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The SDG AI Lab team presented a series of innovative projects applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to address development challenges.
Istanbul, Türkiye, February 28, 2025 — The UNDP ICPSD SDG AI Lab successfully hosted its Winter Demo Day 2025, showcasing innovative digital solutions to tackle sustainable development challenges. Building on the success of the Fall Demo Day 2024, the event reaffirmed the Lab’s commitment to leveraging frontier technologies to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP ICPSD Director Sahba Sobhani emphasized the SDG AI Lab’s commitment, stating, "We believe that innovation is most impactful when it is inclusive, practical, and scalable." He highlighted the Lab’s focus on developing solutions that drive tangible, real-world impact.
The SDG AI Lab team presented a series of innovative projects applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to address development challenges. Among the featured initiatives was the AI for Tourism platform, a digital solution leveraging AI and data analytics to transform the tourism sector. This platform analyzes tourist reviews, tracks price trends, and highlights top attractions, providing valuable insights to businesses and policymakers.
The event continued with the presentation of the Public Finance Simplification App and the Audit Recommendation Tracking Tool, both designed to enhance transparency and public engagement in financial governance.
The SDG AI Lab's Geographic Information System (GIS) team shared updates on the Digital Social Vulnerability Index (DSVI), which expanded to Mali, Mauritania, and Ivory Coast in 2024. The team also highlighted the ongoing DSVI implementation in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine in partnership with UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub.
The Lab’s Illegal Dumpsite Detection project in Guatemala showcased how computer vision and satellite imagery create a cost-effective, scalable solution for monitoring environmental hazards. The SDG AI Lab also unveiled its latest Land Use Tools prototype, designed to support sustainable land use through data-driven insights and advanced analytics.
The Lab also demonstrated its largest project on resilience - Drought Dashboard, a dynamic, multilingual platform that integrates and harmonizes drought monitoring tools and data for Madagascar.
A major highlight of the Demo Day was the Lab’s collaboration with UN Volunteers on the Tech Volunteers for Resilience (Tech4R) initiative. Tech4R is building a global, diverse volunteer community that provides rapid and coordinated responses to disasters through innovative tech solutions. Launched in the fall, Tech4R has already engaged 41 volunteers from 22 countries.
The Samsung Innovation Campus, implemented in partnership with UNDP Türkiye and Samsung, has equipped 436 young people in Türkiye with programming and AI skills. The initiative, boasting a 90% employment rate, was recently featured in Samsung's biannual Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Highlights report.
The Demo Day offered attendees the opportunity to engage directly with the SDG AI Lab team, discussing the latest trends in digital solutions for the SDGs and exploring practical applications of generative AI for sustainable development.
The SDG AI Lab Winter Demo Day 2025 reaffirmed its role in applying frontier technologies for sustainable development, highlighting both technological innovation and human capacity building.
About SDG AI Lab
The SDG AI Lab is a global UNDP initiative based in Istanbul, Türkiye, working worldwide as part of UNDP BPPS SFH ICPSD. The Lab harnesses frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and GIS for sustainable development, while strengthening development stakeholders’ capacities to effectively address the rising demand for digital solutions. The Lab focuses on development, research, advisory services, and training to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information, please contact dina.akylbekova@undp.org.
