APEC Project Database

Project Title

APEC Forum on Women and Youth Empowerment: Enhancing Digital Competitiveness and Inclusive Economic Growth through Innovative Enterprise Education

Project Year

2024

Project Number

HRDWG_201_2024A

Project Session

Session 2

Project Type

Standard

Project Status

Completed Project

Project No.

HRDWG_201_2024A

Project Title

APEC Forum on Women and Youth Empowerment: Enhancing Digital Competitiveness and Inclusive Economic Growth through Innovative Enterprise Education

Project Status

Completed Project

Fund Account

APEC Support Fund

Sub-fund

ASF: Women and the Economy

Project Year

2024

Project Session

Session 2

APEC Funding

70,000

Co-funding Amount

70,000

Total Project Value

140,000

Sponsoring Forum

Human Resource Development Working Group (HRDWG)

Topics

Human Resources Development; Women's Economic Empowerment; Youth; Education

Committee

SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE)

Other Fora Involved

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

Proposing Economy(ies)

Chinese Taipei

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Chile; Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; Philippines; Thailand; United States

Expected Start Date

01/03/2025

Expected Completion Date

30/06/2026

Project Proponent Name 1

Eric Yen-Liang Lin

Job Title 1

Project Director

Organization 1

Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education

Telephone 1

+88627712171

Email 1

ericlin@ntut.edu.tw

Project Proponent Name 2

Alan Yen

Job Title 2

Project Manager

Organization 2

Taipei Tech

Telephone 2

+88691839 9280

Email 2

alanyen@mail.ntut.edu.tw

Declaration

Eric Yen-Liang Lin

Project Summary

With the primary aim of enhancing regional economic productivity and nurturing the essential talent for regional labor markets, this project will focus on implementing methods and practical approaches to train youth's, women's, and individules with disabilities’ vital labor skills, innovative thinking ability, and STEM and digital competency. A three-day event will be held to facilitate discussions and disseminate insights on innovative digital and entrepreneurship education, collaborative projects between industry and academia, and programs promoting female empowerment and entrepreneurial capability. This project supports the priorities of APEC 2024 Peru, "Empower, Include, and Grow," with specific attention to "Trade and investment for inclusive and interconnected growth," "Innovation and digitalization to promote transition to the formal and global economy," and "Sustainable growth for resilient development." It also aligns with the objectives of the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group and the APEC La Serena Roadmap for Women and Inclusive Growth 2019-2030.

Relevance

Region

While the global economy continues to gradually recover, youth unemployment and women economic participation remain serious issues to tackle, and have had a significant influence on regional trade and economies. According to the World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2024 published by International Labour Organization, the resurgence of labor force participation rates to pre-pandemic levels have rebounded better than anticipated. The gender participation gap remains prominent, especially in emerging and developing economies. The report forecasted that by 2025, male participation rates globally are projected to surpass those of women by 25 percentage points. However, in lower-middle-income economies, this gap is expected to be notably higher, reaching 38 percentage points. A parallel gap exists in the global youth unemployment rate, with youth unemployment rates nearly.

3.5 times higher than those of adults in 2023, reaching 13.3% compared to the figure of adult at 3.9%. Furthermore, while the youth labor force participation rate has gradually recovered, there are still many NEETs – young people who are neither studying, employed, undergoing further education, nor participating in any career counseling or training. Among them, the proportion of males is 33.72%, while females account for as high as 66.28%. This age- and gender-biased high unemployment poses substantial obstacles to female integration into the labor market.

To enhance regional economic productivity and cultivate the talent needed for regional labor markets, this project will discuss talent cultivation, innovative digital education, and innovative entrepreneurship policies. It will address the methods and practical approaches on how to train women and youth in the necessary labor skills and digital knowledge, not only to help them smoothly enter the labor market but also to empower them to become self-sufficient entrepreneurs. This project will also integrate contents designed to support individuals with disabilities in pursuing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Eligibility and Fund Priorities
The project seeks to tackle the significance issue of involving women and youth aged from 18 to 30 in the economy inclusively, while equipping them with up-to-date digital and entrepreneurial skills, along with fostering an innovative mindset to facilitate their transition into the current regional labor market. By doing so, this project fits seamlessly with the eligibility criteria for the APEC Support Fund. At the event, insights into innovative digital and entrepreneurship education and the involvement of women in emerging businesses will be presented to inspire the young participants in shaping their future learning and career trajectories. This project, by enriching women's digital and STEM-related knowledge, education, and skills in accordance with the evolving landscape of employment, and by advocating for increased female labor force participation and leadership, closely aligns with the PPWE’s five pillars and the La Serena Roadmap for Women and Inclusive Growth.

Capacity Building

This project is designed to provide participants and APEC member economies with a feasible and comprehensive approach to developing innovative digital and entrepreneurship education as well as female empowerment projects. The project will also boost APEC economies' ability to support the adaptation of the female and youth workforce to the current economic landscape. Additionally, it aims to promote a pragmatic approach of empowering youth and women in the digital economy. The project will also involve various stakeholders across the APEC region in discussing and developing essential contemporary skillsets and promoting a fresh mindset concerning competency assessments for digital skills, talent cultivation, and gender awareness.

Ultimately, these endeavors are directed towards fostering a more inclusive regional growth.

Objectives

The aim of this project is to foster the cultivation of youth talent and empower women by developing digital competency and fostering innovative and inclusive entrepreneurial mindset, which will contribute to long-term regional prosperity and inclusivity.

Alignment

Beneficiaries and Outputs

Output

1) Pre-Forum Survey
The pre-forum survey will be conducted via an online survey questionnaire, helping the PO to identify the latest trends and challenges faced by APEC member economies and exemplars of best practice. The target economies are the hosting economy, Chinese Taipei, and co- sponsoring economies of Chile, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, and United States. Other economies are also welcomed to submit a survey questionnaire. The results of the survey will only be used by PO to build a more specific and concrete agenda and there won’t be any written document produced.

2) 3-Day Forum with Field Visit

There will be a physical event in Taipei for participants and speakers from all 21 economies. The purpose of this forum is for participants to share their knowledge and learn experiences from shared best practices. The target audience includes young entrepreneurs and women who are interested in the topic of innovative entrepreneurship and female empowerment projects, and also policy-makers, training institutions who will directly contribute in gaining skills and knowledge for the targeted groups. The tentative topics and field visit site are listed below. Q&A sessions will be provided in the end of every topic/session/panel discussion to allow participants chances to voice out. The forum will be no less than 8 hours per day. Total duration will be 24 hours.

Day 1 Topics:

(a) “Digital Entrepreneurship Education and Industry-Academia Cooperation for Talent Cultivation”: this session will explore innovative training strategies and curriculum development in entrepreneurship education and digital capacity building to enable and inspire young entrepreneurs-to-be to become prominent entrepreneurs. Participants will engage in innovation entrepreneurship and educational initiates, discussing best practice and related project implementation. (2 speakers)

(b) “Advancing Regional Growth through Innovative and Inclusive Businesses”: this session aims to explore the pivotal role of innovative businesses in fostering regional development with a focus on emerging trends in Fintech and AI, and the availability of related entrepreneurship resources. This session will also incorporate educational approaches to enhance individuals with disabilities in pursuing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. It will provide a platform for experts (educators and training institution representatives), entrepreneurs, and policymakers to discuss strategies in leveraging these sectors to drive sustainable and inclusive growth in the APEC region (3 speakers).

Day 2 Topics:

(a) “Female Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age: Integrative Training in STEM and Leadership Growth”: this session will address the challenges and opportunities for women in STEM fields, and female empowerment projects related to cross-disciplinary training and entrepreneurial education. (2 speakers)

(b) “Female Entrepreneurship Experiences Sharing”: this session will invite female entrepreneurs from the APEC region in the field of digital technology to share their entrepreneurial experiences, the obstacles they encountered, and the resources they utilized. (3 speakers)

Day 3 Field Visit:

Participants will visit significant digital start-up base (i.e. digiBlock Taipei) and entrepreneur's hub (i.e. Impact Hub Taipei) where participants will gain insights into the resources and support that Chinese Taipei offers to empower both young entrepreneurs and women. This will be a half-day visit, followed by a wrap-up session (at least 3 hours) with breakout sessions to recap key discussions and recommendations from participants. A post-event survey will be conducted right after the forum to allow maximum receipt of response from participants. The link will be sent to participants during the wrap-up session and we will allocate 1 hour for filling the survey. The result of this survey will be reported in the Completion Report.

3) Project Final Report
A Project Final Report will be generated and shared with all project stakeholders who express interest after APEC Secretariat's review, endorsement and publication. The report will encompass a cover page, table of contents, introductory, research approach, findings, key discussions and recommendations in the forum, and a concluding summary, a minumum of 15 pages of substances (excluding annexes). The targets will be the participants in this event, policy makers, and government officials, and it will be published in the APEC publications website to ensure broader accessibility.

Outcome

1) Through the post-event survey, participants report increased knowledge, equipping women, young entrepreneurs, and people with disabilities with essential skills including: (1) Market Research and Demand Analysis, (2) Financial Management and Cost Control, (3) Agile Business Model and Minimum Viable Product (MVP), (4) Entrepreneurial Resources and Grant Applications, and (6) Digital Transformation and Automation and, and become better prepared for changing job market, more independent, and successful in their future businesses.

2) Through the post-event survey, participants report gained women's insights on how to effectively utilize knowledge and resources to help them attain their entrepreneurial goals.

3) Through the post-event survey, participants report enhanced understanding of initiatives for female empowerment, innovative and inclusive strategies for entrepreneurship, and startup education across the region.

Beneficiaries

The primary beneficiaries of the project are its intended participants, specifically women, youth (aged 18-30), and individuals with disabilities from the APEC region. By circuate invitation via APEC Secretariat to PPWE and the Friends of the Chair on Promoting Disability Policies, FotC in HRDWG, we will locate the participants who are interested in the topic of this project and send invitations to them. Through the proposed event, which will feature discussions on innovative ideas, business perspectives, female leadership, and interdisciplinary learning, the primary beneficiaries will gain valuable knowledge and skills necessary for today's and tomorrow's job market.

Secondly beneficiaries will be policymakers from women and youth affairs related departments, academic representatives who have been designing and teaching entrepreneurship, and professionals from various sectors who focus on the implementation of women and youth empowerment will benefit from insights on implementing innovative digital education and fostering collaboration between industry and academia. This initiative aims to bolster the competence and knowledge of women, youth, and individuals with disabilities, empowering them to thrive in the current job market and potentially establish their own businesses that will provide long-term benefits to the regional economy. By sharing best practices and experiences, this project will inspire participants to implement similar endeavors in their own respective economies.

Dissemination

In order to achieve sustainability as a common goal for all APEC economies, our project publication will mainly be electronic. Digital versions of project-related materials, including program book, presentation slides, and information on innovative entrepreneurship and female empowerment programs will be sent to all the registered participants at least 1 week prior to the forum. The purpose of the event video is for note-taking and for PO to produce the Project Final Report. The video will not be disseminated. We will attain agreement of all attendees via the GIC. The Project Final Report including the results of the event will be disseminated among related APEC fora and the APEC Secretariat with updates on the project website. It will also be published on APEC website (APEC Publication Database). The aforementioned materials and documents will all be uploaded and available to the public via the project website for participants and stakeholders. The project website (self-funded) will be maintained by the project overseer and will be used afterwards for other APEC related projects for sustainability.

Gender