FIJI is participating in this year’s seminar on ‘Digital Culture Construction for the Belt and Road’, currently taking place in Beijing, China.
The two-week seminar brought together 35 experts from IT and cultural sectors in belt and road countries to learn, build network and integrate knowledge gained into their own line of work.
Suva City Council’s IT specialist Albert Kai Tung Wong was selected to represent Fiji at the event.
Mr Wong is amongst the few behind the development of Fiji’s 2025-2030 digital strategy that outlines goals for a digital transformation in the country by the year 2030.
In an interview with this newspaper, Mr Wong said he planned to learn from the organisers and gain knowledge on certain aspects of integrating technology in development spaces in Fiji.
“There’s a lot of things that we’re wanting to do back home, so one of the things I really want to do during this two weeks period is to communicate with all those people that work in this area so I can gain more advise and also see what’s available so that I can take that back.
“I am planning to look for partnerships that I can work with in order for us back home to achieve that digital strategy for Fiji.”
He said one of the things he noted since arrival was the use of technology by most service providers in China.
“Since arrival in Hong Kong, I noticed that everything has transitioned to e-service.
“From the services at the airport to basic things like ordering food in restaurants. It was all done through phones,” he said.
“So, I really admired that, and I was thinking, we have the potential to apply that in Fiji. If a huge country like China can do it, so can we.”
The event was organised and funded by the Chinese Government and with the nomination from the Chinese Cultural Centre and backing of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji.
Note: This article was first published on the print version of the Fiji Times dated June 11, 2025
