The Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative (AREAi) has partnered with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to expand artificial intelligence (AI) literacy among young people and educators in underserved communities across the North.
The partnership will introduce the Experience AI programme in Adamawa, Borno, Benue states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), marking what the organisations described as the first large-scale implementation of the programme in Northern Nigeria. Under the initiative, 450 educators will be trained as certified Experience AI facilitators to deliver AI lessons to an estimated 16,000 students and community beneficiaries across the participating locations.
The programme is designed to provide learners with foundational knowledge of AI, including how AI systems work, responsible use of the technology and ways it can be applied to address real-world challenges in their communities.
Global Executive Director of AREAi, Prince Gideon Olanrewaju, said the partnership would help extend AI education to communities that could otherwise be excluded from emerging technological opportunities.
He said the initiative would particularly support learners in rural, underserved, refugee and displaced communities.
‘We can’t afford to leave behind refugee populations and displaced learners in this AI revolution,’ Olanrewaju said, adding that the programme would equip young people to innovate, solve problems and contribute to their communities.
The initiative comes amid growing applications of AI in sectors including education, healthcare, agriculture, public services and employment, while access to foundational AI education remains uneven, particularly in rural and conflict-affected communities.
Chief Executive Officer of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, Philip Colligan CBE, said the partnership would equip teachers with the skills required to teach AI confidently and make the subject relevant to their students.
He said the collaboration would help young Nigerians develop a foundational understanding of AI and its potential impact on their lives.
Experience AI was co-developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a global computing education charity, and Google DeepMind. The programme has reached learners and educators in more than 196 countries through free lesson plans and classroom resources.
Head of Google DeepMind Impact Accelerator, Anna Koivuniemi, said the launch in Nigeria would give young people greater opportunities to understand and engage with AI technology.
She said expanding access to AI education could help young Nigerians make informed decisions about the use of AI applications and promote safe and responsible use of the technology.
AREAi said the partnership builds on its work over the past decade to expand access to education through technology-enabled and offline learning solutions, particularly in rural and humanitarian settings across Africa.
The organisation said the implementation of Experience AI would further support efforts to equip young people in underserved communities with skills needed to participate in the digital economy.