UN OICT

UN OICT Pavithra Vijayarajan proves there’s no single path into technology. She helps develop responsible AI tools that make UN recruitment more efficient, transparent and human-centered.

https://unite.un.org/en/WomenInTech-UN/pavithra-vijayarajan

"Open source is not simply a technical choice for the United Nations, it is a strategic enabler of innovation, collaboration & digital sovereignty," said Bernardo Mariano Junior, Assistant Secretary-General & Chief Information Technology Officer United Nations, in his opening remarks for OSPOs for Good Day at .

The day brought together governments, colleagues at the United Nations, academia, industry and the global open source community to explore how Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) are driving digital transformation and strengthening international collaboration.

Throughout the day, speakers examined how open source is helping institutions build more resilient, transparent and interoperable digital infrastructure while advancing digital sovereignty and public sector innovation. Discussions showcased practical experiences from around the world, from Japan’s four decades of open source leadership to emerging government OSPOs in low- and middle-income countries, demonstrating how collaboration across sectors is turning policy into practice.

Participants also explored how stronger governance, sustainable financing, data stewardship and digital public infrastructure can support long-term open source ecosystems. Sessions highlighted new initiatives such as the Open Source Enablement Compass (OSEC), innovative approaches to financing digital public goods, and the growing role of universities, cities and industry in expanding open source capacity worldwide.

The day concluded with a look at how open source is advancing collaboration across the United Nations system and partnerships that are helping accelerate digital transformation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Conversations today reinforced a shared vision: open source is a model for building more inclusive, resilient and collaborative digital futures.

Watch the recordings: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k12/k12620x8tm

Co-organized with United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies

Day 4 of : OSPOs for Good Day!

Join leaders from governments, academia & industry as they explore how Open Source Program Offices are strengthening digital sovereignty and advancing open collaboration.

📺 Tune in: unopensource.org

Day 3 of is here! Today’s focus: Digital Public Infrastructure.

Discussions will center on how to translate the Global Digital Compact’s commitments on DPI and safeguards into real-world impact.

Watch live 🔽
Morning sessions: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1c/k1cqj3jcdx
Afternoon sessions: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k13/k136ks9z9x

Open Source x AI Day at 2026 brought together researchers, ministers, technologists, and communities to explore how openness can advance AI and digital cooperation.

The day opened with Executive Chairman at AMI Labs Yann LeCun and Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Gill, followed by conversations featuring leaders from Morocco, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, Estonia, the Dominican Republic and more.

Sessions focused on responsible GenAI governance, open robots and agents, digitally friendly cities, digital sovereignty and public AI infrastructure in Africa, AI risk and resilience, digital public infrastructure and safeguards, open science and health systems and inclusive approaches to digital transformation.

The day closed with the clear message that openness is essential to AI and digital cooperation. Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Co-organized by the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology

Tune in by watching live as we launch Open Source x AI Day at UN Open Source Week 2026! 🌍

Be part of the conversation on how open innovation and artificial intelligence can shape a more equitable and sustainable future.

Co-led with the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies

Morning sessions: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k14/k14ej1ucqu
Afternoon sessions: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1b/k1b443e64t

What an incredible day of innovation, collaboration and impact to kick off !

UN Tech Over brought together innovators, maintainers, policymakers, researchers and community leaders to celebrate the power of open collaboration in addressing global challenges.

The day began with opening remarks from Thomas Jarzombek, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation of Germany; Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University; and Mandeep O'Brien, Global Director of Public Partnerships at UNICEF. Together, they underscored the growing importance of open source technologies and communities in advancing sustainable development and digital cooperation.

Three events unfolded throughout the day, each highlighting a different dimension of the open source ecosystem.

The Hack-A-Thon brought teams together to tackle real-world challenges through technology and innovation. Participants spent hours developing solutions, refining their ideas through a pitch workshop, and ultimately presenting their projects before a panel of distinguished judges.

Among the winning projects was BEACON, a mobile-friendly mapping platform that combines official UN flood, population and infrastructure data across Bangladesh with a trained AI model that predicts where flooding is likely to occur, created by Team Valor 2.0: Akhil Mattaparthi, Aiden Yap, Shayan Shah, Aslan Wang and Justin Hong.

The other winning team, Team SAGE, consisting of Olu Akinnawo, Prajwal Srinivas, Jeremy Straub, George Mihaileanu and Roshan Sharma, developed SAGE Governance, an open-source framework designed to strengthen governance practices and support the long-term stewardship of open source projects.

The Edit-A-Thon brought together participants eager to contribute to the world's largest encyclopedia. With support from experts and mentors, attendees leveraged their research, documentation and critical thinking skills to improve selected Wikipedia pages, ensuring that important topics are represented with greater depth, accuracy, and reliability.

The Maintain-A-Thon convened open source maintainers, stewards and policymakers to focus on one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of the ecosystem: maintenance.

From coding and editing to stewardship and governance, the launch of UN Open Source demonstrated that collaboration is more than a principle—it is a catalyst for impact. The energy, ingenuity, and dedication displayed throughout the day showcased the immense potential of open source communities to build solutions that serve people everywhere.

Congratulations to all participants, mentors, judges and organizers whose contributions made this inaugural day a remarkable success!

Onwards with tomorrow for Open Source x AI Day! https://www.unopensource.org/agenda

Open Source Week 2026, led by United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology, starts today at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with UN Tech Over!

Over the next week, conversations on open source, AI governance, and Digital Public Infrastructure will move beyond theory—through workshops, hackathons and collaboration across governments, industry, civil society and technical communities.

We're excited to see what emerges when open communities meet global challenges.

Stay tuned this week at https://www.unopensource.org/