Beyond Business: Driving Digital Inclusion through Global ICT Empowerment
Make a positive difference in our world using technology. It’s clear that the best use of innovation and technology should not be limited to business, but should also drive digital inclusion for underserved communities. Today, I witnessed the real-world impact that technology can have. Billions of people around the world live in poverty, lacking access to food, education, infrastructure, and even the internet. How about unlocking the ICT potential of women? Rather than simply donating or volunteering, the more impactful approach is to empower these communities by teaching them the skills to help themselves.
In the digital age, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make a substantial difference in the lives of people globally. I was grateful to participate in the 8th Huawei ICT Competition 2023-24 Global Final, which brought together over 170,000 students from 2,000 universities and colleges across 80+ countries and regions like Turkey, Kenya, Cambodia, Saudi Ariba, Kuwait, Malaysia, Bahrain, Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico and a lot more. Pleased to see our CityU City University of Hong Kong from Hong Kong was one of the award winners. It’s amazing that Huawei has built such an impactful program to transform the lives of families, especially in developing regions. Starting with just 7,550 local students in China in 2015-16, the program has scaled tremendously. More about the competition can be found here https://lnkd.in/gcGGVPnu.
These young innovators were well trained by Huawei on cloud, network, 5G, Edge , AI and data and more. They demonstrated how technology can be leveraged to create meaningful social, economic and environmental impact in their home countries and regions. I saw amazing innovation on Tech4Good, WomenInTech, GreenTech, FinTech, Agritech, just name a few. By changing lives, instilling hope, and shaping brighter futures, they have set a powerful example. I was really touched by all their efforts, passion and impact created.
This experience has further inspired me to reflect on how digital practitioners like myself can do more to help people worldwide through the power of technology. Let’s come together to collaborate and co-create even greater positive impact globally.
Heartfelt thank to Huawei for inviting me to join this event. A few leaders from different countries and regions were also invited to visit Huawei’s technology and innovation centers. Stay tuned on my next post for more.
