Digital Transformation for Empowered Communities
Hybrid Forum | February 3 - 4, 2025 Manila, Philippines
We’re excited to invite you to "Digital Transformation for Empowered Communities," a hybrid forum tailored for young professionals from Southeast Asia. Join us from February 3-4, 2025, in Manila, Philippines, for an event that will spotlight how rapidly evolving digital technologies—like AI, blockchain, and immersive digital platforms—are reshaping our world.
TOPICS
The event will bring together experts, policymakers, and citizens to examine the profound impact of digital transformation on economic and social development. The forum will explore key sectors where digital technologies have made significant strides, including healthcare, education, and the economy.
Digital governance will be another core topic, with insights on creating frameworks to manage the ethical and regulatory aspects of technologies such as AI and big data, enhancing public engagement, transparency, and efficient service delivery. Sessions will further tackle cybersecurity risks, data privacy issues, and employment disruptions that accompany rapid digital adoption, with strategies to help mitigate these risks for sustainable progress. Transformative technologies in action, from blockchain to FinTech and AI will also be addressed.
Skill Building Workshops
Practical workshops will provide hands-on skills to support digital readiness across the population and workforce, including cybersecurity fundamentals, digital literacy integration for educators, citizen engagement tools for governance, and AI-based methods to achieve a healthy information ecosystem for development. Experts will highlight skills crucial for the knowledge economy, focusing on creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability, which become even more vital as traditional roles evolve. Participants will explore career resilience strategies, learning how to handle job disruptions in a tech-driven market.
By the event’s end, participants will be equipped with tools to navigate both the economic shifts of digital transformation and the informational challenges that come with it, ensuring they can contribute responsibly and innovatively to an evolving digital ecosystem.
The forum is organized by World Learning and Digital Communication Network Global with funding from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
SCHEDULE
February 3-4, 2025
Day 1
Opening Remarks
- General Benjamin Acorda, Former Chief of the Philippine National Police, Representative of the Office of the President of the Philippines
- Nikos Panagiotou, President, DCN Global, Greece
- Vlad Spencer, Senior Manager, World Learning, U.S.
Moderators:
Cassandra Nicole Thomazios, Partner, MahWengKwai & Associates, Malaysia, Alexandre Le Voci Sayad, CEO, ZeitGeist, Brazil & Rares Antal, Editor, GenStiri New Media, Romania
Talk: Strategic Foresight in the Digital Age: Demonstrating How Futures Thinking Can Help Organizations Anticipate and Prepare for Technological Disruptions.
Shermon Cruz, UNESCO Chair on Anticipatory Governance and Regenerative Cities, Northwestern University and Chief Futurist, Center for Engaged Foresight, Philippines
Coffee Break
Panel Discussion: Shaping the Digital Future | Advanced Technologies Driving Inclusion and Workforce Accessibility
Moderator: Cassandra Nicole Thomazios, Partner, MahWengKwai & Associates, Malaysia
Panelists
- Richard Kerby, President, Richard Kerby LLC, U.S.
- Renard Jenkins, President & CEO, I2A2 Technologies, Studios & Labs, U.S.
- Yousun Do, Director, APAC, Nuleep, South Korea
Talk: Strategizing Digital Transformation: Building Digital Economies
Pedro Tavares, Public Management Specialist (Digital Transformation), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Philippines
Panel Discussion: Digital Governance and Transformation
Moderator: Diana Filimon, DCN Global Team Member, Romania
Panelists
- YoungSik Kim, Senior Associate Expert, UNU EGOV, South Korea
- Maria Jade Catalan-Opulencia, Senior Business Consultant and Government Relations Specialist, Julphar Group of Companies, UAE & Philippines
- Pandu Kartika Putra, Special Advisor for Digital Transformation to the Minister, Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucracy Reform, Indonesia
Talk: Critical Infrastructure Pursuing Cybersecurity and Connectivity
Mihoko Matsubara, Chief Cybersecurity Strategist, NTT Corporation, Japan
Lunch Break
Parallel Workshops
1. Generative AI (GenAI) and AI Assistant Solutions for Empowering Young Workers in the New Era
Hung Le, CEO and Founder, NamiQ, Vietnam
Ιntroduced by Marianna Tanagia, Communications Director, DCN Global, Greece
2. Digital Governance Fundamentals for Citizens. Understanding Digital Rights and Responsibilities
Kris R. Villanueva-Libunao, Executive Director, SmartCT, Philippines
Introduced by Cassandra Nicole Thomazios, Partner, MahWengKwai & Associates, Malaysia
3. Shaping the Future: Blockchain, Web 3.0, and Digital Transformation
Jasmine Ng K.C., Co-Founder, Starfish Movement / EnGame, Malaysia
Introduced by Vlad Spencer, Senior Manager, World Learning, U.S.
Coffee Βreak
Virtual Session on Future of Meetings in The Digital Age moderated Diana Filimon, Team Member, DCN Global, Romania
- Elizabeth Tasker, Associate Professor, JAXA, Japan (Virtual)
Work Trends in the Digital Age
Lope Doromal Jr., CTO, Microsoft Philippines
Day 2
Talk: Harnessing the AI Opportunity in Southeast Asia
Yves Gonzalez, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Southeast Asia Google
Panel Discussion: Innovation and Smart Cities
Moderator: Vlad Spencer, Senior Manager, World Learning, U.S.
Panelists
- Changho Lee, Executive Vice President, ESE Co., Ltd, South Korea
- Nathchaya Pongakkarawat, Advisor, Public Policy, Digital Government, Digital Infrastructure, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Thailand
- Hakan Kaplan, Founding Partner -Smart Idea Consulting | Istanbul -Turkiye |
Smart City / Superapp Expert
Coffee Break
Panel Discussion: AI-Powered Solutions Driving Sustainable Business Growth: Adoption and Digital Transformation
Moderator: Cassandra Nicole Thomazios, Partner, MahWengKwai & Associates, Malaysia
Panelists
- Josh (Adi Tedjasaputra), Director, Customer Experience Insight Pty Ltd, Australia
- Dr. Eunice Sari, Co-Founder, Customer Experience Insight | UX Indonesia, Australia
- Firnando Buenayre Sirait, CEO, HARA, Indonesia
Panel Discussion: Policy to Manage Digital Transformation
Moderator: Alexander Le Voci Sayad, CEO, ZeitGeist, Brazil
Panelists
- Lim May-Ann, Director of Multilateral Relations, Data Policy, and Partnerships, Access Partnership, Singapore
- Bernie Trompeta, Chief Technical Officer, Bronco Enterprises, Philippines
- Vaibhav Lodha, Co-Founder, ftcash, India
Panel Discussion: Digital Technologies' Impact on Education and Youth
Moderator: Marianna Tanagia, Communications Director DCN Global, Greece
Panelists
- Norita Ahmad, Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytic; Director, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, American University of Sharjah, UAE
- Dr. Brian Bentley, Assistant Professor, Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, Clark Atlanta University, U.S. (VIRTUAL)
- Dun Concha Abiera, CEO / Founder and Managing Director, Work Beyond Borders / Yabong, Philippines
Lunch Break
Parallel Workshops
1. Bridging the Cybersecurity Gap in the Region With Rise of AI
Aimi Ramlee, Co-founder / Director of Digital Innovation & Growth, Tyne Solutions, Brunei
Introduced by Marianna Tanagia, Communications Director, DCN Global, Greece
2. Introduction to FinTech and Decentralized Finance
George Tzegkas (CryptoCapitalist), Economic Analyst, Team Leader, Mondelez Hellas S.E., Greece
Introduced by Rares Antal, Editor, Gen, știri, Romania
3. Digital Trust Frameworks including Education Policy For Digital Literacy
Lim May-Ann, Director of Multilateral Relations, Data Policy, and Partnerships, Access Partnership, Singapore
Introduced by Alexander Le Voci Sayad, CEO, ZeitGeist, Brazil
Coffee Break
Digital Futures Using the Dreams and Disruptions Game
Shermon Cruz, UNESCO Chair on Anticipatory Governance and Regenerative Cities, Northwestern University and Chief Futurist, Center for Engaged Foresight, Philippines
Speakers
