Harnessing Innovation and Technology on the Frontlines of Humanitarian Action

Innovation and technology are deeply embedded in our daily lives, with many people eager to explore and adopt the latest tech products to enhance their quality of life. When it comes to social and economic development, innovation and technology play a vital role in improving productivity, driving economic growth, and advancing social progress. Over time, these advances contribute to achieving global Sustainable Development Goals and to creating a better living environment for children. Given this impact, an important question emerges in our humanitarian efforts: can innovation and technology be further integrated into our work?

President and Chief Executive Officer of World Vision International Andrew Morley puts it clearly: “With child vulnerability and country fragility increasing across the world, investing in innovation is absolutely critical to overcome new and existing challenges.” When we invest in innovation, we’re not just improving programmes — we are transforming lives.

In recent years, many of the regions where World Vision serves have been severely affected by intensified climate change, ongoing conflict, and economic downturns, all of which have made our humanitarian work increasingly complex. Incorporating innovation and technology to meet these larger, more demanding challenges has therefore become a new priority for our projects. We believe this approach is mutually reinforcing, as our relief, rebuilding, and community development work achieves stronger results, it builds greater confidence among all who partner with World Vision, inspiring continued collaboration to transform even more lives.

Syria

Creating Fab Lab

Ignite Innovation in Youth and Reimagine Career Journeys

After 14 long years of devastating conflict and relentless attacks on educational facilities, Syria is finally beginning its slow journey towards recovery. Despite the hardships, a whole generation of young Syrians is hungry for innovation and remains driven by hope. Among them is 20-year-old Layal, an example of resilience and ambition.

Layal is a second-year university student in Aleppo, reading Elementary Education with a focus on modern teaching methods. In addition to her studies, she works part-time as an elementary school teacher, a role that fuels her deep belief in the transformative power of education. This belief led her to the Fab Lab project launched by World Vision Syria Response and funded by World Vision Hong Kong.

Launched in March 2024, the Fab Lab empowers Syrian individuals and local organisations to develop innovative and practical solutions to everyday challenges. Through hands-on workshops, participants identify local problems like gaps in education.

Hope After War

Energised by the recent political shift following the fall of the Assad regime, Layal felt a new sense of possibility. “This change gave us a glimmer of hope. We have been estranged from our villages for years, and I dream of rebuilding my country,” she said.

Motivated and inspired, Layal reorganised her life to embrace this opportunity. Spending her mornings at university, afternoons teaching, and weekends at the Fab Lab workshops, she is committed to fully realising her vision. In her very first session, joined by 18 other aspiring innovators, Layal was truly amazed.

“As soon as I entered the Fab Lab center, I felt like I stepped into the future! I saw tools I had never seen before,” she recalled with excitement.

Driving Innovation Forward

During brainstorming sessions with other educators, recurring problems surfaced: students using outdated textbooks with missing pages, and a lack of visual learning aids like maps or flashcards. Determined to make a difference, Layal had a spark of inspiration — why not use the lab’s 3D printer and laser cutter to create new teaching tools?

“Children need things they can touch and feel in order to learn,” she explained. Her idea is to create 3D-printed educational materials, starting with tactile geographical maps, and making them accessible to underserved schools.

From that spark, the youth-led "Learning Tools from Scrap" initiative was born, repurposing low-cost, recycled materials into engaging learning aids. Layal plans to distribute these tools to three schools in Azaz, Syria. She then hopes to measure their impact on student engagement and learning outcomes, using the data to improve future designs.

But like many great ideas, hers needs support to become reality. Layal requires funding for essentials. Threads for the 3D printer, wood and acrylic for laser cutting, and adhesive materials to bring her prototypes to life.

Layal’s journey from student and teacher to innovative changemaker is a testament to the untapped potential of Syrian youth. Projects like World Vision Syria Response’s Innovation Fab Lab are more than just programmes. They are lifelines of hope and progress.

By investing in initiatives like these, we are not just supporting individuals like Layal. We are laying the foundation for a brighter future in Syria, where young people are empowered, education is reimagined, and innovation leads the way.

Zambia

Encouraging Young People to Embrace Technology

Combat Deforestation and Environmental Challenges

Environmental degradation in Zambia, primarily caused by charcoal production, unsustainable farming practices, and limited access to real-time data, continues to accelerate deforestation and heighten climate-related risks. In response, World Vision Zambia has launched the Youth-Led Forest Change Monitoring Technology Project. This innovative initiative empowers local youth to utilise advanced tools for data collection and forest surveillance.

The project is part of the larger Sustainable Land Restoration (SLaR) Programme, which aims to restore approximately 150,000 hectares of communal and individual farmland by 2027. Achieved through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), a cost-effective, sustainable land rejuvenation strategy, the initiative helps communities recover degraded land while boosting livelihoods.

Equipping Youth with Skills

As part of the rollout, young people from Chibombo, Katete, and Sinda Districts have been trained to operate mobile survey tools for mapping forest sites, collecting geographic coordinates, and monitoring ecological changes.

“During the orientation, we learned how to use the survey tool. It’s very user-friendly; I didn’t face any challenges. The questions are simple to understand and explain to the community. Plus, it works without the internet,” shared Venon, a youth champion from Chibombo. Beyond technical skills, the project nurtures environmental awareness and leadership among youth.

“From the training until now, I’ve learned a lot about conserving nature and tackling climate issues. As a young person, I’m also sharing this knowledge with my peers because we are the future leaders,” Venon added, highlighting the importance of youth involvement in building a resilient future.

“This youth-led initiative is equipping us with the skills to monitor all the forests we’ve mapped using technology. I can now launch surveys and conduct activities more efficiently,” he explained. “Activities like these will help us create a better future, one with fewer climate-related problems,” he concluded.

The mapping process extends beyond data collection; it involves engaging community members, raising awareness about FMNR best practices, and encouraging local participation.

Advancing Community Participation and Sustainable Development

“We’re not just mapping,” said Gloria, a youth champion from Chibombo. “While visiting sites, we also educate community members about FMNR. It’s a two-way process, collecting data and empowering people.” She says.

“The technology helps us capture precise coordinates and assess the actual size of the sites. This enables us to monitor progress over time, especially in adopting FMNR methods,” Gloria explained.

At its core, the Youth-Led Forest Change Monitoring Technology Project exemplifies how youth leadership combined with digital innovation can address environmental challenges. By equipping the next generation with the necessary tools, knowledge, and sense of responsibility, the initiative is laying a solid foundation for community-driven restoration and sustainable land management across Zambia.

“Youth have the power to shape the future. The responsibility is in our hands,” Venon under lined.

Brazil

Unlocking the Power of Artificial Intelligence

Enhance Disaster Early Warning and Monitoring Systems

With floods, droughts and climate displacement increasing in frequency and magnitude, World Vision Brazil and Google have forged an innovative partnership using cutting-edge technologies to enhance humanitarian responses to disasters.

At the heart of this is AI-powered Flood Hub, a predictive tool developed by Google, that provides prognostic insights on heavy rains and river levels. The platform predicts floods up to seven days in advance across more than 100 countries. Its visual interface simplifies presentation of multiple real-time data points.

Flood Hub improves World Vision’s monitoring, forecast reporting, community preparedness efforts, donor engagement, and response effectiveness. As a key humanitarian actor, we embrace innovation as a strategy to enhance effectiveness and impact within increasingly complex and challenging humanitarian crises. More than a technical tool, the use of this technology signals a new mindset: that of an organisation seeking to lead innovative solutions to protect the most vulnerable.

How AI Improves Our Responsiveness?

The alliance between Google and World Vision Brazil started in April 2024. As a result of this partnership, World Vision Brazil incorporated Flood Hub into its regular monitoring workstream, yielding more precise context situational assessments and aid deployment plans. World Vision Brazil has responded to multiple emergencies across seven states using this technology.

The technology has enabled timely and large-scale responses such as the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, where World Vision reached nearly 250,000 people, distributed 1,920,000 litres of purified water, 420 tons of food, and more than 1.4 million hygiene and protection items. For this emergency, World Vision Brazil mobilised over US$3.1 million.

In such a geographically vast and diverse country like Brazil, the platform supports World Vision Brazil’s anticipatory action and mitigation efforts, by providing data to assess forecasts of rising river flows leading to dangerous levels, especially in densely populated areas. Currently, World Vision Brazil is training local civil defense bureaus in the use of Flood Hub to strengthen data analysis capabilities to anticipate, mitigate and respond to emergencies themselves.

Stronger Ties for Anticipatory Action

In its annual event, Google for Brazil 2025, the tech giant featured our joint venture and introduced World Vision as a strategic partner in the global launch of the newest version of Flood Hub. What began with a visit from the Google team to World Vision’s base in the Amazon, in 2023, has evolved into an alliance that connects science, data, and compassion for those in need.

As traditional humanitarian funding streams continue to shrink, our organisation has been reinventing itself to remain relevant. This implies pursuing valuable resources such as knowledge, data, innovation, and collaboration with non-traditional players outside of the humanitarian radar.

Innovation, as a strategy to strengthen our relevance. To scale our impact, we will use every resource available — especially those coming from creativity, science, and the courage to do things differently.