Director of the Digital Society and Digital Competencies Department at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Duha al-Buhendi, underscored the importance of continuously developing the education system, keeping pace with global trends and figuring out future skills to help empower all segments of society to adopt cutting-edge technology, foremost among them artificial intelligence, while ensuring its safe and responsible use.
The official was speaking during her participation in a panel discussion on digital inclusion and human capital, held as part of MWC26 Doha, which is taking place under the theme of the IQ Era from Nov 8 to 10 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC).
The session, moderated by Executive Producer at Euronews, Leila Hamira, featured a contingent of experts and specialists, including Inclusive Growth and Digital Transformation Team Leader at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt, Dr Abeer Shakweer; Chief People Officer at VEON, Jameel Asghar; and Founder and CEO of Qatar-based climate-tech startup Vora, Anas Rustom.
Al-Buhendi said that modern technology and technological innovations are bringing about fundamental changes in the nature of jobs and working methods, requiring continued study of future skills and the risks accompanying these transformations.
She also spotlighted a raft of national initiatives in the State of Qatar, including the Future Skills Observatory, which works to anticipate future jobs and identify expected gaps in the labour market, thereby helping develop more accurate projections of the skills required.
Al-Buhendi highlighted that MCIT's programmes aim to bolster digital inclusion and address the needs of various segments of society by embedding technological concepts among children at an early age, providing training and skills development programmes for the workforce to gird it to deal with current and future technologies, and extending support to older people to build their confidence in technology and empower them to use it to make their daily lives easier.
The Qatar Government Readiness Academy has successfully trained more than 40,000 government functionaries in emerging technologies to promote innovation in the government sector, while expanding its services to the private sector and startups, recalled al-Buhendi.
She also drew attention to SafeSpace, a digital safety platform dedicated to raising awareness of cyber risks and empowering students, parents and teachers to use technology safely.
Regarding efforts to empower groups most in need of digital inclusion, al-Buhendi said the Ministry had implemented the digital connection programme in collaboration with several entities. Over the course of a decade, she added, the programme helped train nearly one mn blue-collar workers, while also recycling digital devices to help facilitate their access to essential government services and strengthen their communication with their families.
Al-Buhendi concluded by affirming that the State of Qatar bets on the Digital Inclusion Index to identify digital gaps and support workers with lower skill levels, in partnership with the private sector and startups.
She stressed that the objective is not limited to helping individuals use technology; it extends to empowering them to participate actively in the digital transformation process and ensuring that no one is left behind.
