When it comes to AI in education, the discussion typically revolves around essay plagiarism and ChatGPT. Ukraine is asking a different question: what happens to a child's learning when they're sitting in a basement during an air raid alert and opening their laptop?
What is the program and who won
Eastern Europe Foundation together with WINWIN EdTech Center of Excellence — a platform launched in 2024 by the Ministry of Digital Transformation alongside UNICEF, Google for Education, and ESTDEV — became one of 12 winning organizations in the international OpenAI EMEA Youth & Wellbeing Grant program. According to EdTech Innovation Hub, the Eastern Europe Foundation in Ukraine will specifically study how teenagers in conflict-affected countries use AI for learning and mental health.
The total grant pool of the program is €500,000, distributed among organizations across the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa). The competition drew hundreds of applications; other winners included UNICRI (AI literacy for teachers globally) and Telefono Azzurro from Italy (an AI mental health platform for teenagers).
Why this research angle is new
There is plenty of global research on AI in education. However, it is conducted under conditions of stability: regular school attendance, stable internet connection, parents nearby. Ukraine is the first country where a large-scale armed conflict combines with a relatively high level of digital infrastructure and smartphone penetration among youth.
"This center is a strategic leap for Ukraine's digital ecosystem"
Mykhailo Fedorov, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation
This means Ukrainian teenagers are already using AI tools not as a supplement to lessons, but as the primary or only available resource — during evacuation, remote learning, or power outages. The research is meant to capture this reality quantitatively and qualitatively.
What specifically will be studied
- How teenagers in conflict zones practically apply AI tools in their learning
- What impact these tools have on mental health and wellbeing
- What risks and benefits are documented in real conditions, not in a laboratory
The Eastern Europe Foundation has experience with over 100 development programs and more than $66 million in investments in Ukraine's digital transformation. WINWIN EdTech is the entry point for international educational solutions into the national education system. This means the research won't simply be published in a journal — it potentially feeds into practical decisions about which AI tools to scale in Ukrainian schools.
The reputational context that cannot be ignored
OpenAI is financing research on the impact of its own products on youth — and it does so through independent organizations, which reduces but does not eliminate the conflict of interest. The EMEA Youth & Wellbeing program is positioned as a response to growing regulatory pressure on child safety in the age of AI. In other words, the company is simultaneously solving a reputation problem and obtaining data from a unique field environment.
If the research results show that AI tools indeed support learning in conflict conditions, the findings will become an argument for scaling ChatGPT and similar services in the education systems of vulnerable countries. If they show risks — the question is whether OpenAI will speak as loudly about that.
