FunDoo GREEN-Pal
Climate Action Now — Empowering young people through digital climate education.
About the Project
What is FunDoo GREEN-Pal?
FunDoo GREEN-Pal is a tool (Chatbot) for youth climate action skills. It focuses on advocacy as a key instrument to build a better, stronger future for children and young people — empowering the next generation to understand, communicate, and act on the climate crisis.
Learn by Doing
Experiential learning through real-world climate tasks
Key Competencies
Critical thinking, problem-solving & decision-making for climate action
Take Action
Empowering youth to address environmental issues & create positive change
Pedagogical Framework
The CoDesignS ESD Framework
The learning journeys follow the CoDesignS ESD Framework, embedding tasks focused on specific learning objectives for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
Head
Activities focusing on cognitive engagement
Heart
Activities targeting socio-emotional engagement
Hand
Action-oriented activities targeting behaviour change
UNESCO, 2017; CoDesignS ESD, 2021; Sipos et al., 2008; Cotton & Winter, 2010.
Partners
The Association for Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development (ALDESD), UNICEF Office of Innovation and The American University of Sharjah (AUS) collaborated in the development of the GREEN-Pal Chatbot within the FunDoo ecosystem. GREEN-Pal was launched at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in November 2023 at Expo City Dubai.
Try it now
Access FunDoo GreenPal
Expanding the FunDoo Ecosystem's Reach into Climate Education and Action!
Scan the QR Code to access FunDoo GreenPal on WhatsApp & send "GreenPal" to join the movement!
Featured Blog
FunDoo GREEN-Pal: Expanding the FunDoo Ecosystem's Reach into Climate Education and Action
UNICEF Office of Innovation — 1st February 2024
Read the Blog →Field Testing
Green-Pal FunDoo Pilots
Two pilots were conducted in 2023 to test Green-Pal FunDoo in real educational settings, using a game-based approach organised into Head, Heart and Hand tasks.
6 Student Tasks
Brush up on your Climate Knowledge
10 minWhat are Greenhouse gases anyway?
10 minWhat can I do? The Power of Your Voice
20 minCreate your Awareness Campaign
40 minShare your Advocacy Plan
10 minMeet your Local Heroes
10 minPilot
Spanish Bootcamp Pilot
26 April – 26 May 2023
A game-based campaign was embedded in the Learning Design and ESD Bootcamp 2023 (Spanish cohort). Tasks were organised into Head (knowledge & quizzes), Heart (reflection on local climate heroes) and Hand (climate action tasks). The more students accessed tasks, the more points their university team gained — fostering friendly competition across institutions.
Game-Based Approach — Tasks organised into:
The more tasks students completed, the more points their team gained.
Participating Teams
Engagement
986
Chatbot interactions
399
Students completed ≥ 1 task
71%
Completed ≥ 2 tasks
24%
Completed all tasks
Learning Outcomes — Positive Shift (Pre vs Post)
How confident do you feel about your knowledge of Climate Change?
- Pre
- Post
How confident do you feel about the steps you can take to take action?
- Pre
- Post
Charts show increased confidence in climate change knowledge and ability to take action after completing Green-Pal FunDoo tasks.
Winning Team — IPN Mexico
Pilot
British International School Pilot (UAE)
29 May – 12 June 2023
Green-Pal FunDoo was piloted at the British International School in the UAE, engaging school students across Grades 5–9. The same game-based Head / Heart / Hand framework was used, with students earning points per grade. The campaign ran in English and was coordinated by UNICEF, ALDESD and the American University of Sharjah.
Game-Based Approach — Tasks organised into:
The more tasks students completed, the more points their team gained.
Engagement
774
Chatbot interactions
411
Students completed ≥ 1 task
25%
Completed ≥ 2 tasks
11%
Completed all tasks
Learning Outcomes — Positive Shift (Pre vs Post)
How confident do you feel about your knowledge of Climate Change?
- Pre
- Post
How confident do you feel about the steps you can take to take action?
- Pre
- Post
Charts show increased confidence in climate change knowledge and ability to take action after completing Green-Pal FunDoo tasks.
Dashboard — Points per team (Head / Heart / Hand)
Student Work
Advocacy Plans & Posters
Created by students across both pilots — showcasing their climate advocacy work.
Impact & Deliverables
Project KPIs at a Glance
Key deliverables and milestones across the Green-Pal FunDoo 2023–2024 rollout.
3,100+
Students in Pilots
20
Countries Reached
3
Languages
9,000
COP28 Learners (target)
Bootcamp 2023 pilot (EN & ES)
1,300 learnersUAE private schools pilot (EN)
200 learnersGreen-Pal chatbot launched (EN, ES, AR) on WhatsApp, Facebook & Instagram
3 ChatbotsGlobal RapidPro workspace launch
20 CountriesWorkshops for principals & Master Trainers — UAE public schools
3 WorkshopsUAE public schools pilot, cycles 2 & 3 (10–18 yrs, AR)
1,600 studentsInduction Toolkit (principals, teachers, technical & branding — EN, ES, AR)
3 ManualsFocus Group reports (Bootcamp, AUS, UAE schools, World Green Citizenship Conf.)
6 ReportsCOP28 launch — learners completing ≥ 2 tasks
9,000 targetCOP28 workshops for principals & teachers on curriculum embedding
3–5 WorkshopsFinal report — implementation, lessons learned & recommendations
1 ReportResearch paper publication
1 PaperFunDoo GreenPal Launched at COP28
We are excited to share that FunDoo GreenPal was officially launched on December 1st at COP28. It has been a privilege to collaborate with UNICEF's Office of Innovation, the American University of Sharjah, our dedicated student champions, the British International School in the UAE, and the Instituto Politécnico Nacional México on this transformative project!
UNICEF, ALDESD and AUS teams launching GreenPal at COP28
Project Directors
Hira Hafeez-ur-Rehman
UNICEF Office of Innovation
Sweden
Ali Danish
UNICEF Office of Innovation
Sweden
Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
Founder & Director – ALDESD
United Kingdom
Advisory Board
Professor Norita Ahmad
American University of Sharjah
United Arab Emirates
Professor Liz Price
Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor Sustainability, Manchester Metropolitan University
United Kingdom
Abdul Muqeet
UNICEF Climate Change Youth Advocate, Computer Engineering student AUS
United Arab Emirates
Juan Antonio Valencia
Architect undergraduate student, Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Mexico
Mónica Guerra
Head of Curriculum Design, IDMA Instituto del Medio Ambiente
Chile
Khushi Himatlal
Geography undergraduate student, Manchester Metropolitan University
United Kingdom
Mai Zaki, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Linguistics, American University of Sharjah
UAE
Mossen Randeree
University of Birmingham, Birmingham Energy Institute
United Kingdom
In Collaboration With
