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 event started strongly with a series of keynote speeches from governments’ leaders such as Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Chair of the ASEAN Digital Senior Official Meeting H.E. Dato’ Sri Mohammad Mentek, the Philippine Ambassador to China H.E. Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana. Their speeches stressed the importance of key stakeholders’ proactive participation in developing a solid foundation for the 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 the digital platforms. 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 the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene.
The Philippine Ambassador to China H.E. Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana also gave his remarks, “Today’s program is vital in the achievement of nurturing the young talent who would be at the forefront of future developments in the digital world. The Philippines has engaged major technology companies in the region to actively speed up the adoption of several digital technologies in extending services to the public and to immerse the population, particularly young Filipinos in the digital realm, to improve their familiarity and raise broad-based skills in the use of modern and up-to-date digital technologies.”
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“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,” Huawei Senior Vice President and Board Member Catherine Chen noted during her opening remarks, “Huawei’s 20 years in the 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.”
“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,” President of Huawei Asia Pacific Jeffery Liu announced in his keynote speech.
The commitment to bridge the digital talent gap in the Asia Pacific, in particular, was further strengthened with the signing ceremony of the 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 this, 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 the digital economy.
The ASEAN Seeds for the Future will 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. In the Philippines, Seeds for the Future already covered 110 students over the past six years, in this year 2021, the project will cover more than 100 students.
