PENANG YOUNG DIGITAL AWARD CEREMONY 2022 AND WEB DESIGN COMPETITION FINALE
SPEECH BY YAB CHOW KON YEOW
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
PENANG YOUNG DIGITAL AWARD CEREMONY 2022
AND WEB DESIGN COMPETITION FINALE
15 JANUARY 2022
Salam sejahtera and a very good morning to all.
Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Penang Youth Development Corporation (PYDC) for inviting me here today, and for their tireless efforts and dedication to ensuring the success of this event. I would also like to congratulate all participants and finalists for making it this far in the Web Design Competition and the Penang Young Digital Award 2022.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Penang Young Digital Talents Programme is a series of programmes designed to further develop our youths' digital technology skills. It is run by PYDC in collaboration with BigDomain and was launched on 2nd September 2021. The programme offers certification in Key Opinion Leader (KOL), E-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Web Development, Graphic Design, 3D Animation, Game Development, and Business In The Game, which are all recognized by the Penang State Government.
The goal of this programme is not only to develop Penang as a digital talent hub, but also to develop talents who have critical awareness of this digitalization era and are capable of understanding and dealing with the ever-evolving contemporary digital landscape. I am delighted to learn that this series of programmes aligns with the state's Penang2030 vision, which aims to accelerate our society's transition to a digital economy, and that it will be greatly useful in the careers or entrepreneurial endeavours of our youth.
In today's digitalized world, knowing just one thing is no longer sufficient and being digitally savvy is essential. Youths must arm themselves with a wealth of knowledge and skills in order to outshine those around them. Having additional knowledge will give them an advantage when looking for work as employers in today's highly competitive world want to find the best candidates out of the best. Furthermore, being digitally savvy is indispensable not only for entering the corporate world, but also for starting their own business.
To this, I must add that the Penang State Government is serious on achieving not only a knowledge-based economy but a flourishing digital economy as well that will provide new opportunities for our youth. For this year 2022, Digital Penang together with Think City and Penang Institute are working closely together to identify key potential areas to be turned into the Creative Digital District (CD2) or CD Square, which will provide the catalyst for Penang’s economic development, entrepreneurship, technology transfer and the enhancement of knowledge.
As such, I am happy to know that many of our youths participated in this programme. This shows that our youths are very eager to learn new knowledge in order to grow as individuals. I would like to give all participants a pat on their back for seizing the opportunities and initiatives provided by PYDC, as well as their dedication to completing the course requirements.
Following the completion of the courses, participants may opt to join the Digital Entrepreneur or the GiG Economy, which is now the global market trend, in which our youths will be able to engage in freelancing or part-time work without having to travel to other countries and earn foreign currency. This is the pathway that PYDC aspires to create for our youth in this highly digitalized era.
With the pathway in place and the commitment demonstrated during this event, I am confident that the programme will meet its objective. The Penang State Government will continue to provide full support and encourage the implementation of more youth-oriented programmes in the near future. Looking ahead, I hope to see more parties join forces to facilitate and promote our youths' economic, social, and personal development.
Having said that, I once again congratulate PYDC and extend my best wishes to all participants of the certification programmes, Web Design competitors and the recipients of Digital Talent Performance Award 2022.
Thank you.