[Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2024]
During MWC Barcelona 2024, Huawei held the Huawei Talent Summit and made announcements relevant to several talent development initiatives, including: the launch of the applications for the global ITU-Huawei Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme; the announcement that the joint project between Huawei and UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) will be implemented in Morocco; and Huawei Cloud’s startups programme.
The theme of the event was “I C Talent: Nurturing Excellence in a Digital World”. Attendees included representatives from international organizations like ITU and UNESCO, government officials from Greece, Kenya, and Mexico, female industry leaders, entrepreneurs participating in the Huawei Cloud Startup Program, and participants in Seeds for the Future and several top competitions.
During the summit, speaking on behalf of Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Mr Mario Maniewicz, Director of the ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau launched the ITU Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme in partnership with Huawei. “Youth aged 18 to 28 can submit their ideas for community projects addressing the digital divide and receive funding, mentoring, and training for implementation.” He added: “I encourage everyone to share widely in your diverse networks and ensure youth from all parts of the globe are part of this great movement.” Applications can be made here: https://www.itu.int/generationconnect/GCYLP
Huawei joined UNESCO’s Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) as an associate member last year, and signed a partnership agreement with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL). At the summit, UIL Director Isabell Kempf talked about the importance of empowering educators, and gave a progress update on UIL’s project in this regard. She said, “We’re implementing a project that aims to strengthen the digital skills of literacy educators across several countries of the Global Alliance for Literacy. Today, I’m proud to announce that, with the support of Huawei, we are able to launch the project in the Kingdom of Morocco as well. This project will help 10,000 youth and adult literacy teachers, trainers, and managers to better use technologies in both literacy teaching and in their professional development.”
At the event, Huawei announced that it would sponsor the European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) as part of its efforts to encourage more girls to enter the technology sector, enhance digital inclusion in communities, and promote gender equality in technology fields. Eljakim Schrijvers, CEO of EGOI 2024, attended the summit and said, “We are happy that Huawei is leveling up its effort to improve diversity in the STEM field and that the company has decided to sponsor the European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics in 2024.”
Speakers from Greece, Kenya, and Mexico, as well as those from ASEAN, also shared their experiences with Huawei’s local talent training programs. Duan Xiaolei, General Manager of Huawei Cloud’s Global Startup Ecosystem, introduced Huawei Cloud’s enablement plans for global startups. She also announced that the platform will be launched in Europe this year, and the processes and services will be IT-based and intelligent to help start-up enterprises migrate to the cloud and access agile innovation; it will use Huawei’s internal and external ecosystem resources to enable entrepreneurs to accelerate and realize their business ambitions.
Vicky Zhang, Vice President of Huawei’s Corporate Communications Dept, said, “Huawei has long been committed to cultivating digital talent around the world. I’m happy to see that our joint projects with partners are going on smoothly. I hope more people can participate in these projects. Stay connected and be role models for others, we become more than the sum of our individual parts. This is how an inclusive digital future will be shaped.”
A digital badge for the Huawei ICT Academy was also released at the summit. Teachers and students at Huawei ICT Academies around the world can use this special digital badge on personal social media platforms like LinkedIn to showcase their teaching and learning achievements.
Over the years, the ICT competition has made a significant impact in Nigeria, with the country’s students consistently demonstrating their abilities. Since its introduction in 2018, Nigeria has participated in four sessions of the competition, achieving notable success. The country secured the grand prize in both the network track and cloud track in the 2019/2020 edition, followed by another grand prize in the network track in the 2021/2022 edition. In 2023, the Nigeria Innovation Team’s victory in the Innovation Track further solidifies the country’s reputation as a hotbed of technological talent.
In addition to the ICT competition, Huawei conducts a range of ICT training programs in various fields. These include the Seeds of the Future project, which aims to develop local ICT talent by providing scholarships and hands-on training opportunities to outstanding students. Huawei also offers civil servant training programs to enhance the digital skills of government officials, ICT professionals training to equip individuals with specialized knowledge, and digital energy and cloud ecosystem partners training to foster collaboration and innovation in the industry.
More than 50,000 individuals in Nigeria have benefited from Huawei’s ICT training initiatives. These programs have played a vital role in building the country’s digital capabilities and empowering the workforce with the skills needed for the evolving digital landscape. Huawei’s commitment to talent development aligns with Nigeria’s aspirations to build a robust digital economy and harness the potential of technology for sustainable growth.