MAXIS’ OUR CHILDREN OUR FUTURE INITIATIVE GOES REGIONAL

KUALA LUMPUR, November 24, 2008: ASEAN member countries have adopted the Malaysia’s proposal of the ASEAN Cyberkids Camp (ACC) as a collaborative activity to promote regional integration and strengthen cooperation among nations. The ACC is a joint collaboration between the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications (KTAK), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) and Maxis Communications Berhad (Maxis) and it is based on a homegrown corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme initiated by Maxis. The ACC, aimed at bridging the digital divide, is also endorsed by the Ministry of Education (MoE).

The ACC will be held here from 24 to 28 November 2008. Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Dr Halim Man, Secretary General of the KTAK officiated the Welcome Dinner that was held here in Kuala Lumpur today. A total of 120 school children (ages between 10-14) and their accompanying teachers from 9 countries across the ASEAN region will converge at the region’s first ASEAN Cyberkids Camp. Among the schools participating are Tabuan Jaya Secondary School (Sarawak), Woodlands Primary School (Singapore), Rimba Primary School (Brunei Darussalam), Sunthonphu Pittaya Secondary School (Thailand), Sinxay Secondary School (Laos) and Immaculate Conception Academy (Philippines). According to Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Dr Halim Man, Secretary General of KTAK, “ACC should be a melting pot of ideas and innovativeness to bring about the best from ASEAN to teach ICT to children. Here, we have the golden opportunity to share our experiences, ideas and innovativeness in producing the best methodologies to teach ICT to children.” Dato’ Dr. Halim Man also added, “The ASEAN Cyberkids Camp can be likened to an exercise in the transformation of our youth to operate in the digital world. By opening their eyes to new possibilities, we hope they will be ambassadors to generate widespread awareness and engender buy-in among their respective peers when they get back.”

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Dr Halim Shafie, Chairman of SKMM who was also present at the Welcome Dinner said that, "The ASEAN Cyberkids Camp is a great programme! It will help to build ASEAN spirit, teach children about ICT and foster friendship and understanding. Most importantly, it will promote ASEAN integration. We are very much looking forward to it.”

The Maxis Cyberkids Camp, which is in its sixth year, has equipped school children aged between nine and 14 with basic ICT and Internet skills. To date, a total of more than 7,000 students and teachers from over 1,300 schools across Malaysia have been trained under this programme.

According to Maxis Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sandip Das, the Cyberkids Camp programme received its highest recognition to date when it was selected by ASEAN ministers as a key activity to promote regional integration and cooperation.

“We are humbled that ‘Our Children Our Future’ initiative was chosen as a benchmark to be taken across the ASEAN region as Malaysia’s contribution,” he said, adding that the successful programme would eventually be extended across the region.

The countries involved in the inaugural camp are Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Each country will be represented at the camp by a team of four students accompanied by a teacher. A total of 10 teams will represent Malaysia at the regional camp.

ACC, a Malaysian initiative was approved at the 8th Asean Telecommunications and IT Ministers Meeting (TELMIN-8) held in Bali on 29 August 2008.