Minister Ville Tavio’s speech at the UNICEF Learning Pioneers Innovation Camp

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio's speech in Helsinki 7 Oct 2026.

Distinguished guests,

Welcome to Finland.

I am pleased to welcome you to Finland, and to the third cohort of UNICEF Learning Pioneers.

Many of you have travelled a long way to be here. You come from very different contexts but share the common goal: finding better ways to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn.

This week gives you an opportunity to explore some of what Finland has to offer. Through your discussions with Finnish educators, researchers and other partners, I hope you gain new ideas and inspiration from our education and innovation ecosystem. 

Finland is proud of its long-standing partnership with UNICEF and happy to host UNICEF's Global Learning Innovation Hub. The Hub reflects values that are deeply important to Finland: learning, innovation, collaboration and equal opportunities. 

In my role as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, I have had the opportunity to travel extensively. I have visited schools and communities in different parts of the world, including places affected by conflict and poverty.

Those visits have reminded me of something very simple:

Where a child is born should not determine opportunities for learning. Every child has a right to quality education.

Yet, millions of children are unable to enjoy this right. For children affected by conflict, displacement or humanitarian crises, education can be disrupted for years. Losing access to education for several years is a tremendous setback with lifelong consequences. This is reality for too many children.

While we face unprecedented challenges, technological progress presents us with exceptional opportunities. 

The Global Learning Innovation Hub is turning these opportunities into tangible results that can have a life-changing impact for the learning of children across the world.

Technology can provide access to education for children who are difficult to reach, support teachers and make learning more accessible. For a child with a disability, an accessible digital textbook or a screen reader can make the difference between exclusion and participation. For a child displaced by conflict, digital learning can help maintain a connection to education when everything else has changed.

What matters is how we use technology to create better learning opportunities for every child. We want innovation to translate into real opportunities for children, regardless of where they live or what their circumstances are.

This is where the Learning Pioneers Programme has an important role to play: bringing together experience, evidence and innovation to identify solutions that can work on a large scale. Over the coming days, I encourage you to learn from one another and build partnerships that last well beyond this week.

I wish you an inspiring and productive time in Helsinki – and every success on your journey as UNICEF Learning Pioneers.

Thank you.