The Southeast Asian region, including most countries in the Mekong cluster, has seen a very fast development of digital technology, creating potential for new creative experiences and disrupting traditional models. A recent UNESCO study titled “Backstage: Managing Creativity and the Arts in South-East Asia”, on the creative sector in Southeast Asia revealed that, despite many challenges, there is a great inspiration among the civil society stakeholders and there is a great need for the sector to be better equipped with skills and knowledge so that their work can yield better results. While still in an early stage, the current policy environment in the countries of the Southeast Asian sub-region has shown some favorable condition in which rules and regulations have begun to emerge to facilitate the digital infrastructure to develop the economy.

 This proposed project aims to tackle the forefront of the problems by conducting a digital skills mapping, identifying shortages, and developing and providing training programmes to fill capacity gaps. The project also will raise awareness about the importance of linking digital technologies with culture and creative industries, leading toward recommendations for needed policy changes. This is ultimate to provide opportunities where people from the creative industries can bring much-needed critical reflection, ingenuity, and empathy to some of the most complex problems facing the world today in an enabling digital environment.