Home News Digi empowers communities with the internet for positive societal impact

Digi empowers communities with the internet for positive societal impact

Shah Alam (25 June 2015) — Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) today strengthened its commitment to bring the power of the internet to more Malaysians in building strong digital communities that can participate, navigate and thrive in the internet economy.

The company launched Digi Empower Societies, which combines various community programmes enabling different community groups, women, youth, children and the underprivileged, and netizens, both urban and rural, to enjoy the benefits of being connected:

  • Digi Challenge for Change – Partnering social change makers to enable innovative internet solutions that create sustainable, inclusive socio-economic impact for communities
  • Digi CyberSAFE – Nurturing a safer internet for all by building digital resilience and fostering responsible digital citizenship among Malaysian children
  • Kg Internet For All (IFA) – Enabling connectivity, and easy ownership of smart devices for rural and remote communities
  • Digi Internet For All Women – Promoting greater usage of the internet to inspire and empower women in Malaysia
  • Digi WWWOW Awards – Recognising Malaysians that use the internet for good to increase online creativity and entrepreneurism in the country
  • Telenor Youth Forum – Creating a global platform for young opinion leaders to connect and share digital communication innovations that are transforming societies
  • Digital Winners – Bringing together leaders and innovators in media, technology and communications to share insights on innovation and digital business opportunities

 

Speaking at the launch of Digi Empower Societies YB Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery bin Cheek, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia expressed his aspiration to fast track growth of the digital economy in transforming Malaysia into a high-income nation. YB Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery said, “Our ability to innovate and use the internet as a catalyst to create positive social change and improve businesses can help spur growth of the digital economy, which in turn results in widespread impact on the whole economy. This can only happen with pervasive access to the internet – ensuring connectivity for the unconnected and amplifying use by savvy netizens.

“Digital inclusion will bring tangible and positive social and economic impact to a growing number of Malaysians, and programmes such as the Digi Challenge for Change demonstrates how the internet can enable meaningful advancements in the lives of ordinary Malaysians and empower them to secure a better future.”

“In the age of hyperconnectivity, Malaysia should also start thinking of a more structured approach to ensuring internet safety, especially among our children. I am happy to note that Telenor globally, and Digi in Malaysia, have always been very active advocates of internet safety. The Digi CyberSAFE initiative targeting Malaysian schoolchildren has been very beneficial, and the Ministry is very grateful for your effort,” added YB Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery.

Albern Murty, Digi’s Chief Executive Officer echoed YB Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery’s call for digital inclusion and a safer internet for all in Malaysia. Murty commented, “We believe that internet is for all; for youth, children, women, the underserved, netizens and more. Digi Empower Societies is our commitment to deliver internet for all communities to inspire a better Malaysia – giving Malaysians access to education, healthcare, and business opportunities. We deliver vital services to the people in Malaysia every day, with the belief that the internet can bring a better future for everyone. Our promise is therefore to do all we can through our corporate programmes to help more communities benefit from being connected.”

“As we place internet in the hands of more Malaysians, we will continue our effort to build digital resilience through our CyberSAFE programme in nurturing a safer internet environment for Malaysian children,” he added.

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Launch of the sixth installation of Digi Challenge for Change

Digi Challenge for Change, one of Digi Empower Societies’ flagship programmes, kick-started today with a new focus to engage Malaysian social purpose organisations (SPOs) and solution providers (SPs) to come up with a holistic approach to address a common community issue in Malaysia.

This year’s programme is part of the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) Social Public-Private Partnership initiative led by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) in collaboration with the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS), and endorsed by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. It will centre around the development of innovative internet-enabled solutions for sustainable community impact.

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“Through this challenge, we aim to cultivate a culture of continuous innovation whereby ideas are taken through from creation to adoption to ensure meaningful societal impact. We will continue to leverage on the collective expertise of our partners in helping to shape a conducive ecosystem that nurtures greater capacity building opportunities through access to mentorship, partnerships and funding,” explained Murty.

Digi Challenge for Change is open to all Malaysian SPOs (non-governmental organisations (NGOs), nonprofit organisations (NPOs) and social enterprises). The programme spans over a year and is made up of three phases. It starts with Malaysian SPOs identifying social issues of a target community.  Three shortlisted SPOs are then paired with SPs to form Social Purpose Groups, develop scalable and sustainable solutions using internet-enabled technology, and piloted in one community. The winning Social Purpose Group will finally be required to further scale the initiative to other adjacent communities where appropriate.

The winning Social Purpose Group will take home an incubation package including a matching grant of RM250,000 (Digi and AIM) and the opportunity to be guided and mentored by the programme partners.

For more information on Empower Societies, please visit http://www.digi.com.my/empower and to find out more about Digi Challenge for Change 6, please visit www.digicfc.my.

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