Through strategic collaborations with leading academic institutions, UNICC reinforces its commitment to translating theoretical advancements into practical solutions. These partnerships not only enrich the organization’s technical expertise but also reaffirm its dedication to fostering innovation, diversity, and inclusion, aligning with the United Nations’ core values and global goals.

In 2024, UNICC partnered with Columbia University, New York University, and Cornell University’s Break Through Tech programme to explore transformative AI-driven solutions. These initiatives focused on addressing critical issues, including combating xenophobia in media, mitigating gender bias in technology, and simplifying access to complex datasets. By bridging theoretical advancements with practical solutions, these efforts not only delivered impactful tools and frameworks but also provided opportunities for young professionals to gain valuable experience while contributing to a more diverse and skilled workforce.

The creativity and dedication of these students in applying digital and AI methodologies to address pressing global challenges is truly inspiring. Their work highlights the transformative potential of collaboration between academia and industry in driving meaningful change.

Anusha Dandapani, Chief of Data and AI Section, UNICC

Columbia University Spring 2024 Capstone Project: Gender Bias Overview Tool (GenBOT)

In partnership with Columbia University and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICC supported the creation of the Gender Bias Overview Tool (GenBOT), aimed at addressing gender bias in technology. This tool leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify, measure, and address gender biases in datasets and technological solutions.

Key Outcomes:

• Development of a customizable data auditing tool to identify gender biases in textual content.
• Integration of AI-driven tools to detect misrepresentation and bias, with alert mechanisms for high-risk areas.
• Provision of actionable insights to stakeholders for addressing gender equity gaps in technology.

This initiative contributes to creating equitable and inclusive technological solutions.

New York University Fall 2024 Capstone Project: AI-Driven Media Analysis Tool

UNICC collaborated with New York University to develop an AI-based tool aimed at identifying xenophobic language, misinformation, and harmful narratives in media reporting on refugees, migrants, and displaced populations. This initiative promotes ethical reporting on migration and displacement issues.

Key Outcomes:

• Development of a high-accuracy xenophobia detection framework using advanced natural language processing (NLP) models.
• Implementation of fact-checking and bias detection features to support ethical journalism.
• Creation of a topic analysis system that identifies key themes, extracts relevant keywords, and evaluates sentiment within text data. This system provides actionable insights for decision-making, trend analysis, and strategic planning.

Cornell University Break Through Tech: Chatbot for Document Querying and Summarization

In partnership with the Cornell Break Through Tech programme, UNICC facilitated the development of a chatbot to enhance access to information. Using a dataset of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) documents, the chatbot provides efficient querying and real-time summarized insights, benefiting policymakers and researchers.

Key Outcomes:

• Creation of a chatbot using open-source frameworks for effective document querying.
• Delivery of real-time summarized insights from complex datasets to support informed decision-making.

This initiative demonstrates the potential of digital tools to improve knowledge accessibility and utility.

UNICC extends its heartfelt thanks to the students, professors, and academic institutions for their creativity, dedication, and collaboration in these initiatives. Engaging with young professionals and members of the academic community has strengthened these efforts and underscored the importance of fostering inclusive and innovative solutions to address global challenges. Moving forward, UNICC remains committed to advancing innovation through strategic collaboration, amplifying diverse perspectives in technology, and delivering scalable solutions that support the United Nations’ values of inclusivity, sustainability, and equitable development.