The Hero Awards, in collaboration with Afghan Women Rising, are developing the world's largest 'solution engine' for the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Announced during the Geneva plenary session, the initiative aims to convert each of the UN's 169 targets into prompts for artificial intelligence bots, starting with platforms like OpenAI's GPTs, Gemini's Gems, and Claude Artifacts, and evolving into full-fledged AI assistants that continuously update themselves to drive actionable workflows toward the Goals.
Much of the work is being done by members of Afghan Women Rising—young women in Afghanistan who are denied formal education under the Taliban-led government's ban on schooling for girls. They build the bots online and then refine the prompts through in-person discussions, adding a human element to the AI. Program Director Amy Chang explained, 'Having these girls design the prompts allows them to sidestep the ban against schooling. 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.'
The girls draw inspiration from the writings of J. Kutcher, particularly her metaphor of garden plant growth to represent the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual development of young women. Once a protocol is completed, its creator becomes eligible for a Hero Award, which requires suggesting previously unknown strategies for advancing a UN target. Successful efforts are highlighted on The Hero Awards website and in press releases.
Since the program launched six months ago, individuals from other organizations in the Global South have requested involvement and will be included in future iterations. Participating groups include PARI (People's Archive of Rural India), which serves underserved populations in rural India; Siku.org, a non-profit for First Nations in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland; Cybersmartafrica.org, a network of teachers and students in Senegal preserving local cultures and improving digital literacy; Terrastories, an open-source app for South American and Amazonian indigenous communities to map oral histories; and Winyama, an Australian indigenous group using cultural mapping to document Dreamtime stories and historical data.
June Hero Award winners include Tara Jensen, Maria Ortiz, Herman Matsui, and Wilhelmina Searles. For more information, visit the Hero Awards Substack at theheroaward.substack.com or their Reddit community at r/WinaHeroAward/. The UN SDGs and targets can be reviewed at sdgs.un.org/goals.
