ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEAN DSE) is a flagship programme under the ASEAN Foundation’s partnership with SAP, and it has been running for seven years. It’s a regional digital technology programme with the enablement session as one of its programmatic segments. It is a data analytics training using SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) and an app development training using SAP Build Apps. In the last three years, the enablement session targeted not only tertiary students and lecturers but also underserved youths across the 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS). Considering the positive outcomes of the sessions for underserved youths, this year the ASEAN Foundation will re-organise the sessions. The sessions will target underserved youths aged 15 to 30 years, having interest in data analytics and app development with no coding required regardless of the educational background and falling under one of the following categories:
▪ Youth 1 – Youths living in remote areas, tier2/3 cities*
▪ Youth 2 – Youths with disabilities
▪ Youth 3 – Youths with forced displacement status**/Youths from certain ethnic minority
▪ Youth 4 – Youths with certain gender identity
▪ Youth 5 – Youths with no or less access to technology
▪ Youth 6 – Youths from lower to middle economic background***
* tier2/3: cities outside the capital city of the country
** forcibly displaced individuals: those “forced to move, within or across borders, due
to armed conflict, persecution, terrorism, human rights violations and abuses,
violence, the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters, development
projects or a combination of these factors” (United Nations)
***lower to middle economic background: family income < USD 4,255/year or approx.
<USD 354/ month (World Bank, 2022)
The inclusion of the above groups of youths is essentially relevant to the main goal of the programme which is to bridge digital divide among the 10 AMS and reach out to as many youths as possible regardless of their socio-economic background. The ASEAN Foundation and SAP are seeking to partner up with potential working partners which have a vision and missions to empower youths, particularly underserved youths, with relevant skills to enable them to have better opportunities for their future. These working partners will support the ASEAN Foundation and SAP to implement the enablement sessions targeted at the youths mentioned above. It is mandatory that these partners have direct access to the youths.