productively.” Another graduate shared, “It deepened my understanding of how AI can be leveraged to advance gender equality, enhanced my technical skills, and broadened my perspective on AI’s social impact, especially in empowering women and girls.” Others called the programme “very insightful, accessible and extensive… with brilliant resources and amazing facilitation.” These results reflect not only skills gained, but real readiness to design, deploy and govern inclusive, responsible AI in programmes, policies and communities.w

How to engage

  • Enroll in an upcoming cohort. The new cohort registration will be announced soon. In the meantime, you can check the previous AI School call to familiarize yourself with the program and its requirements.
  • Host an expert talk or lab.
  • Mentor a project team.
  • Replicate the curriculum with our open-source toolkits.
Ready?

Explore:

Resources
AI Resources
GenderNet
Campaigns