Alvin Tan, Minister of State for MCCY and MTI, together with Dr Santitarn Sathirathai, Sea’s Group Chief Economist, discussed significance of findings at webinar hosted by the Asia Internet Coalition
Singapore, October 19, 2020 – The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), together with Sea Insights, Sea's research and public policy unit, unveiled Sea Insight’s latest study “Singapore Youth Report: Transformation for the post-pandemic world; Turning crisis into opportunity”. The report, which surveyed 2,000 Singapore youths, looked at how they have adapted to the challenges brought about by COVID-19, their adoption of digital tools during the pandemic, and how they fared against their peers in ASEAN.
Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Community, Culture & Youth (MCCY) and Trade & Industry (MTI), together with Sea’s Group Chief Economist Dr Santitarn Sathirathai, discussed the significance of the findings and the opportunities for the government to support the youths in adapting to, and seizing opportunities in, the new normal. The panel also discussed digitalisation’s impact on businesses, workers, students, and consumers in Singapore and the region, and the lasting transformations on these groups beyond COVID-19.
Commenting on the research, Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Community, Culture & Youth (MCCY), Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) said, “COVID-19 is at once a crisis and opportunity of a generation. We must transform quickly to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities it brings.”
These sentiments were echoed by Dr Sathirathai, who elaborated on the report’s various findings during the webinar. He said, “This pandemic has catalysed lasting transformations. Moving forward, digital skills will be a very important enabler to navigate these new waves of change. But equally important is being resilient and adopting a growth mindset. Resilience allows one to weather this ‘storm’ while a growth mindset enables people to pick up new skills so as to bounce back higher and stronger. Despite facing the crisis of their lifetimes, we are heartened to see such tenacity amongst the youths we surveyed.”
“It is increasingly clear that the digital economy will take centre stage in driving economic recovery as countries slowly emerge from the toll of the pandemic. To fully leverage the digital economy to boost economic recovery, governments in the region need to focus on expanding access to the digital economy and not widen the digital divide. Governments need to ensure that the right policy frameworks are in place to maximise the potential of the digital platforms such as e-commerce to drive the growth of their country’s economy as a whole,” said Jeff Paine, Managing Director, Asia Internet Coalition (AIC).
The webinar also provided attendees a look at the vulnerable segments who have been hard hit by COVID-19, some of the existing gaps they face, and how the public, private and social sectors can work together to close these gaps.
To read more about the Singapore Youth Report: Transformation for the post-pandemic world: Turning crisis into opportunity, click here.
The mission of Sea Insights is to foster a deeper understanding of the rapidly evolving digital economy in our region. It aims to inform and engage our communities, across both private and public sectors, on key issues of policy and strategy relevant to the growth of our region’s digital ecosystem.
