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Meet the ILO Innovation Scouts

Ended
Geneva
Four innovation scouts pose to have their pictures taken

At the Engagement Zone of the International Labour Conference, four teams of ILO Innovation Scouts presented bold new ideas for technical cooperation projects. The session was part of the Innovation Sparks Network, launched earlier in the year by the International Training Centre (ITC) to foster creative problem-solving across the ILO. The teams, selected for seed funding through the network, pitched their proposals to an engaged audience of delegates and constituents, including Italy’s Labour Minister Maria Elvira Calderone.

The projects tackled a range of frontier challenges. One team introduced AI-Powered Foresight, a toolkit using artificial intelligence and virtual reality to help the ILO anticipate geopolitical disruptions and build strategic agility. Another presented ILO Workverse, a VR platform for immersive, simulated social dialogue, piloted in Uganda to include youth from refugee and host communities. Innovate4Change proposed transforming traditional conferences on child labour into interactive, tech-driven experiences with tools like VR field visits and AI chatbots. Finally, TVET AI focused on reforming vocational education in Kenya through generative AI that helps trainers quickly produce high-quality, inclusive learning materials.

Project leaders

Photo of Rafael Peels
Rafael Peels
Workers' Activities Specialist, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Photo of Melissa Kyeyune
Melissa Kyeyune
National Project Coordinator, Kampala, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Photo of Cristina Maldonado
Cristina Maldonado
Technical Officer, Child Labour, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Photo of Stephen Muchiri Mwangi
Stephen Muchiri Mwangi
National Project Coordinator, Nairobi, International Labour Organization (ILO)

Moderators

Photo of Celeste Drake
Celeste Drake
Deputy Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Photo of Christophe Perrin
Christophe Perrin
Director, International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO)