OSOGBO, Nigeria, 28 October 2026. The Government of Osun State, under the leadership of His Excellency, Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, Executive Governor of the State, and the Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) have jointly opened nominations for three thousand indigenes of Osun State to undertake the Advanced Research Diploma in Artificial Intelligence (ARDAI TIER I). The programme is fully funded, extends over thirteen weeks and commences in December 2026. It represents one of the most substantial single commitments yet made by a Nigerian State to the preparation of its young people for an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

The nomination process is administered by the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Sustainable Development Goals, while the programme is financed through the Educational Financial Facility Scheme (EFFS) of UNESCO REF. Tuition, learning materials and certification are provided at no cost to participants. Candidates who satisfy the requirements of assessment will be conferred with the Advanced Research Diploma in Artificial Intelligence (ARDAI TIER I).

A deliberate investment in human capital

Un investissement délibéré dans le capital humain

Artificial intelligence, data science and automation are now reshaping the conduct of government, commerce, agriculture, health care and education. In this setting, the prosperity of a State depends less on the resources beneath its soil than on the knowledge, skills and enterprise of its people.

By resolving to prepare three thousand of its indigenes in a single cohort, the Government of Osun State positions its young people among the first in the Federation to be formally trained for this transition. The decision reflects the sustained priority the administration has accorded to youth empowerment and human capital development, and its considered view that the young people of Osun State should participate in the new economy as producers and innovators, and not merely as its users.

“Artificial intelligence is transforming virtually every sector. This programme will help our graduates compete globally, access better-paying jobs and build technology-driven businesses.”

Hon. Bankole Omisore, Special Adviser to the Governor of Osun State on the Sustainable Development Goals

About ARDAI TIER I

À propos de l’ARDAI TIER I

ARDAI TIER I is a programme of UNESCO REF delivered under its flagship framework, the Strategic Intervention Programme for Accelerated Learning and Productive Human Asset (SIP-ALPHA). It is a demanding professional programme which proceeds from the foundations of artificial intelligence to its applied use in the sectors of greatest consequence to Nigeria and to the African continent.

• Structure. Thirteen weeks, 169 lessons and 169 laboratory work samples, ending in a capstone portfolio and a final examination.
• Scope. Machine learning, natural language processing for African languages, computer vision, and the application of artificial intelligence to health, agriculture and climate, finance and economic development, and governance and public administration, together with AI safety, ethics and policy design.
• Delivery. Fully online and self-paced, with narrated voice lectures on every lesson, so that participants can learn wherever they are.
• Recognition. Distinction graduates are invited to submit their capstone work to The REF Review, the open-access journal of UNESCO REF.

A partnership in continuity

Un partenariat dans la continuité

The programme extends the cooperation already established between the Government of Osun State and UNESCO REF under The VOICE Initiative. It confirms the position of Osun State as a pioneer State in the delivery of UNESCO REF programmes, and as a State that has chosen to align its local development priorities with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.

Eligibility and nomination

Conditions d’admission et procédure de nomination

• Origin. Indigenes or residents of Osun State.
• Qualification. At least a bachelor’s degree, a Higher National Diploma (HND) or a recognised equivalent.
• Pre-qualification. Candidates must first complete the pre-qualification process of the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Sustainable Development Goals, which administers nominations on behalf of the State.
• Application. Pre-qualified candidates then complete the UNESCO REF Programme Application, selecting ARDAI TIER I, and receive a reference number by email on submission.

Places are limited to three thousand, and eligible candidates are encouraged to complete the process without delay.

ENDS

OSOGBO, Nigeria, 16 October 2026. The Government of Osun State has entered into partnership with the Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF), to pilot The VOICE Initiative in Nigeria. With this partnership, Osun State becomes the first sub-national government in the Federation to implement the Initiative, a professional advancement programme that prepares women with disabilities for dignified, independent and financially sustainable employment in the global digital economy.

The State has mobilised its first cohort of 64 women for Phase 1 of the pilot, with a second cohort to follow in Phase 2. Data verification for the Phase 1 cohort begins on 21 October 2026, to be followed by a virtual orientation, a three-week induction and the six-week programme itself.

A commitment to every citizen

Un engagement envers chaque citoyen

Speaking for the Osun State Government, Hon. Bankole Omisore, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on the Sustainable Development Goals, said the partnership reflects the priorities of the administration.

He stated that The VOICE Initiative aligns with the commitment and vision of His Excellency, Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, to ensure that every citizen of the State is well cared for.

The Initiative was launched on 1 October 2026 in commemoration of Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary, and Osun State serves as its official partner and first pilot state. The standard set in Osun will guide the national and continental rollout.

Two generations, one intervention

Deux générations, une seule intervention

The President of UNESCO REF, Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, described the Initiative as an investment that reaches beyond the women enrolled.

“This programme is about two generations, through one intervention. When we equip a mother with a disability to earn a dignified income, we protect the schooling of her children. Our parents and our out-of-school children are not two separate challenges. They are one story, and The VOICE Initiative addresses both at once. Osun State has shown the courage to lead, and in doing so it has become the model for every other State of the Federation.”

Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, President, UNESCO REF

The design rests on established research. Research cited by UNESCO REF finds that parental disability reduces children’s school attendance, with a larger effect where the mother has the disability, and that income controlled by women is more often spent on children’s welfare. Nigeria has an estimated 20 million out-of-school children and youth, according to data published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Global Education Monitoring Report.

The programme and its return to Government

Le programme et ses retombées pour le Gouvernement

The first course under the Initiative, AI Innovation and Digital Enterprise (TIER I), is delivered fully online through The Lichfield Academy over six weeks and 78 lessons. It is open to women with disabilities aged 18 and above who hold a first degree or its equivalent in any discipline, and requires no prior background in technology. The programme is built around a single outcome: that each graduate secures remote employment, locally or internationally, in the digital economy.

According to UNESCO REF, the Initiative is not a welfare scheme but a fiscal instrument that returns value to the public purse. Its projected benefits to Government include:

• No cost to Government. Training is fully funded by UNESCO REF through its Educational Financial Facility Scheme (EFFS), at no cost to the State or Federal Government.
• Personal income tax. Each Fellow in formal employment contributes to the tax base under the progressive rates of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025.
• Value Added Tax. Household spending by employed Fellows generates VAT revenue.
• Local multiplier. Income earned, often from international employers, is spent within the State economy and circulates through local businesses.
• Recovered productivity. The International Labour Organization estimates that low- and middle-income countries lose between 3 and 7 per cent of GDP through the exclusion of persons with disabilities from work.
• Human security. A 2023 UNDP study found that about a quarter of voluntary recruits to violent extremist groups cited job opportunities as their main reason for joining. Dignified employment strengthens households and communities against that risk.

Full details of the programme, its curriculum and its policy papers are available on The VOICE Initiative page.

From Osun to Africa

D’Osun à l’Afrique

The Osun pilot opens a four-year programme running from 2026 to 2030. National upscaling to 120,000 women, 20,000 in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, is targeted for 2027 and will be led by Dr Safiyyah Hassan Shaibu, Strategic Ambassador for UNESCO REF SIP-ALPHA. The Initiative will then extend to ECOWAS member states in 2028 and to all 54 African nations by 2030.

ENDS