Discover UN open source initiatives driving collaboration, innovation, and impact across the globe. From hackathons to capacity-building programs, these projects show how open solutions can address pressing challenges and support sustainable development.
Mind the Open Source Gap
Empowering UN Staff with Open Source Skills
Mind the Open Source Gap is designed for all UN personnel interested in learning about open source, regardless of technical background. The initiative is open to anyone who wants to better understand open source and its role in the software ecosystem, including developers, managers, and non-technical professionals.
We are pleased to announce that this virtual workshop is now open to UN personnel system-wide.
Open Source for Sustainable Development Goals (OSS4SDG)
Driving SDG Solutions through Open Source
To tackle pressing global challenges, the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) has partnered with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT) on the Open Source Software for Sustainable Development Goals (OSS4SDG) initiative. Through a series of hackathons, this initiative harnesses open-source tools to address specific Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Read more about OSS4SDG
Reboot the Earth
Innovating to Combat Climate Change
Reboot the Earth is a global hackathon that invites young coders, innovators, and climate advocates to build digital solutions addressing the climate crisis. Hosted by the United Nations Office of Information Communication Technology, this event creates a space for participants to collaborate and develop impactful software to combat environmental challenges. Reboot the Earth 2026 is underway. Read more
Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE)
The Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE) is a flagship initiative led by the International Telecommunication Union Bureau for Development in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, funded by the European Commission under the Global Gateway programme.
Running from September 2023 to February 2027 with EUR 3 million in funding, OSEE supports countries in the Global South to establish Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) and strengthen national digital capacity.
OSEE helps governments use open source to advance digital sovereignty, innovation, and inclusive development, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals through Digital Public Goods and Digital Public Infrastructure.
The initiative operates through three pillars:
- Capacity Building
- Community empowerment
- Institutionalization of OSPOs.
Pilot countries: Kenya and Trinidad and Tobago.
Affiliate countries include Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Zambia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Egypt, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Samoa, Kazakhstan, and Moldova.
GENIE.AI – Global Empowerment, Intelligence and Equity
GENIE.AI is an open source generative AI initiative led by the International Telecommunication Union Bureau for Development. It provides a lightweight, modular framework that enables governments to build and deploy AI powered digital public services in low and middle income countries.
Aligned with the Open Source Initiative AI definition and the Digital Public Goods Standard, GENIE.AI promotes affordable, locally adaptable, and responsibly governed AI.
The framework is already being piloted by national institutions in Bangladesh, El Salvador, The Gambia, Kenya, and Lesotho, and by partners including Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization, IEEE Humanitarian Technologies, and United Nations International Computing Centre.
GenAI for Good Challenge
The GenAI for Good Challenge is a global innovation initiative led by the International Telecommunication Union Bureau for Development in partnership with IEEE Humanitarian Technologies. It engages developers worldwide to create open source generative AI solutions for public-sector needs in developing countries, using the GENIE.AI framework.
Since its launch, 318 teams from 79 countries have worked on real-world prototypes in health, agriculture, and climate resilience, with opportunities to pilot solutions in Bangladesh, Lesotho, and The Gambia. All code is released under open source licenses, contributing to a global ecosystem of AI for public good.
