JAKARTA: Indonesia is partnering with the UAE to train 10 million young people in programming in the next three years, its Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has announced, as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy seeks to equip its youth with stronger tech skills.
Indonesia has the world’s third-largest youth population, with over 64 million people aged between 16 and 30, comprising almost a quarter of the country’s population. It also has the third-highest number of software developers in the Asia-Pacific, after India and China.
The 10 Million Coders initiative was launched earlier this week on the sidelines of the Indonesia-UAE Government Experience Exchange Forum in Jakarta, as the two countries seek to strengthen their digital and tech cooperation.
“We are launching this collaboration to strengthen our digital talent capacity, especially with this digital literacy program, which will train 10 million coders among Indonesia’s younger generation,” Nezar Patria, deputy minister of communications and digital affairs, told reporters.
“This cooperation seeks to strengthen the nation’s digital talent not only as users, but hopefully to become developers in new and emerging tech, such as artificial intelligence.”
