JA Worldwide Introduces the 2026 Global AI Ambassadors Cohort

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Artificial intelligence continues to reshape how people learn, work, and build businesses. Across the JA network, educators and innovators are already exploring how these technologies can strengthen entrepreneurship, employability, and experiential learning for young people around the world.

In 2025, JA Worldwide launched the Global AI Ambassadors initiative to help accelerate that work across the global network. The program brought together educators and innovators from multiple regions to experiment with new ways to integrate AI into JA learning experiences while remaining grounded in JA’s human-centered approach to entrepreneurship and work readiness education. Less than a year later, the initiative has continued to grow.

Building on the success of the inaugural cohort, JA Worldwide has now introduced the 2026 Global AI Ambassadors cohort, bringing together educators and innovators from across the Americas, Europe, and the broader global JA network to explore how AI can expand opportunity and prepare young people for an evolving economy.

The first Global AI Ambassadors cohort included 15 educators and innovators representing Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Africa, Asia Pacific, the Americas, and the United States. Throughout 2025 and early 2026, ambassadors collaborated through weekly learning sessions, redesigned JA learning experiences, and piloted AI-enhanced programs with students around the world.

Their work touched a wide range of JA experiences, including JA Company Program, Innovation Camps, JA Career Success, LEAD Camp, and future of work programming. Rather than treating AI as a shortcut, ambassadors focused on helping students think critically, ask stronger questions, and apply AI tools responsibly. Pilot projects from the first cohort demonstrated how AI can strengthen entrepreneurship education and career readiness in practical ways. At Prestasi Junior Indonesia, educators developed a mini-curriculum to help students integrate AI into entrepreneurship learning. At JA Germany, AI workshops connected to JA Company Program expanded into educator professional development opportunities. And at Junior Achievement Ireland, students used AI tools to explore career pathways, interview preparation, and workplace readiness.

The 2026 Global AI Ambassadors

 

The 2026 Global AI Ambassadors initiative expands the momentum built in 2025 through three distinct groups designed to address different educational priorities and regional contexts. According to materials shared during the program kickoff, the initiative received 62 applications representing 39 nations, six regions, and two regional operating centers.

The new cohort includes 17 ambassadors organized into three groups: a global group, an Americas group, and a Europe group.

Global Group

Led by JA Worldwide Learning Experiences Designer Mireille Mikhail, the Global group brings together educators and innovators from across multiple regions with a focus on expanding opportunity for underserved communities.

The 2026 Global Group:

  • Mauricio Olivera (JA Uruguay)

  • Amira Fedjria Bensekhri (INJAZ Algeria)

  • Roshaan Khalid (JA Pakistan)

  • Mndepawe Jonah Kwaghe (JA Nigeria)

  • Vira Druhova (JA Ukraine)

  • Arslan Omadov (JA Turkmenistan)

  • Marc Blanch (Junior Achievement of Greater Washington [USA])

Americas Group

Led by Lucila Bonifacio, Coordinator of Innovation and Impact, JA Argentina, the Americas group focuses on learning experiences around work readiness and employability across the region.

The 2026 Americas Group:

  • Roberto Grandes (JA Ecuador)

  • María Itati Cabral (JA Americas)

  • Rachel Bruce (JA Canada)

  • Kevin Piri (JA Argentina)

  • Constanza Mattos Vio (JA Chile)

Europe Group

Led by Francesca Mazzieri, Head of Education, JA Italy, the Europe Group focuses on entrepreneurship education and innovation across European JA locations.

The 2026 Europe group:

  • Elene Rtveladze (JA Georgia)

  • Catia Teixeira (JA Portugal)

  • Magdalena Jamiołkowska (JA Poland)

  • Marios Kakouris (JA Cyprus)

  • Aleks Zhelyazko (JA Bulgaria)

As the new ambassadors begin their work, they’ll create work focused on the theme of inclusivity combining AI literacy, AI tools, learning science, and human-centered design to create sustainable, scalable, and measurable impact for young people.

The initiative reflects a broader reality facing young people today. AI is already reshaping industries, careers, and the future of work. Through the Global AI Ambassadors initiative, JA educators are helping students build not only technical familiarity with emerging tools, but also the adaptability, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making skills needed to succeed in an AI-driven economy.

As the 2026 cohort begins collaborating across regions and disciplines, the Global AI Ambassadors initiative continues to demonstrate how educators across the JA network are exploring emerging technologies while keeping young people, creativity, and human potential at the center of learning.