Huawei, ASEAN Foundation Host Asia Pacific Digital Talent Summit

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 AsiaPacific 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, 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.”

The ASEAN Foundation’s Executive Director Dr. Yang Mee Eng also stated that, “Through the summit, we are bringing 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.”

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.”

The latter half of the event included: the prerelease 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.