Piauí State in Brazil Earns UNESCO Award for Mandating AI Education in Schools

The Brazilian state of Piauí has garnered significant international acclaim for pioneering the mandatory inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) education within its public school system. This landmark achievement positions Piauí as the first jurisdiction on the American continent to implement such a comprehensive educational mandate. Launched at the beginning of 2024 under the 'Piauí Inteligência Artificial' program, this initiative successfully enrolled over 120,000 secondary and ninth-grade students by 2025.

This commitment to future-forward education was formally recognized in October 2025 when UNESCO bestowed upon the state the prestigious King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education. The project was specifically lauded as a 'comprehensive and inclusive model.' This recognition places Piauí in the company of nations making substantial investments in AI instruction, such as China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

By the target year of 2025, the program had successfully trained approximately 800 educators, equipping them to teach AI curriculum across 540 school units throughout the state. Washington Bandeira, the Secretary of Education for Piauí, articulated the core mission: to cultivate a generation of young people prepared for the evolving job market and capable of critically analyzing AI's societal role. The three-year curriculum cycle strategically embeds AI ethics into all learning modules, utilizing a blended approach of digital resources and in-person instruction to maximize accessibility.

The successful rollout of this ambitious program necessitated considerable upgrades to educational infrastructure. By 2025, the computer lab equipment rate in state schools had surpassed the 80 percent mark, representing a substantial leap forward compared to the previous administration’s figures. The development of the curriculum was a collaborative effort, involving key federal institutions including the Federal Institute of Farroupilha (IFFar), the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa), and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).

Tangible pedagogical achievements are already evident. Students from Piauí have developed innovative projects, including an application designed for cataloging seeds, and have advanced to the final stages of the 2025 International Olympiad on Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) held in Beijing, China. The 2025 UNESCO award specifically focused on the theme of 'Preparing learners and teachers for the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence,' with Piauí being honored alongside distinguished initiatives from Belgium, Egypt, and the United Kingdom.

Experts suggest that Piauí’s decisive action serves as a vital blueprint for other regions aiming to ensure that the ongoing technological revolution fosters equitable access to future knowledge. The comprehensive strategy employed for scaling this innovation involved robust teacher professional development alongside the deep integration of ethical considerations directly into the core curriculum. This holistic approach is what truly set the state’s program apart on the global stage.