• The ACC expands Maxis’ focus on bridging the digital divide and enabling integration and capacity building amongst school children in the ASEAN region
• Maxis celebrates 10 years of its Maxis Cyberkids programme
• Maxis Cyberkids Programme will extend to Special Needs schools
Kuala Lumpur, 2 November 2012. Malaysia’s leading integrated communications service provider, Maxis Berhad (Maxis), reinforced its commitment to bridging the digital divide by equipping ASEAN students with leading edge technology and ICT skills. With the theme ‘We are stronger when we are connected’, the ASEAN Cyberkids Camp (ACC) 2012 continued to promote ICT knowledge as well as diversity and integration amongst ASEAN youth.
The ACC 2012, held from Oct 29 to Nov 2, saw a total of 76 participants, comprising students aged between 13-17 years old and teachers from eight ASEAN countries together with India joining this year’s camp activities. Malaysia was represented by a total of four teams at the camp which included two national winners of the Maxis Cyberkids National Challenge 2012 – from SMK Belaga, Sarawak and SMK St Michael, Sandakan, Sabah. This year is especially significant for Maxis as its Cyberkids Programme celebrates the 10th anniversary. The Maxis Cyberkids Programme is the flagship community project by Maxis to spread ICT knowledge amongst students in support of the Government’s call to bridge the digital divide in the country.
The closing ceremony of the ACC 2012 on 1 November was officiated by Deputy Minister of Information Communication and Culture (MICC), YB Dato' Joseph Salang, and attended by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Chairman, YBhg Dato' Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi; Maxis’ Chairman YM Raja Tan Sri Dato' Seri Arshad Raja Tun Uda and Maxis’ CEO Sandip Das.
ASEAN CYBERKIDS PROGRAMME
Since its inception in 2008, the ACC has reached out to over 300 students and 105 teachers and has created a significant impact on the lives of these individuals by leveraging ICT as an enabler for education. The ACC exposes participants to the latest ICT technology and introduces them to innovative and creative methods of learning using the latest ICT technology. ACC is open to participants from ASEAN countries, ASEAN Dialogue Partners countries i.e. Korea, Japan and China and also Maxis affiliate companies in India and Sri Lanka. The made-in-Malaysia programme is hosted and jointly organised annually by MICC, MCMC and Maxis, and is an extension of the successful home grown Maxis Cyberkids Camp.
YB Dato' Joseph Salang said, “Friendship and integration into an ASEAN family using ICT as a platform is exactly what the ASEAN Ministers and Senior Officials of ICT wish to promote. The more you understand about each other’s cultures and traditions, the closer you become and your respect for each other grows. By 2015, we hope that ASEAN will become a family. With more of these Camps, we also hope to make teenagers like yourselves feel like you all belong to the same ASEAN family.
“The ASEAN Cyberkids Camp would not be possible without exemplary corporate citizens like Maxis. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Maxis for having reached the 10th Anniversary of their Cyberkids Camp initiative. Ten years is a long time to sustain any effort but to have done so in such a consistently good manner is something to be proud of and we applaud them on reaching this significant milestone,” YB Dato’ Joseph Salang added.
YM Raja Tan Sri Arshad said, “Maxis has throughout the years, with our business and CSR initiatives, strived to provide a lasting positive impact on the lives of the communities in which we operate. The benefits of the ASEAN Cyberkids programme are immense in that it further expands our focus on bridging the digital divide, as well as integration and capacity building amongst school children within the ASEAN region.
At the closing ceremony, students of the ACC 2012 showcased their talent and creativity through their various projects developed throughout the camp, and certificates were handed out to them for their achievements.
MAXIS CYBERKIDS PROGRAMME
The Maxis Cyberkids Programme was introduced in 2002 with the aim of promoting the usage of ICT to children and empowering them with skills to explore, share and propagate the knowledge within their community. The programme also aimed to increase the levels of self-confidence amongst the students while at the same time, enhancing their leadership qualities. To date, a total of more than 8,500 students and teachers from over 1,500 schools across Malaysia have been trained under this programme and equipped with basic ICT and Internet skills.
“This year, we are especially pleased to celebrate 10 amazing years of Maxis Cyberkids, signifying 10 years of capacity building for the teachers and schoolchildren of the nation and 10 years of contributing to the community. In conjunction with this special milestone, the Maxis Cyberkids Camp will be extended to special needs schools. The pilot camp is expected to take place before the end of the year, with more camps to be planned next year,” added YM Raja Tan Sri Arshad.
The Maxis Cyberkids National Challenge is part of the Maxis Cyberkids Programme framework. It is a national contest that provides opportunities for Malaysian participants to promote projects featured during the camps, and has been developed as a platform to sustain continuous learning and a tool to gauge the commitment of schools and chosen participants of the Maxis Cyberkids Camps. At the closing ceremony, prizes were also given out to the two winning schools of the Maxis Cyberkids National Challenge.
Maxis has long been moving away from the philanthropic approach to social responsibility, and over the past years, it has invested significantly in community development initiatives, particularly those addressing access to technology for marginalized communities. Its strategy goes much further and links its CR efforts to its main business objectives.
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