UNICEF expands Tinkering with Tech initiative to build 21st century digital skills

UNICEF’s Tinkering with Tech initiative is providing hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for students and teachers to explore technology, build computational thinking, and develop practical artificial intelligence (AI) and digital skills.

At a partnership workshop in Helsinki on 28 and 29 January 2026, UNICEF and its strategic partner Arm, together with implementing partners the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and Raspberry Pi Foundation, announced plans to expand Tinkering with Tech to more countries and strengthen its focus on AI literacy. Building on a pilot launched in 2024 in Honduras, Maldives, Montenegro and Viet Nam, the initiative plans to now expand to Lao PDR, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Led by UNICEF’s Global Learning Innovation Hub in Helsinki anchored in the Centre of Excellence for Education, Tinkering with Tech applies a human-centred approach to improve learning outcomes, increase digital skills, enhance collaborative learning, ensure a safe, balanced and ethical approach to technology in the classroom, and support efforts to build equity and bridge gender divides. 

The expansion comes at a key moment. More than a quarter of a billion children worldwide are out of school and many more who are enrolled are falling behind in reading and mathematics. UNICEF’s approach to innovative learning and technology places children’s needs at the centre, ensuring solutions are inclusive, effective and grounded in local contexts.

Arm, a leading global technology company, has been a key strategic partner since the initiative’s launch, working with UNICEF to scale Tinkering with Tech and expand its global impact. 

“Tinkering with Tech helps young people develop the creativity, problem-solving and digital skills they need in a fast-changing world,” said Fran Baker, Director of Sustainability and Social Impact at Arm. “We’re proud to continue our partnership with UNICEF to help democratise access to AI for children everywhere.”

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation was a key implementing partner during the first phase of Tinkering with Tech, bringing educational expertise to support teacher professional development across participating countries. As the initial programmes continue to scale-up, they will bring design thinking principles together with the micro:bit device to support young people in creating innovative solutions to real-world challenges.

“The Tinkering with Tech project and our collaborations with the UNICEF Global Learning Innovation Hub have already had a huge impact on building both teacher and student confidence. We are excited to become a partner and expand this project with Learning Pathways for AI and micro:bit CreateAI, to empower even more children to become innovators, and not just consumers, of AI,” said Melanie Washington, Chief Partnerships Officer, Micro:bit Educational Foundation.   

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK-based global charity with the mission of enabling young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. As a new implementing partner to the Tinkering with Tech Initiative, the Raspberry Pi Foundation – through its AI literacy programme Experience AI – will provide additional expertise in education, non-formal learning and research to support the responsible and effective inclusion of AI into curriculum development, teaching and learning.   

“Through this partnership with UNICEF, we’re supporting teachers to develop the confidence and skills they need to teach AI in ways that are engaging, relevant and grounded in real-world contexts for their students. Our shared aim is to ensure young people develop a strong foundational understanding of AI technologies – and the knowledge and confidence to shape how these technologies affect their lives and communities,” said Philip Colligan CBE, CEO, Raspberry Pi Foundation.

For UNICEF, the initiative reflects a broader commitment to ensuring innovation in education delivers real results for children.

“To support the responsible deployment of EdTech, AI and other digital solutions across the globe, we need to equip children and teachers with skills fit for the 21^st century,” said Frank van Cappelle, Head of UNICEF’s Global Learning Innovation Hub. “This means fostering AI and digital literacy, advancing education in science, technology, engineering and math, ensuring equity and inclusion for girls, children with disabilities and other marginalized groups, and building locally driven EdTech solutions in partnership with governments, the private sector and educators that deliver lasting results.”

Through initiatives like Tinkering with Tech, UNICEF and its partners are translating global ambition into practical action, equipping teachers and empowering learners with the skills, confidence and tools needed to navigate a rapidly changing digital world and ensuring innovation delivers real impact for children.