Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

The ASEAN Foundation and Huawei signed MoU on joint efforts to bridge the digital talent gap at the Asia Pacific Innovation Day–Digital Talent Summit 2021 on Wednesday. The online summit brought together policymakers, researchers and industry experts to share solutions and best practices in building a sustainable ecosystem that will help foster digital talents in the Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific Innovation Day–Digital Talent Summit 2021 started strongly with a series of keynote speeches from governments’ leaders such as H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political Security Community; H.E. Dato’ Sri Mohammad, Chair of the ASEAN Digital Senior Official Meeting Mentek; H.E. Dr. Chea Vandeth, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia; H.E. General TNI (Purn), Chief of Presidential Staff of the Republic of Indonesia; Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Minister of Youth and Sports of Sri Lanka ; H.E. Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana, Philippine Ambassador to China and H.E. Prof. Sirirurg Songsivilai, M.D., Ph.D, Permanent Secretary of Thailand Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Their speeches stressed on the importance of key stakeholders’ proactive participation in developing a solid foundation for digital talent ecosystem in the region.

“The Digital Talent Summit 2021, which aims to discuss and address the needs of ASEAN ICT youth talent, is obviously very relevant, especially in the midst of the global pandemic which forced us to significantly rely more on digital platform. This auspicious event is very much aligned with the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 objective of improving people’s capability to participate in the digital society economy”, said Tene.

Mentek, who is also the Secretary-General at the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia, said in his remarks, “It is imperative that the workforce of the future will need continuous upskilling and reskilling along a technology-oriented trajectory, regardless of the field. New roles for the future are expected to have heavy emphasis on data analytics, digital experience and process automation. The digital talent development agenda in ASEAN in the immediate future will definitely move towards development of specialised skill sets such as cybersecurity, 5G, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, to ensure our people are equipped with the latest skills to compete on the global stage”.

“Innovation and development rely on a talent ecosystem. Huawei is prepared to work with its partners to build a talent development ecosystem conducive to innovation”, said Catherine Chen, Senior Vice President and Board Member at Huawei, noted during her opening remarks, “Huawei’s 20 years in Asia Pacific have been a journey to find like-minded friends. Let’s work together to build an inclusive, innovative, and vibrant ecosystem, attract and cultivate more digital talent, and jointly promote the development and prosperity of the region”.

The importance of digital talent in sustainable development was emphasised in the virtual roundtable discussion involving notable speakers from UNESCO, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Maxis.

Another key activity of the summit was presentation of Huawei’s 2022 Asia Pacific Digital Talent Insights. The white paper, which was presented by Alex Lee, Senior Consultant at National Digital Talent Development. It chronicled the tech company’s efforts and journey in fostering digital talent in Asia Pacific.

“Cultivating innovative ICT talent ecosystem is fundamental to the digital transformation. Leveraging shared innovations with win-win outcomes, we can harness the power of ICT skills to fly us into a digital future. Together with our partners, Huawei will invest $50 million in the next 5 years to develop 500,000 digital talents in the Asia Pacific region,” said Jeffery Liu, President at Huawei Asia Pacific, in his keynote speech.

The commitment to bridge digital talent gap in Asia Pacific, in particular ASEAN, was further strengthened with the signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding between ASEAN Foundation and Huawei ASEAN Academy. The agreement highlights both entities’ readiness to implement ASEAN Seeds for the Future, which is a scaled-up version of Seeds for the Future, Huawei’s global CSR flagship initiative that has been providing world class digital skills training for young people across the globe since 2008. Through ASEAN Seeds for the Future, ASEAN Foundation and Huawei ASEAN Academy strive to build the digital capacities of youth in the ten ASEAN Member States so that they can thrive in the era of digital economy.

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Yang Mee Eng, Executive Director at ASEAN Foundation and Albert Yang, Vice President at Huawei Indonesia. It was witnessed by H.E. Amb. Yeap Samnang, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN; H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political Security Community Deputy; Elizabeth Te, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN; Tham Borg Tsien, Deputy Permanent Representative of Republic of Singapore to ASEAN and Jay Chen, Vice President at Huawei Asia Pacific.

The ASEAN Seeds for the Future will also help contribute to achieving the objectives of ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025, which are to increase the capacity of youth in the region to participate in the digital economy and to create a digitally inclusive society in ASEAN. The ASEAN Seeds for the Future is set to launch in early 2022, inviting youth aged 15–30 in ASEAN to immerse themselves in a virtual journey of capacity building on leadership and digital skills.

“We are delighted to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Huawei to implement ASEAN Seeds for the Future. It is my belief that this wonderful regional programme will play an important part in bridging digital talent gap in the region by equipping our ASEAN youth with essential skills that will enable them to thrive in the era of digital economy. Our partnership with Huawei also signifies another important milestone for ASEAN in regards to bringing in committed partners from private sector to contribute to youth development effort in ASEAN”, said Mee Eng.

(0)(0)