The Public Affairs Section of the U.

S.

Embassy of Kuala Lumpur announces an open competition for a cooperative agreement to develop, implement and organize a three-day Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Regional Workshop in Malaysia to enhance digital governance and digital

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economy programs within the ASEAN region.

The proposed workshop will focus on building local capacity within ASEAN countries to implement practical solutions based on existing technical infrastructure and to bring the benefits of online municipal services, education and economic opportunities to populations outside of major urban centers.

The program will complement good governance and human capital initiatives already underway within the Indo-Pacific strategy.While ASEAN countries are at different stages in infrastructure development and implementation of national digital economy and e-governance strategies, over the near to mid-term, existing infrastructure and access constraints will limit the ability of populations outside major urban centers to take advantage of the digitalization of government services and the growing economic potential of the digital economic space.

This workshop will bring together practitioners from regional governments, municipalities and NGOs with technology experts to develop solutions to increase connectivity The workshop will be held in Sarawak, Malaysia, which is vying to position itself as a regional leader and has devoted significant resources to connect rural populations.