DiGi announces two winners for Telenor Youth Summit 2014

DiGi announces two winners for Telenor Youth Summit 2014
Christine Cheah and Yong Wei Shian to represent Malaysia at Summit, held in conjunction with the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize event

SHAH ALAM, 10 November 2014 - DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd ("DiGi") today announced Christine Cheah and Yong Wei Shian as the winners for the Telenor Youth Summit challenge, which called for youths to submit current initiatives or innovative ideas on how digital communication can be utilised to fuel social and economic change. As local winners of the challenge, both will represent Malaysia at the second edition of the Summit in Oslo, Norway from 9 to 11 December this year.

The Telenor Youth Summit is an inspiring three-day conference organised by Telenor Group, in partnership with the Nobel Peace Center. This global initiative will bring together 26 social entrepreneurs - two from each of Telenor’s 13 business units across Asia and Europe, including DiGi - to learn, collaborate, refine and extend the impact of their mobile internet initiatives towards a better future for individuals and communities in their respective countries. They will also get a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience to participate in the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and other related events including the CNN interview of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, and the Nobel Prize Concert.

Joachim Rajaram, DiGi's Head of Communications & Corporate Responsibility said, “Mobile technology is an enabler for socio-economic change. This Summit supports Telenor and DiGi’s mission to enable Internet for All through a platform that creates opportunities for our internet generation to leverage on mobile technology and change the lives of societies.

“This year would be of particular interest to the youth community as the Peace Prize recipients Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi are apt role models for aspiring youth for their relentless efforts in championing their causes. Our two winners were chosen based on their keen interest and commitment in the betterment of their community. Both Christine and Wei Shian have, on their own initiative, made some progress in bringing their ideas to life. We congratulate them both, and look forward to them bringing not only their ideas but also their innovative thinking and dynamic energy to the Summit,” he added.

25-year-old news reporter Christine won for her idea of a mobile app to connect cancer patients via a virtual support group, inspired by her late mother’s own experience as a cancer patient. “Most cancer patients often feel anxious and fearful of the uncertainties in coping with their illness. And most of the time, they are without an outlet where they can share their feelings and emotions, and receive input, support and guidance from others facing this disease. My idea is to create a unified platform that can help these patients to communicate and provide emotional support to each other. The app will also have a feature that allows doctors and other professional caregivers to be part of the virtual group, giving advice and consultation,” she shared.

Wei Shian, 21, a pharmacy student, submitted an idea that addresses the issue of food wastage in Malaysia, comprising unconsumed and near-expiry food - contributed by restaurants, bakeries, hoteliers and wholesalers. “Malaysia wastes up to 15,000 tonnes of food daily and this gave me an idea on how - instead of wasting it, we can use this abundant food surplus to feed the underprivileged. I envisioned a mobile app that can facilitate food transfers by connecting the respective contributors to soup kitchens and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who provide food for the needy.”

For more information on the Telenor Youth Summit 2014, please visit http://digi.my/tys