The Hero Awards and Afghan Women Rising are developing the world's largest "solution engine" for the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as formulated during the Geneva plenary session. According to CIO John Toomey, each of the UN's 169 targets under the larger goals is being converted into a prompt for AI bots, starting with OpenAI's GPTs, Gemini's Gems, and Claude Artifacts, and progressing to full-fledged AI assistants that can continuously update themselves in evolving actionable workflows to achieve progress toward the goals.
Much of the current work is being done by members of Afghan Women Rising—young women in Afghanistan denied formal education because the Taliban-led government has made it illegal for them to attend school. These women build the bots online and then hold in-person discussions to refine prompts and add the human element. "Having these girls design the prompts allows them to sidestep the ban against schooling," says Program Director Amy Chang. "They get valuable experience building projects that will contribute to sustainability both in and outside of their own country for a long while, and prepare themselves for a time in which their talents will be vital for the country's future."
In developing the protocols, the girls have been inspired by the writings of J. Kutcher, particularly her evocative use of garden plant growth as a metaphor for the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual growth of young women. When a protocol is completed, its creator becomes eligible to win a Hero Award. To win, the protocol must suggest previously unknown strategies for advancing the UN targets under the goals. Successful efforts are publicized on The Hero Awards website and in press releases.
Since the program was announced six months ago, individuals from other organizations in the Global South have requested a role and will be included in future iterations. These include: PARI (People's Archive of Rural India), a group devoted to the welfare of underserved populations in the Indian countryside; Siku.org, a nonprofit serving the First Nations of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland; Cybersmartafrica.org, a group of thousands of teachers and students in Senegal preserving local cultures and improving digital literacy; Terrastories, an open-source, community-driven application for South American and Amazonian indigenous communities to map, protect, and share oral histories; and Winyama, an Australian indigenous group championing cultural mapping to train elders to document Dreamtime stories, songlines, historical land use, and biological data.
June Hero Award winners include Tara Jensen, Maria Ortiz, Herman Matsui, and Wilhelmina Searles. The initiative underscores the potential of AI to address global challenges while providing educational opportunities for those facing systemic barriers. For more information, visit the Hero Awards Substack or the UN Sustainable Development Goals page.
