Silenced No More: Students Use AI to Amplify Women's Voices in History for SDG 5 - A Three-Month, Multi-class Project Where Students Reimagined the Stories of Female Icons Through Technology

Written by: Despina Porfyriadou, Global Schools Alumni, Teacher of English,  Doukas School (A Cognita School) Athens, Greece.

How can artificial intelligence help us revisit the stories of women who changed the world, yet were often unheard in their time? At Doukas School in Athens, Greece, we explored that very question through a cross-curricular project focused on Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality. Titled “Silenced No More: Unveiling Women’s Voices in History with AI,” this initiative empowered students to critically examine gender inequality through literature, language, and technology.

Bringing the Past to Life Through AI

This collaborative project was developed by myself and my colleague Anthi-Maria Giannakopoulou, blending English and Greek Language and Literature classes. Over the course of three months, we implemented the project in four different classes with a total of 110 students. All students presented their work in class. A lot of discussion took place around these female artists and writers and what they teach us today about how to handle obstacles and stereotypes. From this broad base, only a select group of students were chosen to present their work in the final digital showcase.

The project unfolded in four interactive stages:

1. Research and Presentations:

   
   

   Students began by selecting a female artist or writer and researching her contributions and the gender-based challenges she faced. Each student created a PowerPoint presentation to share their findings with the class, sparking discussions around gender and historical erasure.

   
   

2. AI-Powered Role Play:

   
   

   Using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, students simulated conversations with the historical figures they studied. These AI-powered interactions helped build historical empathy and enabled students to ask imaginative, thought-provoking questions.

   
   

3. Diary Entry Creation:

   
   

   Inspired by their AI conversations and research, students wrote fictional diary entries from the perspectives of these women, amplifying their voices through personal, narrative storytelling.

   
   

4. AI-Generated Video:

   
   

   Finally, students brought their historical characters to life by creating talking avatars using AI-generated video tools. These avatars recited key quotes and excerpts from the diary entries, adding a powerful multimedia layer to their learning.

   
   

Through these activities, students developed a deeper understanding of gender equality while building skills in research, storytelling, digital literacy, and critical thinking.

You can view the full project here in the Microsoft Sway presentation: Silenced No More: Unveiling Women’s Voices in History with AI

Why It Matters

For us, this project was more than an academic exercise, it was an exploration of how technology can be used as a tool for empowerment and transformation. By integrating AI in creative and thoughtful ways, we encourage our students to not only learn history but to reimagine it, question it, and draw new insights from it. This approach fostered deeper critical thinking, digital fluency, and a heightened sense of global citizenship.

As educators, we believe in harnessing emerging technologies not just for convenience or novelty, but to inspire meaningful dialogue and engagement. This project has shown us and our students that AI can be a powerful medium for justice, empathy, and creative expression when guided by purpose. The classroom of the future is not just digital, it's dynamic, inclusive, and driven by real-world relevance. We’re excited to keep pushing those boundaries.