South Africa’s “nniChat App Dialogues for an Inclusive Society: Youth on Xenophobia and Inclusion” Receives Recognition from UNAOC-BMW Group’s Intercultural Innovation Hub

no-name initiative, a South African organization, has been selected as one of ten grassroots initiatives for the 2026 cycle of the Intercultural Innovation Hub (IIH). A joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group, implemented with the support of Accenture, IIH supports grassroots initiatives that promote intercultural dialogue and understanding, contributing to peace, cultural diversity, and inclusive societies.

The finalists were announced at a ceremony at the House of BMW in Milan, marking IIH’s 15th anniversary. Since 2011, IIH has brought 100 grassroots organizations into the global spotlight, expanding their capacities, amplifying their impact, and helping them bridge divides, foster mutual understanding and create new opportunities in their communities.

The organization was selected for its project “nniChat App Dialogues for an Inclusive Society: Youth on Xenophobia and Inclusion,” an initiative that helps young people talk about xenophobia and inclusion in a safe setting. Many young people distrust traditional political processes and find conventional dialogues too exposing. The project will pilot nniChat, a mobile text-based app built on the nniDialogue methodology, in which participants can contribute through ‘systemic voices’, anonymously, rather than disclosing personal positions or experiences. Each facilitated dialogue creates an online community, offering peer support, a sense of belonging and shared responsibility.

“The nniMethodology holds a built-in capacity for anonymity through the technology of ‘systemic voices’ instead of personal voices. To create greater access to nniDialogue in the spaces where it is needed most, we developed nniChat, which applies this technology in a text-based format designed for mobile phones. With IIH’s support, we will be able to pilot, fine-tune and then release the application more broadly to all of our partners and facilitators, enabling them to spread safe and inclusive transformative dialogue,” reaffirmed Ms. Jonelle Naudé, President and Chairperson at no-name initiative.

Through the Intercultural Innovation Hub, the no-name initiative will receive a financial grant, as well as one year of capacity-building and mentorship support from UNAOC, the BMW Group, and Accenture. This comprehensive support will help strengthen the “nniChat App Dialogues for an Inclusive Society: Youth on Xenophobia and Inclusion” and expand its contribution towards a more inclusive society. This model of collaboration between the United Nations and the private sector creates a more profound impact, as partners provide their respective expertise to ensure the sustainable growth of each supported project.

Learn more about the project: https://interculturalinnovation.org/nnichat-app-dialogues-for-an-inclusive-society-youth-on-xenophobia-and-inclusion-no-name-initiative/