ILO Innovation Day

The first-ever global ILO Innovation Day took place on 3 March 2026. The programme featured over 30 talks covering AI, data, digital platforms, operations, and more. It highlighted both projects already delivering results and promising ideas that are just taking shape. Three high-level speakers also took the stage.

Watch recording See highlights

Keynote speakers

Mariana Mazzucato

Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London

Mariana Mazzucato

Mariana Mazzucato is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Her highly acclaimed books include "The Entrepreneurial State", "The Value of Everything", "Mission Economy", and "The Big Con".

Bin Yang

Vice Chancellor of University Council and Professor of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University

Bin Yang

As a professor of Economics and Management, Prof. Yang focuses on organizational leadership, business ethics, social responsibility and the impact of AI on sustainable development.

Erica Moret

Director for UN Affairs and International Organizations, Microsoft

Erica Moret

Erica Moret leads Microsoft's engagement with the United Nations. She supports the UN in tackling global challenges through technology innovation and multi-stakeholder engagement.

Innovation Talks

Labour daily: Bridging the information gap through AI to empower ILO staff

Yuenying Che

Xian Guan

The future of reporting: Modernizing the ILO’s supervisory system for the next century

Claudia Esperanza Berch

Luis Carlos Melero Garcia

ILO AI pilots: Assessing innovation opportunities

Guillaume Giles

Stewart Kershner

Srini Konuganti

Generative AI and large language models (LLM) in labour statistics

Weichen Lei

Innovation institutionnelle et valeurs au service de l’avenir de l’OIT

Jihane Hannane

Establishing a global community of practice to modernize statistical standards and data on occupation safety and health

Elisa Benes

Balint Nafradi

Revolutionizing Kenya's technical and vocational education and training through AI

Stephen Mwangi

AI-assisted speech-to-speech translation

Kiersten Weeks

Automating data cleaning for labour market analyis and ILO modelled estimates

Roger Gomis

Stefan Kühn

Labour inspectorates and the future of technology (LIFT)

Frédéric Laisné-Auer

Rumsha Shahzad

The Workverse: Skilling and social dialogue in virtual reality

Melissa Kyeyune

Digital transformation tools for employers and business membership organizations

Paolo Salvai

Supporting youth-led enterprises in Egypt: From old-fashioned businesses to AI innovation

Perihan Tawfik

From insight to foresight: How AI‑driven psychosocial risk management can enable people‑centred organizational change

Aditya Jain

Daniela Menes

From evidence to impact: Using generative AI to transform knowledge on decent work in supply chains

Julian Götz

Laurel Hoffner

Massimiliano Leone

Turning ideas into tools for policy

Julien Magnat

Bernd Mueller

Rewiring Decent Work Monitoring in Southern Africa Action

Amanda Mejia Canadas

Nyasha Muchichwa

Maria Payet

AI driven social protection platform for platform workers in India

Karun Gopinath

E-Collab.OSH initiative as an example of digital transformation of professional collaboration, knowledge transfer and safety culture.

Saule Issabekova

MAIA Panamá: asesoría digital con IA para la formalización, el trabajo decente y la gestión empresarial

Rodrigo Mogrovejo

Making change visible: Measuring system-level impact across ILO country interventions

Ramin Behzad

Bargaining Voices: Reinventing collective bargaining learning through storytelling and mobile innovation

Vera Dos Santos Costa

Jeanne Schmitt

Strategic foresight in times of disruption

Delphine Dall'Agata

Rafael Peels

Mission approval portal for Regional Office for Africa

Remy Bertrand Kama Kama

Gulen Muftuoglu

Resilient enterprises and workers - protecting livelihoods and incomes

Lisa Morgan

Pranav Prashad

Leveraging AI for procurement capacity building

Alexandru Grigore

Skills for digital agriculture

Earli Shima

From papers to platforms

Juan Iván Martín Lataix

South4Care: Innovating learning for decent work and the care economy

Laura Addati

Anita Amorim

Innovation Talks

Over 30 innovation talks covered AI, data, operations, and more
Projects already delivering results alongside new ideas just taking shape
More than 50 colleagues presented on stage and remotely from locations around the world
A glimpse into the latest and most innovative work changing how the ILO does business

What happened

Three high-level speakers shared insights for international organizations like the ILO
Inspiring discussions with external experts and thought leaders
Interactive booths showcased departmental innovations
Cutting-edge technology: holograms, virtual avatars, AI demos, and more
The full day was livestreamed on ILO Live

The venue

The Gobelins area, located in R2 South of ILO Headquarters, is one of the building's most iconic spaces. A central hub for delegates and staff, it is defined by a 110-metre tapestry, Le rouge au front, a gift from France that often serves as the backdrop for official events.

For Innovation Day, Gobelins was transformed into an immersive, interactive space with a main stage and large screen, a giant LED screen for live and remote speakers, a HoloBox experience connecting colleagues from Turin and New York, four exhibition stands, networking areas, and a three-dimensional "Poster Heroes" exhibition on failure and innovation.

Visitors were welcome to spend as much time as they liked in the space—there was always something to see, hear, or take part in.

The Gobelins space at ILO Headquarters featuring the iconic tapestry — The iconic Gobelins space at ILO Headquarters welcomed visitors to the first Innovation Day.