Wong Teck Sion, Head Commercial at Network Integrity Assurance Technologies (NiAT) Sdn Bhd, was honored to be welcomed as one of the guest speakers at the Bruneian Youth on Social Accessibility of the Internet (BYSAI) dialogue-workshop themed, “Internet Access: Connectivity for the Community”, held recently on 13th August 2022 at Pusat Belia, to talk about remote connectivity issues among some of the remote villages in Brunei.
The event was organized by the Brunei Youth Council (MBB) and ASEAN Youth Advocates Network Brunei Darussalam (AYAN Brunei) in conjunction with the 17th National Youth Day Celebration.
Among the invited speakers for the workshop also include Junaidi Bahrum, Chief Sales Officer at Progresif Sdn Bhd; Muhammad Shahrin Muhammad Halim, Principal of Sekolah Ugama Melilas; and Haji Emran Haji Hasan, Assistant Chief Executive for the Digital Connectivity Group at AITI.
In his presentation, Teck Sion took the opportunity to shed lights on NiAT’s recent project with the Ministry of Education, which highlights new approaches to providing internet access for rural schools by incorporating satellite technology which ultimately had a significant effect on the children’s education.
He emphasized that the innovative solution serves to boost and improve the remote learning experience for both teachers and students in Kampong Sukang and Kampong Melilas, whose teaching-and-learning processes were previously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted that one of the project’s main challenges was that access to the village depends entirely on the weather – access was often poor and existing roads were frequently impassable during the raining days.
Despite the challenges, Teck Sion shared his contentment for the success in establishing reliable internet connectivity for the benefit of the community. The success of the project was lauded in the 18th Legislative Council Meeting earlier this year.
Among the objectives of the event were to provide Bruneian youths with a forum for participation in and contributions to solutions for internet accessibility, to amplify and recognize the voices of Bruneian youths, to organize the local youths’ increased participation in social action, to encourage their effective participation in issues pertaining to internet accessibility, among others.
Two of NiAT employees also participated in the event’s activities alongside the young attendees.
