The Geneva Challenge is an international competition launched by the Geneva Graduate Institute in 2014, thanks to the vision and generosity of Ambassador Jenö Staehelin and patronage from the late Kofi Annan. This contest brings together graduate students from a wide range of disciplinary and contextual perspectives to provide innovative and pragmatic solutions to some of the world’s complex challenges. 

This year, students were asked to tackle and provide their solutions to the challenges of migration and we are excited to share with you the projects by the five finalist teams: 

TEAM ASIA: Seoul National University, South Korea

• PROJECT MINSA
  Undocumented migrant children in South Korea, particularly in cities like Ansan, face systemic exclusion from education, healthcare, and legal recognition due to their lack of official status. Despite international legal commitments, South Korea’s fragmented policy landscape leaves this population in a state of civic anonymity, perpetuating intergenerational marginalisation. The Min(民)Sa Project addresses this critical gap through an innovative civic-tech solution: a pseudonymous identity and service coordination platform grounded in Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology. 
  
  By enabling undocumented children to access essential services without disclosing their legal status, MinSa balances anonymity and accountability offering a secure, rights-based alternative to formal documentation. This pilot initiative not only bridges immediate service gaps but also creates a scalable model for inclusive governance, transforming how undocumented children are recognised, protected, and integrated into society. MinSa thus advances child welfare, strengthens social cohesion, and contributes to long-term structural reform in Korea’s highly status-dependent public service infrastructure. The project aims to reach other countries facing similar issues and ultimately work towards the 2030 SDGs goals in “leaving no one behind”.
   

Team from North America and Oceania: University of Maryland-College Park, USA; Melbourne University and Monash University, Australia

• PATH (Peer Action for Teen Health):
  Adolescent migrants around the world face challenges accessing accurate health information and emotional support due to language barriers, social isolation, and legal or financial exclusion. Migrant teens are particularly vulnerable to misinformation, mental health risks, and risky behaviors due to a lack of culturally sensitive, age-appropriate health education. PATH (Peer Action for Teen Health) is a peer-led health education and support initiative for migrant adolescents aged 13-18, combining in-person mentorship with a web-based platform to promote well-being through culturally adapted learning and peer connection. 
  
  The project recruits older migrant teens as trained “health navigators” to support newly arrived youth through group sessions focused on mental health, reproductive health, and nutrition using a multilingual, visual toolkit to facilitate interactive learning. The PATH web platform complements these sessions by offering self-paced modules, downloadable toolkits, a digital health passport, and a moderated peer discussion space. Accessible via mobile phone or school devices, the platform ensures continuity for teens who may move frequently or face barriers to in-person participation. The pilot will run in Jakarta (Indonesia), San Diego (USA), and Melbourne (Australia) — three cities representing distinct migrant integration challenges. By combining peer mentorship with a digital resource hub, PATH offers a scalable, community-based solution to a universal development challenge. 
   

Team from Latin America: Universidad de San Andres, Argentina

• UNUM - SOMOSUNO
  UNUM “SomosUno” is a free digital platform designed to promote equal employment opportunities for both internal and international migrants by removing discriminatory barriers in labor market access. Despite their high levels of training and resilience, migrants often face structural obstacles such as informality, non-recognition of qualifications, and lack of access to local networks—factors that are further exacerbated by algorithm-driven systems that can reproduce biases.
  
  UNUM addresses this problem by offering a multi-dimensional, evidence-based solution grounded in empirical data collected through a survey designed under OECD and ILO standards. The platform includes a neutral, bias-free job matching system that hides sensitive data like origin or age; a participatory diagnosis informed by migrant experiences; free training in technical skills, circular economy, and labor rights; and a robust impact evaluation framework. It also features participatory tools such as forums and surveys to continuously refine its design in response to user feedback.
  
  What sets UNUM apart is its ethical and sustainable use of technology, its alignment with international human rights frameworks, and its circular planning approach that integrates social, institutional, and environmental sustainability. Built through public-private and multilevel cooperation with embassies, governments, and the ILO, UNUM transforms migration from a challenge into a strategic opportunity to strengthen local communities and economies.
   

Team Africa: University of Gold Coast: Accra Business School, Ghana

• AFRIBRIDGE CONNECT
  Across Africa, over 15 million migrants live outside their country of origin, many navigating linguistic divides and bureaucratic dead-ends that limit access to jobs, education, and public services. Despite growing regional integration, systemic barriers such as non-recognition of credentials, lack of bilingual tools, and disjointed migration governance continue to marginalise youth, skilled professionals, and uncredentialed labourers. AfriBridge Connect is our response: a bilingual (French-English), mobile-first platform that simplifies credential recognition, job matching, and cross-border integration for African migrants. It blends AI-powered translation, blockchain-secured document verification, and voice-accessible onboarding to ensure inclusion even for low-literate or disabled users.
  
  Inspired by the Bologna Process and Germany’s Anabin system but reimagined for Africa’s informal, multilingual, and mobile realities AfriBridge Connect bridges formal frameworks like the ACQF and RPL with real-time, user-friendly tools. The platform will launch pilot corridors between Ghana–Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon–Nigeria, enabling migrants to upload credentials, match with mentors or jobs, and navigate services in their preferred language. By reducing friction in credential portability, enabling language access, and linking migrants to opportunity ecosystems, AfriBridge Connect turns structural challenges into drivers of inclusive mobility. With real-time impact tracking and institutional partnerships, the platform is built to scale and contribute to Agenda 2063’s vision for an integrated Africa. 
   

Team from Europe: Delft University of Technology, Netherlands; University of East Anglia, United Kingdom; HEC and SciencesPo, France

• PROJECT SOLA
  Each year, over 15,000 Moroccan women enter Spain's billion-euro strawberry harvest, a system that promises economic opportunity but often delivers systemic exploitation on a massive scale. This is the frontline of a Europe-wide crisis affecting over 100,000 non-EU seasonal workers annually. Trapped by contracts they cannot read and a legal status tied to a single employer, these women face inhumane housing conditions, rampant wage theft, and pervasive sexual violence. A deep-rooted culture of fear ensures their silence: fewer than 2% of workers ever dare to file a formal complaint, creating a shield of impunity for abusers.
  
  SOLA intervenes as a revolutionary digital lifeline in this accountability vacuum. By deploying advanced, dialect-specific voice-AI, SOLA shatters the barrier of illiteracy, allowing women to safely and anonymously report abuse in their language for the first time, creating an unerasable record of their experience. This testimony creates a live "Dignity Map" that exposes patterns of exploitation in real-time. The platform's dashboard becomes a tool for journalists, ethical buyers, consumer advocacy groups, and researchers, enabling them to act decisively. With this data, supermarkets can shift multi-million-euro contracts toward verified farms, journalists can trace accountability through the supply chain, and communities can mobilise pressure.
  
  SOLA does not just document abuse; it makes it bad for business. By prioritising verified data and creating direct lines of action for NGOs and market actors, this indirect system makes worker dignity a non-negotiable competitive advantage. This is a new paradigm of justice, built from the ground up to protect Europe's most invisible workforce.

The Award Ceremony for the 2025 Geneva Challenge will be held at the Geneva Graduate Institute on Wednesday, 19 November 2025 at 18:30. This year’s winning project will be awarded CHF 10,000; the two teams in second place will receive CHF 5,000 each and the two teams in third place, CHF 2,500 each. More details on all five projects and further information on this year’s Challenge can be found on our website. Follow us on our Instagram and LinkedIn pages to keep informed of this year’s ceremony and the launch of the Geneva Challenge 2025.