Two Malaysian youth off to Telenor summit, chance to hobnob at Nobel event

• One idea on empowering women, another on education; part of DiGi’s ‘Internet For All’ campaign
• Ideas from Telenor Youth Summit to be documented and presented during Nobel Peace Prize event

 
DIGI Telecommunication Sdn Bhd has announced that 20-year-old law student Farah Fathiah Fauzi and 19-year-old pre-university student Wong Gwen Yi will represent Malaysia at the first Telenor Youth Summit in Oslo from Dec 9-11.
 
They were the winners of the Telenor Youth Summit 2013 competition, which called for youth aged 18 to 25 years to submit ideas that use mobile technology to create social change for Malaysians.
 
The Telenor Youth Summit 2013 is a global initiative by the Telenor Group. Two delegates from each of its 13 business units globally will participate in the Summit to learn, collaborate, refine and extend the impact of their mobile Internet ideas towards a better future for their communities.
 
The Summit also coincides with the Nobel Peace Prize event, giving these young people the opportunity to meet inspirational international leaders and opinion makers from the Nobel Peace Centre, and to participate in the event's activities.
 
Furthermore, the ideas emerging from the Telenor Youth Summit will be documented and presented at the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo during the event itself, and also at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2014.
 
For the competition, Farah had submitted an idea for a mobile platform focusing on addressing the discrimination and marginalisation of women.
 
“Women often internalise their struggles and often do not know who to turn to for support and guidance,” she said.
 
“My idea is to create a safe avenue for these women of all ages and walks of life to connect, share their experiences, and obtain guidance and support from experts and from each other.
 
“I believe the empowerment of women in the home and in the workplace is a highly relevant issue in many parts of the world, and the mobile Internet can be a powerful tool in making a difference,” Farah added.
 
Wong meanwhile had proposed an app to enable the sharing of innovative learning tools and tips among teachers.
 
“Teachers are constantly on the search for new and interesting ways of making learning relevant and engaging, and many turn to the Internet for inspiration,” she said.
 
“I was inspired to create a mobile app that provides educators with a social network to exchange ideas and insights on enriching the learning experience, leveraging the viral power and appeal of social media,” she added.
 
According to Joachim Rajaram, DiGi's head of Communications & Corporate Responsibility, the competition was inspired by the Telenor Group and DiGi's ambition to enable the ‘Internet For All.’
 
“We believe [the] mobile Internet continues to be a great platform to bring change and create equal opportunities for everyone, everywhere.
 
“Through this competition, we looked for young individuals with innovative, dynamic ideas that address pressing social issues, using the power of the mobile Internet. The Summit presents a valuable opportunity for sharing and collaborating on these ideas, at a global level,” he said.
 
More than 180 entries were received, and 10 shortlisted finalists were invited to then present their ideas directly to a panel of judges comprising executives from DiGi.
            
“The challenge for the judges was to select two candidates to represent not only DiGi but Malaysia at this summit. Naturally, we looked for young people with a keen interest in the betterment of their community, have the passion and commitment to realise their ideas, and the ability to engage with peers from around the world in an open, collaborative platform,” said Joachim.
 
“We received a number of strong ideas on a variety of issues, but what further impressed us about the winning ideas was the relevance they had to communities everywhere, and that Farah and [Wong] Gwen Yi are on the verge of bringing their ideas to life,” he added.
 
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