Finland – Stories of UNICEF Innovation

Tag: Finland

(Third from left, holding phone) Olianise Louissaint, 14, prepares to make a geo-tagged photograph of abandoned cars, in the Cité Plus neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, the capital. She is accompanied by other adolescents and a facilitator who comprise a team of participants in a digital mapping project to identify and then photograph using mobile phones equipped with UNICEF-GIS areas of the community where they are at greater risk of, or can be protected from, contracting HIV. Abandoned cars, garages, hotels, bars, streets with a history of violence or abuse and non-electrified areas are classified under the Unsafe Zones category in the UNICEF-GIS application.

In August 2012 in Haiti, an estimated 120,000 people are living with HIV, and adolescents, especially the poorest, are among those most at risk of contracting the virus. The need for a holistic approach to both preventing and treating HIV infections among young people has led to innovative efforts to build awareness and include young people in formulating solutions. Among these is a UNICEF-supported project that trained 24 adolescents, aged 1319 years, to digitally map two vulnerable neighbourhoods Cité Plus and Village de Dieu in Port-au-Prince, the capital. The goal is to identify areas where young people are at increased risk of contracting HIV and to highlight obstacles that keep adolescents, particularly girls, from accessing HIV prevention services. The initiative was implemented with the local NGOs GHESKIO and lObservatoire National de la Violence et de la Criminalité (ONAVC: the National Observatory of Violence and Crime). The young people first participated in a four-day workshop about HIV transmission and prevention. They also learned how to use UNICEF-GIS (UNICEF-Geographic Information System) a digital mapping platform combining web and mobile applications to make geo-tagged photographs with mobile phones to map both risky and safe zones in their comm

UNICEF Welcomes its Fourth Investor to the Innovation Fund

By unicefstories July 19, 2016 Coverage, Partners-Government

UNICEF will use this money to continue investing in new, open-source technologies that can advance the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children. With recent contributions of EUR €1.5 million from the Government of Finland, the UNICEF Innovation Fund has now raised over USD $10.6 million to help invest in […]

By Subhashish Panigrahi (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Why it’s important to bring 3D biofabrication and other health technologies to the most disadvantaged

By unicefstories January 12, 2016 Partners, Partners-Academia

A scientist’s musings at the Global Innovations for Children and Youth Summit By Sean Powell, a full-time academic at the Queensland University of Technology (https://au.linkedin.com/in/imaginethinkcreate). He spoke at the “Start Up to Scale Up Summit,” organized by UNICEF and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on 9-10 November. You […]

Taking innovative ideas and solutions to scale – UNICEF Global Innovations Summit Day 2

By unicefstories November 13, 2015 Coverage

By Nigina Baykabulova HELSINKI, Finland, 11 November 2015 – The second day of the Global Innovations Summit for Children and Youth brought its participants back to reality. How do we know if our idea is viable and strong enough to scale? What are the biggest obstacles to scaling up? How […]

Young Ugandans gather around to use UNICEFs unique innovation the solar-powered Digital Drum, at Bosco Youth Centre in Gulu, Uganda. The Digital Drum was this month chosen as one of Time Magazines Best Inventions of 2011.

About 10 per cent of Ugandans currently use the Internet, and a majority of Ugandans live in rural settings with little to no access to information across areas of health, education, job training, and protection from violence and abuse. The poorest, most isolated and vulnerable children and youth are hit hardest from this lack of access when they do not benefit from crucial services and resources that could improve their health, safety and future.

In response, UNICEF is developing these rugged computer kiosks that will serve as information access points aimed at youth and their communities. The computers will be pre-loaded with dynamic multimedia content on health, job training, education opportunities, and other services. The innovation is being developed and tested in Uganda by UNICEFs Technology for Development unit.

The Digital Drum is a computer built into an oil drum. It was designed by UNICEF Uganda's Technology 4 Development Unit in partnership with other companies. The drums have been installed in youth centers and other areas so that kids can have access to computers. The computers have preloaded content that youth can access. (Bosco Youth Center, Gulu)

Innovators determined to advance results for children

By unicefstories November 9, 2015 Coverage

JOINT PRESS RELEASE Innovators determined to advance results for children Helsinki Innovation Summit explores new solutions to benefit the world’s children HELSINKI/NEW YORK, 9 November 2015 – Over 500 leading thinkers from the technological, academic, corporate, development and humanitarian world are convening in Helsinki today to unlock the way new […]

Tag: Finland

UNICEF Welcomes its Fourth Investor to the Innovation Fund

Why it’s important to bring 3D biofabrication and other health technologies to the most disadvantaged

Taking innovative ideas and solutions to scale – UNICEF Global Innovations Summit Day 2

Innovators determined to advance results for children

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