Situation
Huawei Seeds for the Future selects one cohort of students per country each year, and Cambodia sends a small delegation. Being picked means representing the country's tech talent to a regional audience, not just attending a training program.
Task
I was selected as a Cambodian Seed Delegate for the 2023 program, which meant two things at once: completing the technical curriculum, and standing in for Cambodia at the Asia-Pacific summit.
Action
The program ran through Huawei's technical tracks, then moved to China. I spent time in Shenzhen seeing how the technology is actually built, and joined the Asia-Pacific Seeds for the Future Summit 2023 in Shanghai.
At the summit I represented Cambodia on stage, and met with the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN, H.E. Heng Sarith, and with Mr. Simon Lin, President of Huawei Asia Pacific.
Result
The delegation led directly to the next two selections: Cambodia's delegate to COP28 in Dubai later that year under Seeds for the Future 2.0, and then Global Ambassador in 2024 as one of 10 worldwide and Asia-Pacific's Top 1 Seed.
It was the first time I represented my country abroad, which reframed what I thought the work was for. The technical curriculum mattered less than learning to speak for a place, in a room where nobody else would.