United Planet Hosts Artificial Intelligence Virtual Exchange Program

Boston, MA - From October 2023 until January 2024, United Planet hosted a successful 8-week virtual exchange program focused on digital storytelling and image generation using artificial intelligence (AI). The program, called the Unite All Schools Virtual Exchange Program, was funded by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. 

During the virtual exchange program, a school from Cuyahoga County in Ohio was matched with international schools across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  The students’ assignment was to author and illustrate a series of books addressing climate change, food security, and diversity & inclusion using AI image generation. During the program, they learned how to use image-generating software such as Microsoft Bing Image Creator. 

As a result of this program, each student developed new skills in generative AI, cross-cultural collaboration, problem-solving, decision-making, and research during the program. “The most fun part was working as a new group, we all became friends. Being on Zoom calls and creating the book was really fun. Coming up with how to write the story was challenging, but we decided to write something we all like, which was really interesting and educational,” one student from Georgia shares about the program.

At the end of the program, each school presented their final storybook that they created with the assistance of AI to a jury of United Planet board members. After a selection process, the jury has declared “Indian Taste Tales” from Vidyamandir Trust School in India as the winner of the program. The winning school will be awarded with a cash prize for all of their efforts during the program.

Oudou Sanogo, Virtual Exchange Chapters Program Manager at United Planet, is excited about how the program turned out. “We are so grateful for the Martha Holden Jennings AI grant. The AI element is a paragon of a creative tool for students' digital storytelling projects.” For more than 60 years, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation has awarded more than $150 million in grants to Ohio’s non-religious, public PK-12 school programs for a wide variety of projects and initiatives that foster deep learning and excellent teachers.

ABOUT UNITED PLANET

United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers personalized, immersive, service-learning, international experiential learning, and internship experiences in more than 40 countries. Volunteers and interns have helped address important global issues—such as health, children and education, and environmental sustainability while developing leadership and other 21st-century skills, building bridges across divides, and forging cohesive and productive cross-border relationships both in-person and online.

For media inquiries, please contact Mohammad Hijazi, Marketing & Communications Manager at United Planet via mohammad@unitedplanet.org.