Huawei, working with ASEAN Foundation, hosted the Asia Pacific Digital Talent 
Summit in Bangkok on Monday, as part of its annual flagship event Huawei 
Connect.

Themed "Cultivate Talents, Unleash Digital", the summit brings together 
stakeholders from the government, academia, and the industry to explore the 
paths of building a future-ready ICT talent pool and unleashing digital 
potential in the Asia-Pacific region.

In his welcome speech, Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN 
for Socio-Cultural Community, said: "This summit is essential to forge 
discussions and 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."

Dr. Yang Mee Eng, Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation hopes that "Through 
the summit, we will bring key stakeholders across the region to enhance 
consensus, tackle difficulties, and take ample actions to resolve digital gaps, 
cultivate innovative talents, and unleash digital transformation for the 
region."

Meanwhile, government officials from the region shared best practices in 
digital talent cultivation. Prof. Nizam, Director General of Higher Education 
of Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia, 
pointed out: "In Indonesia, we are transforming our education system to be 
digitally ready and developing a talent pool of digital technology through 
multiple initiatives."

Sok Puthyvuth, Secretary of State, Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of 
Cambodia, said: "Cambodia has begun including digital subjects into school 
curriculum, leveraging online platforms, and establishing community tech 
centers for students. Meanwhile, we have worked with vocational training 
schools in providing digital training for those already in the workforce."

Professor GUO Yike, Vice-President, Hong Kong Baptist University introduced to 
the audience the world's first AI ensemble, Turing AI Orchestra (TAIO). "TAIO 
will promote transdisciplinary education to the next generation." He said. 
Professor Hitoshi Yamada, Former Vice-President of Yokohama National University 
in Japan, talked about how international exchange can transform digital talent 
development.

Simon Lin, President of Huawei Asia Pacific, explained Huawei's talent strategy 
in the region: "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 speeches were followed by a panel featuring digital inclusion and for 
post-pandemic Recovery. Michele Wucker, global best-selling author of "The Gray 
Rhino", gave her take on how to boost youth's participation in policymaking to 
support digital inclusion. Iona Dominique, one of the members of the winning 
team of APAC Seeds for the Future Tech4All Competition, shared her project of 
helping disabled job seekers land a job with cloud and AI.

"Collective actions among private sector, academia and the government could 
contribute towards digital inclusion in this era," said Professor Guo Song from 
Hong Kong Polythecnic University.

SOURCE  Huawei Connect