Chris Szymczak

Chris works at the intersection of international development, technology, youth, and startups.

Chris leads the Digital Public Goods team at UNICEF’s Office of Innovation. He works with and supports social impact startup ecosystems from UNICEF programme countries, and young people that (still) believe in the positive value of tech. He cares about the notions of intergenerational equity, digital sovereignty, and open tech. He leads UNICEF’s engagement in the Global Digital Compact consultations – a document that will outline global digital policy principles and commitments for the next decade, to be signed in September 2024 by the UN Member States.

Previously he held roles at UNICEF’s HQ in New York and UNICEF's Country Office in Ghana. In Ghana he managed UNICEF StartUp Lab, an accelerator for social impact startups and entrepreneurs, and led country-level efforts for the Giga initiative to connect every school to the internet.

Prior to his work in international development, he worked 10 years in advertising, including at Google. Chris holds MA in Law from University of Warsaw, MA in Media Studies from The New School, and MSc in International Development from SOAS, University of London.

Chris writes a weekly newsletter Humanitarian Unknown at LinkedIn to which you should absolutely subscribe. Talk to Chris how to help and what helping means.