How to make the world better?
In many cases, it is only a matter of opportunity.
Since 2008, Huawei has promoted "Seeds for the Future," a global youth technology capability development program dedicated to helping develop ICT talent in the countries where it operates. The Tech4Good Competition, which was launched in 2021, is an important program under "Seeds for the Future." The competition encourages students to utilize creative technologies to solve social problems and propose innovative solutions for sustainable development from the perspective of young people.
On June 22, 2023, the launching ceremony of Huawei’s "Seeds for the Future" program was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, marking the 10th consecutive year that Huawei has launched the program in Bangladesh. (Xinhua)
Breaking down audiovisual barriers
According to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), there were 43 million visually impaired and 72 million hearing-impaired people in the world in 2020.
The loss of hearing disconnects them from the outside world, and the loss of vision restricts their footsteps to the world.
They may have different characteristics, but they share the same passion for the world and look forward to engaging better into society and living their own lives.
Nguyen Quoc Hung is a physically challenged man from Vietnam. His mother has extreme difficulty communicating with others after losing her hearing in an accident.
Nguyen Quoc Hung said: "When my mom lost her hearing, I had to hire a sign language interpreter. It was quite expensive and the communication was time-consuming. Other than the deliberate and excessive concern of society, what we really need is to communicate and connect with others on an equal footing. I had thought about developing an app that can translate sign language and using technology to help people with disabilities, but I don't have the required digital skills to turn this idea into reality."
After participating in the "Seeds for the Future" program, he said, "I met many programming and design experts, gained a lot of business and technological knowledge from my mentors, and learned a lot about AI and 5G."
With the help of mentors from Huawei, he successfully developed a sign language interpreting app to help the hearing-impaired communicate. Utilizing artificial intelligence technology, this app can convert vocal to text and convert sign language to speech. It is very user-friendly and interactive.
Now, Nguyen Quoc Hung's mother helps promote the sign language interpreting app. Through social media, more and more Vietnamese people know about this app and share it with parents of children who cannot hear or speak. This app helps more Vietnamese with hearing problems communicate with the world and find jobs. More importantly, they can now live more equally and better integrate into society.
This is a good example of how technology can empower information communication and how digital technology can tear down barriers and facilitate the integration of different groups.
Intelligent "physical examination" to guard water quality
During the monsoon season, when rainfall in rural Ghana becomes heavier, sewage and chemical waste from local mining often infiltrates the water supply. It is difficult for people to tell if the water is contaminated with the naked eye or their sense of smell, and villagers are at risk of poisoning from time to time.
Enter Gladys Obuobi, Martha Esinam Kekele Demanya and Esther Aboagyewaa Abankwa are female students from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana's second-largest city. While participating in the "Seeds for the Future" program in 2021, they realized that perhaps they could do something to solve the problem of the contaminated water.
With the help of mentors from Huawei, the girls developed WaterBits, a low-cost AI water quality testing instrument. It is based on an open-source AI framework that combines knowledge of physics, biology and math, and is capable of detecting water safety with an accuracy of 93%.
Their team participated in Huawei's Tech4Good Competition in 2021, winning second place in the Innovation Technology group, as well as the Women in Tech Award. They said that women's abilities are often underestimated in the field of science and technology, and participating in the program allowed them to prove themselves.
On November 10, 2015, Botswana's Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development Moiseraela Goya (1st R) presents a certificate of participation to a student sponsored by Huawei's "Seeds for the Future" program in Gaborone, capital of Botswana. (Xinhua)
Now, they hope to partner with NGOs and enterprises to promote the technology in rural Ghana. "Most rural people get their drinking and cooking water mainly from rainwater and wells. We feel proud to be able to help them," said Enter Gladys Obuobi.
On October 4, 2019, guests pose for a photo with student winners of Huawei's 2019 "Seeds for the Future" program in Lusaka, capital of Zambia. (Xinhua)
Sowing wisdom to illuminate dreams of young people
Bhag Chand from Kartarpur Village in the arid region along the India-Pakistan border is a young man with big ambitions.
He was always the top student in his class as a child. However, his school did not even have electricity, let alone computers or internet access. Living in the desert, there is only the open sky above his head. Often, he would wonder what the world was like beyond this desert.
Through hard work, Bhag got admitted to the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, which opened a door for him to a new world. In 2021, he signed up for the Tech4Good Competition along with two other students, and their team was selected out of more than 10,000 Pakistani students.
Now, Bhag has become an IP service engineer, and he could learn a little more about the world beyond the desert every single day.
Reem Alali, an Emirati girl who participated in the "Seeds for the Future" program in 2020, is currently working as an engineer at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre Laboratory. "I hope to lead the development and landing of AI in this country," she said.
Mayed Fahem Al Nuaimi, a fellow program participant who holds a bachelor's degree in mechatronics engineering, said, "I hope to be a leader of one of the big cloud service companies or a minister in the UAE's technology sector."
Khawala Albalooshi, who participated in the "Seeds for the Future" program in 2022, said: "I love brainstorming, innovative and practical ideas, and taking on challenges. Participating in this competition made me interested in artificial intelligence, metaverse, cloud technology and 5G."
On September 21, 2020, Brunei's Deputy Minister of Education Hjh Romaizah (1st R, front row) visits the teaching facilities of the 2020 "Seeds for the Future" program in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. (Xinhua)
Currently, the "Seeds for the Future" program has reached more than 2.2 million people in more than 150 countries, and the 2023 Tech4Good Competition attracted 120,000 students from more than 2,000 universities in 74 countries. Simon Lin, president of Huawei Asia-Pacific Region, said: "The participating 'seeds' represent hope, passion and future. The 'seeds' have grown into a global 'forest.'" (By Dong Xiaohan)
On November 14, 2022, Long Zhou (2nd L), Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, and Gospel Kazako (2nd R), Malawian Minister of Information and Digitalization, attend the launching ceremony of the 2022 "Seeds for the Future" program in Lilongwe, capital of Malawi. (Xinhua)
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