The MERL Tech Initiative and iMedia Associates, with support from the Gates Foundation, are excited to announce this virtual training opportunity to be delivered on August 27 and 28, 2025, led by SBC and tech for impact experts Sarah Osman and Isabelle Amazon-Brown. 

This course is designed for professionals working in the social impact, international development and humanitarian space interested in how AI (especially GenAI) can be used to design, deliver, and evaluate Social and Behaviour Change programmes, with an emphasis on ethical, participatory values.

This is a beginner’s course: you don’t need prior AI experience, but familiarity with tech in social impact work will be helpful. The 8-hour course delivered will be across 2 virtual sessions on consecutive days.

What you’ll learn

• Decode common AI terminology.
• Map how AI could be used across the entire SBC programme cycle.
• Explore real-world case studies of what others are doing with AI for SBC.
• Understand the ethical risks vs practical benefits of AI use in SBC, and how you can mitigate them.
• Get introduced to the most useful AI tools for SBC.
• Practice using selected AI tools for programme design and evaluation.
• Come away with curated resources for further learning.

Dates & fees

Session 1: August 27, 1-5pm GMT+1
Session 2: August 28, 1-5pm GMT+1

Thanks to Gates Foundation support, we’re offering subsidised rates:

• Participants from High-Income Countries (HICs): $250 → $150
• Participants from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): $100 → $30