Huawei and the ASEAN Foundation brought together representatives from government, academia, and industry to discuss the construction of a future-ready ICT talent pool in the Asia-Pacific region at the Asia Pacific Digital Talent Summit today. This meeting, focused on cultivating talent to unleash the power of digital, was held during Huawei’s annual flagship event Huawei Connect.
In his opening speech, Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community, explained that the summit, “is essential to foster discussion and coordinate efforts on how we can cultivate innovative ICT talents in the region, identify their current status, address digital adversities and inequalities, and determine the step forward.”
Huawei’s President of Public Affairs and Communications, Jeff Wang, explained the company’s own goals for talent cultivation, “Connecting people and building the next generation of talent is more important than ever for driving forward digital transformation. For more than 20 years, we’ve worked closely with partners in Asia Pacific to provide Internet access to the unconnected. Meanwhile, we are on track to meet our goal of training 500,000 ICT talents in the region by 2026.”
During the event, government representatives from across the region shared updates on their own current initiatives in talent cultivation.
Dr. Phichet Phophakdee, Inspector-General of the Ministry of Education of Thailand said, “In Thailand, distance learning platforms and resources, such as Digital Learning Television (DLTV), are being developed to ensure learning opportunities are available for everyone. The future of education will depend on us being more united and innovating to make our nation’s education more inclusive, more equitable, and higher quality.”
In his own speech, Huawei’s Asia Pacific President Simon Lin said, “Nearly all Asia Pacific countries are empowering ICT talents especially young people to boost digital economy. As a global company rooted in local markets, Huawei will keep strengthening the talent ecosystem through leadership, skill, and knowledge.”
The latter half of the event included: the pre-release of Thailand’s National Digital Talent Development White Paper which is scheduled for publication in October; the launch of Huawei’s first international training initiative on Cyber Security Talent Development Solution and Certification Standards; and a panel on digital inclusion and post-pandemic recovery.
The panel discussed the importance of including young people in digital inclusion policymaking and called for collective actions among private sector, academia and the government for digital inclusion in this era.
Source: Carl Byoir & Associates