Project summary

Fund 25 young people from lower-income Asia-Pacific countries to attend a regional youth forum on AI governance in 2027, where they negotiate AI policy in a Model UNESCO grounded in the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI and build open-source tools for learning, culture and trustworthy information. The forum follows the Global Youth Forum on AI Ethics for Children and Youth in Paris (22–26 January 2027), with closing days planned at UNESCO Headquarters, whose title sponsorship is secured. Website: https://globalaiethicsforum.org

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Goal: build AI governance capacity among young diplomats, policy students and engineers in the parts of Asia-Pacific with the least of it.

- Run a 4-day Asia-Pacific Youth Forum on AI Governance for about 200 participants in the second half of 2027 (Bangkok, Thailand).

- Delegates negotiate resolutions on AI in education, trustworthy information, cultural and linguistic diversity, and transparency and accountability of AI systems, and test them against hackathon prototypes.

- Hackathon teams build open-source tools in three tracks (trust and truth online; AI for learning and inclusion; AI for culture and languages), each with an Ethical Impact Assessment.

- Outputs go to UN processes through our partner, the UN Major Group for Children and Youth; participants join the Global Youth Coalition on Ethical AI.

How will you know it worked?

We will know it worked if, within six months of the forum:

- Attendance: at least 20 of the 25 bursary holders attend in person (the rest join online if visas are refused), with at least half women and at least 60% from Least Developed Countries or small island states.

- Learning: participants complete pre- and post-forum surveys, and at least 75% report a clear improvement in their understanding of how AI is governed and how to take part in it.

- Outputs: the forum adopts an Asia-Pacific youth statement on AI governance and submits it to UN processes through the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, and at least 6 open-source hackathon prototypes are published on GitHub, each with an Ethical Impact Assessment.

- Lasting engagement: at six months, at least half of the bursary holders are active in the Global Youth Coalition on Ethical AI, or have taken a concrete next step such as joining a national AI consultation, publishing a policy brief, or speaking at a UN or regional youth forum.

We will publish a short public report on Manifund with these results, attendance data and links to the outputs.

How will this funding be used?

Travel bursaries: 25 delegates × average USD 1,000 (return flight and visa) = USD 25,000.

At the minimum of USD 10,000 we fund 10 bursaries; every additional USD 1,000 funds one more delegate. Bagmati UNESCO Club receives the funds directly and pays airlines and visa services itself, so no cash passes to individuals; every payment requires two signatories. Priority goes to delegates from Least Developed Countries and small island states, with gender parity.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

- Nishchal Baniya, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bagmati UNESCO Club; convenes the Paris 2027 forum; organised a side event at UN Headquarters in May 2026 on legislative questions raised by AI; chemical engineer and founder of two technology companies.

- Bagmati UNESCO Club, Kathmandu, Nepal: registered non-profit (Reg. No. 2009, PAN 615505401), part of the worldwide UNESCO Clubs movement, holding an NGOsource equivalency determination (equivalent to a US 501(c)(3) public charity). Runs youth dialogue and leadership programmes in Nepal.

- Partner: UN Major Group for Children and Youth. Supported by the Nepal National Commission for UNESCO.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

- Venue or core funding falls short: we would run a smaller edition at a university host, and bursary holders would still attend.

- Visa refusals: refused delegates join online, and unused bursary funds go to waitlisted delegates or are returned.

- Low policy uptake: the forum still trains about 200 young people; we track their engagement at 6 months.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

Title sponsorship for the Paris forum is secured. Applications for other parts of the programme are pending with the Survival and Flourishing Fund, Coefficient Giving, the Transformative AI Fund, the GTR Foundation, Lightcone Commons and the Middle Powers and Transformative AI RFP. None of these covers the Asia-Pacific travel bursaries in this project.