Huawei's Seeds for the Future Summit opens in El Salvador

The event brings together 130 young talents from all over Latin America and the Caribbean, who will participate in various training activities related to ICT.

El Salvador is the home of Latin American and Caribbean talent. This day the Chinese technology giant Huawei, together with the Salvadoran government and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), inaugurated the Seeds for the Future 2024 Summit, which is being held for the first time in El Salvador and will conclude on August 31.

More than 130 young people from all over Latin America and the Caribbean, who have excelled in Seeds for the Future, Huawei’s flagship global corporate social responsibility program that provides training in cutting-edge technologies and promotes cultural exchange and entrepreneurship, are participating in the meeting.

Since its launch in Latin America in 2014, the initiative has benefited more than 2,100 students in 20 countries in the region.

Daniel Ding, vice president of Huawei Central America and the Caribbean, explained that, during this week, the young talents will participate in intensive training on the latest trends in the ICT sector, compete in the Tech4Good challenge, which focuses on sustainable solutions, and attend leadership sessions on the digital future.

He also highlighted that the summit will allow them to experience a cultural exchange and establish contacts with professionals from other countries.

“We have been practicing our mission in the Latin America and Caribbean region for more than 25 years, hand in hand with our industry partners, universities, organizations and local governments through various programs that promote ICT knowledge transfer, soft skills development and critical thinking of talented young people. We will continue to invest in co-innovation and drive industry success. Particularly for the Seeds for the Future program, we will continue our commitment to create opportunities for more students in this region,” said Ding.

The inauguration event was attended by the president of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, Ernesto Castro; the Minister of Education, Mauricio Pineda; the Minister of Culture, Raúl Castillo; the Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez; the director of the UNESCO office for Colombia, Central America and Mexico, Alexander Leicht, and other senior executives of the Chinese firm.

Minister Pineda said in his welcoming remarks that Seeds for the Future is an example of how technology offers new educational opportunities for all and transforms lives.

“We are honored to host such a high-level summit. This program represents a signature step towards modernization,” he said.

In the same vein, Congressman Ernesto Castro said: “Technology transforms our lives, without a doubt. It is essential that future generations acquire the digital skills necessary for this new world. The private sector, in this sense, is a key factor for young people to develop their digital talent. From the Legislative Assembly we will work hand in hand to promote these skills that will allow the development of a stronger national economy”.

For his part, Alexander Leicht of UNESCO said that this summit is a great opportunity to promote the development of ICT talent in the Americas and make this issue even more relevant in government agendas.

“We also appreciate this collaboration with Huawei and the Ministry of Education of El Salvador as an essential step towards a more prosperous and inclusive future for all people,” he said.

It is important to mention that, in 2008, Huawei first unveiled the Seeds for the Future program in Thailand, then in 2021 launched Seeds for the Future 2.0 (SEEDS), which pledges $150 million in funding through 2026 to help improve the digital skills of university students and youth.

Source: Diario El Salvador