Maxis減低中學生數碼鴻溝

Maxis Bridges Digital Divide at the Secondary School Level

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 July 2007 ¾ Maxis Communications Berhad (Maxis), on Monday, announced the expansion of its Cyberkids Programme to benefit lower secondary school students. The programme, a joint effort with the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia (KTAK) established in 2002 in consultation with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and support from the Ministry of Education, the curriculum is aimed at bringing ICT education and self development programme to the rural communities.

The KTAK-Maxis’ Cyberkids Programme is part of the company’s CSR initiative, called the Maxis Bridging Communities Programme, which leverages Maxis’ business in mobile technology, and is focused on three core pillars: education, ICT, and youth communities.
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Today, after five successful years of implementation and narrowing the digital divide, Maxis is introducing the next phase of this programme. Having been primarily focused on developing students at the primary level, the company is now extending the programme to the secondary school level.

The company announced this during the launch of its 50th Merdeka Celebration and graduation ceremony of KTAK-Maxis Cyberkids Camp (an IT literacy programme extended to school children and teachers), held at the G Hotel in Penang.

To mark the launch, Maxis revealed its Merdeka theme logo and a song “Our Children, Our Future” that represents and encapsulates the company’s vision for its Maxis Bridging Communities Programme. The logo was unveiled by guest of honour, Dato’ Dr Halim Man, Secretary General, Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications.

Students from the Cyberkids Camp (Northern Region) attending the graduation ceremony gave an inspiring rendition when unveiling the Merdeka logo and the specially composed song for its CSR programme.

“It is heartening to know that the company is focused on developing our future generation from the very young age, and that the programme is moving on to the next phase now. It means that more children and communities will be equipped and gain the benefits of the programme,” said Dato’ Dr Halim Man, Secretary General, Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications.

Maxis’ announcement coincided with Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka celebration this year to mark its success in helping the country achieve its vision of becoming an ICT focused and empowered nation.

“We strongly believe in the importance of investing in the future generation of Malaysia. Our children are our future. Our children today will be the future leaders of our country and how we educate, mentor and empower them will influence the development of the child and ultimately the nation and its citizens,” said Dato’ Jamaludin Ibrahim, Group CEO of Maxis Communications Berhad.

“Our programme Cyberkids was the seed of an idea. It is wonderful to see it grow into the ‘Our Children, Our Future’ programme. It is our tribute to the nation in one of its finest moments – the 50th anniversary celebration of Merdeka!” said Maxis Communications Berhad CEO, Sandip Das.

The KTAK-Maxis Cyberkids Programme has touched many children. Its Cyberkids Camp has seen participation from more than 1,200 primary schools involving over 6,000 school children thus far. Now, with the new phase, the company is reaching out to secondary school students aged 13 to 14 years old, with the first pilot project taking off in August. The new phase is expected to be officially introduced in September with eight camps planned until the end of the year.

The new framework will include a more advanced IT literacy curriculum focused on the implementation of applications. It will aim to cultivate a self-learning culture, feature multi-sensory stimulation, collaborative work, proactive and critical thinking, and information exchange.

As part of the new announcement and in celebrating Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka, Maxis has also lined up exciting programmes and activities for the public and its employees as well, including a Merdeka Expression contest entitled “Our Children, Our Future”, a Cyberkids Merdeka Edition Camp, and an in-house employees’ engagement programme.


About KTAK-Maxis Cyberkids Programme
The KTAK-Maxis Cyberkids Programme is part of the company’s CSR initiative (which is branded Maxis Bridging Communities). The Maxis Bridging Communities CSR programme leverages Maxis’ business in mobile technology, and is focused on three core pillars:

§ Education
§ Information and communication technology (ICT)
§ Youth communities

It aims to improve people’s lives through the use of technology and education, and this commitment is driven by three key initiatives: Cyberkids Camp, Scholarship for Excellence Awards and Maxis Developer Programme (MDP).

The KTAK-Maxis Cyberkids Programme is mooted together with the Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia to support and increase ICT literacy in the rural areas of Malaysia to bridge the digital divide. Since its introduction in 2002, the programme has seen more than 6000 students getting trained on ICT. Maxis has spent RM15 million on this initiative, and up to RM5 million per year.

The Cyberkids Programme has grown in size and scope of activities with each progressive year, and spawned several spin-off initiatives such as the Maxis CyberlinQ Competition, Maxis Cyberkids Club, Maxis Cyberlab and Program Titian Teknologi Maxis.

For more information, visit www.maxis.communities.com.my.