Poland Takes UPSHIFT Digital to Inspire the Next Generation of Changemakers

When 11-year-old Maria and 12-year-old Kolya joined a UNICEF-supported UPSHIFT workshop in Katowice, they had no idea their project would one day be tested in classrooms across Poland. 

What began as a simple idea to teach their peers about finances became ‘The Million Game’ – a board game that makes complex financial concepts fun and accessible. With support from a mentor and a local publisher, the two young refugees from Ukraine presented their prototype during the workshop. Now, their game is being rolled out in schools, libraries, and community hubs across the country, from Gdańsk to Warsaw.

UPSHIFT –  UNICEF’s flagship programme for social innovation – aims to accelerate and expand the inclusion and participation of children and young people in their societies. By offering them hands-on learning, it equips them with transferable and vital skills such as problem-solving and collaboration and helps unleash their creativity. They learn how to identify challenges in their own communities and design impactful solutions. In Poland, UPSHIFT also supports young Ukrainian refugees, who have had their education – and their lives – disrupted.

In 2024, Poland became the third country to bring UPSHIFT to UNICEF’s Learning Passport platform – a major step towards expanding the programme beyond in-person workshops. The online UPSHIFT course, available in both Polish and English, includes expert videos, transcripts and powerful stories from Ukrainian youth. Designed for use by teachers, it can be taught as a stand-alone curriculum or integrated into regular classroom learning and skills-building activities. Access to the programme is growing across formal and non-formal education as is its use to support the greater inclusion of refugee and other vulnerable young people across the country.  

This move is part of a growing national effort in Poland to strengthen digital learning and equip teachers with the tools they need to meet the evolving needs of their students. In response to feedback from UPSHIFT teacher workshops, the course now features a series of short videos showcasing real youth-led projects from across Poland. These stories highlight the challenges young people have faced alongside their creative solutions to address them, offering teachers fresh, localized inspiration that they can bring into their own classrooms.  

UNICEF’s partnership with the Pro Futuro Foundation, a national organization in Poland, is also expanding UPSHIFT’s reach. Through the ‘U FOR U’ initiative, Pro Futuro has engaged hundreds of refugee youth across Poland, offering not only UPSHIFT training but also additional courses on topics like public speaking, digital skills, gender equality and how to prepare an application for a job or for higher education.  

While Maria and Kolya have focused on financial inclusion, young UPSHIFTers Tamara, Emil, and Svyatoslav created the ‘Film of Life’ project. After completing their UPSHIFT training, these three adolescents launched a photography initiative to gather and share the experiences of Ukrainian youth with disabilities. This has generated a set of powerful portraits that have been exhibited in Katowice, sparking collaborations with Polish organizations. The project also resulted in the creation of internships for youth with disabilities, opening doors to new opportunities.  

“These are not just photos,” Tamara says, “They are evidence of strength and dreams.”  

Youth-led projects like these show the transformative power of UPSHIFT. By enabling young people to take the lead, to solve problems, and to make a difference in their communities, UPSHIFT reflects UNICEF’s commitment to child and youth participation. And by making the programme available through the Learning Passport, the initiative can be scaled to reach even more teachers, youth workers and young people. 

The Learning Passport is used in 47 countries and has reached more than 10 million registered users. Designed for both online and offline use, it provides access to early childhood, primary and secondary education, as well as technical and vocational learning, which is vital in contexts where education has been disrupted by conflict, displacement or natural disasters. In Poland, UPSHIFT is showing how digital learning platforms can be used not only to deliver content, but to support national education priorities and foster long-term inclusion.  

For young UPSHIFTers like Maria, Kolya, Tamara, Emil and Svyatoslav, the journey is just beginning. Their ambition reflects the spirit of UPSHIFT – equipping young people with the tools and confidence to shape a better future for themselves and for their communities.