NEW YORK, NY, Nov. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dan Brenner, Executive Director of the United Nations International School (UNIS), and members of the newly-created Pathways Project initiative, recently returned from Nigeria ready to continue their mission to empower out-of-school women by creating opportunities for high school-level education, higher education, and economic independence.
“We created a safe learning environment for young, out-of-school women in Nigeria, enabling them to prepare for the West African Certification Exam while also acquiring coding skills,” said Dr. Brenner. “In collaboration with our committed local NGO partner, Value Re-Orientation for Community Enhancement (VARCE), we supplied MacBooks and Starlinks, and VARCE developed a curriculum designed to support academic achievement. What happened was incredible. The initiative resulted in participants gaining valuable technical abilities, self-confidence, and meaningful friendships with UNIS students, surpassing all initial expectations.”
In its first year of existence, the Pathways initiative resulted in a 96% completion rate. UNIS is now raising $1 million to create a scalable blueprint for girls globally.
UNIS and the team previously released the digital ad, Unleashing Potential: Education & AI for Girls in Africa, to highlight the mission of the project and the journey of several students.
Globally, millions of school-aged children are denied an education. The challenge is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 34 million secondary school-aged girls are not attending high school. Young women are often excluded from education due to early motherhood, poverty, geographic isolation, or a lack of access to a safe, flexible, and supportive environment to continue their learning journey.
Pathways include two primary components: creating a safe, comfortable environment that nurtures students’ development, and offering educational resources that promote learning and achievement. Originally focused on conventional education, Pathways has transitioned to incorporating AI tools to increase scalability and provide additional options.
Said Dr. Brenner: “Pathways in Nigeria is more than a program; it's an incubator for a future global solution. We are demonstrating that technology, including AI, can significantly address educational inequality for girls in Africa. Millions face barriers like child marriage and early pregnancy; education is their clear path forward. The pilot program demonstrated that it is possible to provide young women in sub-Saharan Africa the opportunity to thrive.”
Lupe Medina Effective Media Strategies 9172020116 Lupe@effectivemediastrategies.com
