Digital Society

About this programme

Highlight

Harnessing Digital Platforms for Southeast Asia’s Inclusive Prosperity

Beyond their economic benefits, digital platforms are advancing sustainable development goals through efficiency, accessibility, scale, and agility. In this article, Samsu Sempena, Director of Technology

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Balancing Connectivity and Youth Mental Well-Being: Challenges of Social Media

A recent study by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) highlighted that many young people in Singapore are experiencing

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Leveraging AI for Good: Harnessing AI to Combat Cybercrime

During the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise's (GFCE) Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Meeting 2024, the Tech for Good Institute participated in a

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Building Digital Trust Through Diversity: Women Shaping Cybersecurity’s Future

At the Singapore International Cyber Week 2024, the Tech For Good Institute engaged in pivotal discussion on diversity in tech. Our Founding Executive Director, Ming

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Shaping the Digital Future: Regulatory Updates from Vietnam

In the third part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Dr. Thao Nguyen Minh from Vietnam's Central Institute

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Enabling Social Resilience through Digital Transformation of Nonprofits

In this article, Hamizah Myra, Keith Detros, and Nguyen Hoang Minh Ngoc from Tech For Good

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Featured authors

Research

Rigorous studies and data that inform regional tech policies

Report 04 Nov 2026

Realising Scam Resilience in Southeast Asia-6

The report examines the state of scam resilience in Southeast Asia, focusing on six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Surveying 6,000 respondents across these countries, the report outlines the severity and effects of scam risks on the region’s digital economy aspirations, anchoring on the user experience throughout the scam lifecycle. It presents an updated view of the potential policy priorities for realising scam resilience in Southeast Asia through a whole-of-society approach.

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Resources 05 Oct 2026

Confident Digital Society Dashboard

Explore the Confident Digital Society Index (CDSI) and use the interactive dashboard to compare digital foundations and future-readiness across nine Southeast Asian countries. Discover the data, explore key indicators, and contribute your own insights on realising confident digital societies in the region.

Insights

Expert analysis on regional emerging trends

Perspectives 09 Oct 2026

Sovereignty, Safety, Skilling: What Six Roundtables across Southeast Asia Taught Us About AI Governance

Across six roundtables in Southeast Asia under our Tech Governance in Southeast Asia-6 series, stakeholders identified three priorities shaping the region’s next phase of AI governance: sovereignty, safety, and skilling. This article by Keith Detros, Programme Manager, and Duong Dinh, Programme Associate at the Tech for Good Institute, examines how these priorities are taking different forms across countries and why regional cooperation will be critical to turning national approaches into a more resilient and interoperable AI ecosystem.

Perspectives 28 Aug 2026

What does the World Cup teach Southeast Asia About Its Digital Future

AI can level the playing field, but technology alone never guarantees success. Using the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a lens, this article explores how football serves as a practical policy laboratory—revealing how nations must pair AI access with deep investments in talent, institutions, and local innovation ecosystems to build lasting digital capability.

Perspectives 14 Aug 2026

Keeping Creativity Human: How AI and Art should coexist in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia (SEA)'s arts and technology ecosystem is uniquely shaped by tradition, modernity, and rapid digital evolution. Drawing on the British Council's latest research into these regional trends, this article explores how AI and art should coexist in Southeast Asia through targeted policy frameworks that protect human authorship and preserve cultural memory.

Engagements

Dialogues connecting policymakers, researchers and industry

Event Highlights 05 Oct 2026

Bridging the AI Readiness Gap for Southeast Asia’s SMEs

Event Highlights 28 Aug 2026

Building the AI Capabilities Southeast Asia’s SMEs Need to Stay Competitive

Event Highlights 28 Aug 2026

From Policy to Delivery: Building Digital Capability

Across the region

Perspectives 19 Mar 2026

Online Harms, Part I: The Hidden Barriers to Reporting Online Abuse

Despite the serious impact of online harms, many survivors struggle to report them. This article is part of a Reporting Online Harms series, which adopts a behavioural insights lens to unpack the barriers to reporting and explores how policy responses can reduce–rather than compound–the challenges survivors face.

Perspectives 06 Mar 2026

From Communication to Connection: Learnings from Tech-Enabled Public Projects

Drawing from a presentation at GovInsider Live MY.AI Day in Putrajaya, Malaysia, this article by Ming Tan, Senior Fellow and Founding Executive Director at the Tech for Good Institute, and Angeline Tong, Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer at HOL, examines how digital technologies are reshaping government-citizen relationships from communication to connection and motivation at scale.

Perspectives 26 Jan 2026

From Motivation to Action: Building Future-Ready Citizens Through Lifelong Learning

In this article, Dr Charmaine Tan highlights that lifelong learning is as much a behavioural challenge as a policy one. Drawing on evidence from Singapore, the article discusses how psychological barriers, information gaps, and a lack of employer support prevent turning motivation into action. It also outlines how better design can help close the confidence gap and build a more resilient workforce.

Perspectives 06 Jul 2026

The Balancing Act: Harmonising AI Development and Governance in Southeast Asia

In this article, Malaysia’s national centre driving the adoption and governance of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, Malaysia Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (MYCentre4IR) provides a regional overview of AI governance and safety approaches, followed by a deep dive into Malaysia’s AI safety and governance efforts. This article is the first part of a two-part series examining ASEAN’s AI safety and governance landscape.

Perspectives 22 Jan 2025

Charting Malaysia’s Digital Future: A Digital Odyssey

In the rapidly evolving global digital landscape, Malaysia must chart an ambitious course towards technological transformation. As 2025 approaches, the nation should not merely adapt to the digital age but actively reshape its economic and social fabric through a bold, comprehensive digital strategy. In this article, Fabian Bigar, Secretary General of Malaysia's Ministry of Digital, shares his aspirations and vision for 2025, with a particular focus on the future of Malaysia's digital landscape.

Perspectives 09 Sep 2024

Malaysia’s Journey Towards AI Literacy

This article is based on the press release of the launch of the “AI untuk Rakyat” programme by Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh De on 5th June 2024.

Country Spotlights 06 Feb 2026

Advancing Platform Governance in Thailand: Developing a Comprehensive Framework for Fairness and User Protection

Digital platform regulation is among Southeast Asia’s most pressing economic challenges, driven by rapid market expansion and the need to balance innovation with oversight. Thailand is no exception. This article explores Thailand’s ambitious draft Platform Economy Act (PEA), the stakeholder debate surrounding its EU-inspired approach, and shares strategic recommendations for Thai policymakers.

Country Spotlights 31 Mar 2023

National-level priorities to grow the digital economy: Spotlight on Thailand

As part of Tech For Good Institute's new qualitative study to better understand how the concept of “Tech for Good” may apply in the context of Southeast Asia, this series provides an overview of the national-level priorities of Southeast Asia-6 (SEA-6) [1] economies as they pursue digital economy development. This article also examines how Digital Economy Companies (DECs) can play a part to advance the countries' digital economy.

Country Spotlights 05 Dec 2025

Strengthening Indonesia’s Regulatory and Coordination Framework to Address Online Frauds and Scams

Online fraud represents a critical socio-economic threat to Indonesia, inflicting substantial financial losses and eroding trust in the digital ecosystem. Indonesia's exposure is exacerbated by structural vulnerabilities and an institutional framework that has yet to fully adapt to modern digital threats. This article examines regulatory gaps in data governance and inter-agency coordination, offering four concrete priorities for policymakers to modernise consumer protection, centralise victim support, and deepen regional collaboration.

Country Spotlights 20 Oct 2025

Digital Transformation: Building Future-Ready Government and Policy

Digital technology is transforming how governments serve their citizens. In this article, Chairul Saleh, Assistant Deputy for Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, explores how Indonesia is leveraging digitalisation, innovative policies, and public-private partnerships to deliver more efficient, inclusive, and citizen-centred public services.

Building Resilience Against Digital Scams in SEA 03 Jan 2025

Addressing Legal Ambiguities and Regulatory Gaps: Defining Online Fraud and Scams in Indonesia

In this piece, Joanna Octavia, a researcher at Safer Internet Lab, explores the critical need for clear and consistent definitions of online fraud and scams in Indonesia, highlighting how regulatory ambiguity and fragmentation hinder effective action and coordination in combating these evolving threats.

Building Resilience Against Digital Scams in SEA 20 Nov 2025

Awareness Vaccine for Vietnam’s “Perfect Storm” of Online Scams

Vietnam is facing a "perfect storm" of online scams, driven by rapid digital adoption, sophisticated AI-driven tactics, and deep psychological manipulation. This article explores this psychological war and shares strategic recommendations for building a "human firewall" through a national "awareness vaccine."

Country Spotlights 22 Oct 2024

Shaping the Digital Future: Regulatory Updates from Vietnam

In the third part of our 6-part series on Tech Governance in Southeast Asia, Dr. Thao Nguyen Minh from Vietnam's Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) delves deeply into Vietnam's tech governance landscape for the first half of 2024.

Read the Vietnamese version of this article.

Interested to read the full summary of our Tech Regulation insights across Southeast Asia? Subscribe to the Tech for Good Institute mailing list to receive the latest research, insights, and updates.

A Resilient SEA Cyberspace in SEA 27 Oct 2023

Prioritising Education and Awareness to Achieve Cyber Resilience: Insights from Vietnam

In this article, Vladimir Mariano, Lead Faculty for Technology and Innovation at YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam highlights the importance of education in Vietnam's cyber resilience journey. This article builds on the Tech For Good Institute's latest research on Cyber Resilience.

Read the Vietnamese version of this article.

Country Spotlights 26 Jan 2026

A Grounded Approach to Scam Prevention in the Philippines

In this article, Jocel De Guzman, Co-Founder of Scam Watch Pilipinas, details how the Philippines can create a culturally-relevant and community-driven approach to build resilience against scams in the Philippines. In addition, a unified national anti-scam policy framework can help to scale this people-centred defence.

Perspectives 24 Oct 2025

Enabling a Digital Future that Works for Every Filipino

This article is based on the opening remarks given by Assistant Secretary Celine Dee at the Evolution of Tech Governance in Southeast Asia: Spotlight on the Philippines, held on 24 July 2025, in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Country Spotlights 05 Apr 2023

National-level priorities to grow the digital economy: Spotlight on the Philippines

As part of Tech For Good Institute's new qualitative study to better understand how the concept of “Tech for Good” may apply in the context of Southeast Asia, this series provides an overview of the national-level priorities of Southeast Asia-6 (SEA-6) [1] economies as they pursue digital economy development. This article also examines how Digital Economy Companies (DECs) can play a part to advance the countries' digital economy.

Perspectives 09 Oct 2026

Sovereignty, Safety, Skilling: What Six Roundtables across Southeast Asia Taught Us About AI Governance

Across six roundtables in Southeast Asia under our Tech Governance in Southeast Asia-6 series, stakeholders identified three priorities shaping the region’s next phase of AI governance: sovereignty, safety, and skilling. This article by Keith Detros, Programme Manager, and Duong Dinh, Programme Associate at the Tech for Good Institute, examines how these priorities are taking different forms across countries and why regional cooperation will be critical to turning national approaches into a more resilient and interoperable AI ecosystem.

Perspectives 28 Aug 2026

What does the World Cup teach Southeast Asia About Its Digital Future

AI can level the playing field, but technology alone never guarantees success. Using the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a lens, this article explores how football serves as a practical policy laboratory—revealing how nations must pair AI access with deep investments in talent, institutions, and local innovation ecosystems to build lasting digital capability.

Perspectives 14 Aug 2026

Keeping Creativity Human: How AI and Art should coexist in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia (SEA)'s arts and technology ecosystem is uniquely shaped by tradition, modernity, and rapid digital evolution. Drawing on the British Council's latest research into these regional trends, this article explores how AI and art should coexist in Southeast Asia through targeted policy frameworks that protect human authorship and preserve cultural memory.

EXPLORE

Focus areas that might interest you

Digital Economy

Tech Governance

Examining how Southeast Asia is shaping tech governance through evolving regulation, policy innovation, and regional cooperation to support responsible digital development.

Digital Economy

Responsible AI Adoption

Examining how AI can be adopted responsibly to strengthen businesses, improve livelihoods, and address emerging risks across Southeast Asia.

Digital Society

Inclusive Digital Growth

Exploring how Southeast Asia can foster more inclusive digital growth through stronger readiness, participation, and future-ready digital capabilities.

Digital Economy

Financial Inclusion

Exploring how digital technologies can expand financial inclusion and improve access to financial services for underserved communities across Southeast Asia.

Digital Economy

Digital Sustainability

Exploring how Southeast Asia can harness digital innovation, regional cooperation, and responsible business to advance sustainable development and growth.

Digital Economy

Digital Resilience

Examining how Southeast Asian economies can strengthen resilience against cyber threats through stronger capabilities, coordination, and adaptive governance.

Digital Society

Digital Platforms for Public Benefit

Examining how digital platforms can create public value through inclusive access, cross-sector collaboration, and more effective digital governance in Southeast Asia.

Digital Society

Confident Digital Society

Exploring how Southeast Asia can build a more confident digital society through stronger trust, resilience, and protection against emerging digital risks.

EXPLORE

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Mouna Aouri

Programme Fellow

Mouna Aouri is an Institute Fellow at the Tech For Good Institute. As a social entrepreneur, impact investor, and engineer, her experience spans over two decades in the MENA region, South East Asia, and Japan. She is founder of Woomentum, a Singapore-based platform dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs in APAC through skill development and access to growth capital through strategic collaborations with corporate entities, investors and government partners.

Dr Ming Tan

Senior Fellow & Founding Executive Director

Dr Ming Tan is Senior Fellow at the Tech for Good Institute; where she served as founding Executive Director of the non-profit focused on research and policy at the intersection of technology, society and the economy in Southeast Asia. She is concurrently a Senior Fellow at and the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore and Advisor to the Founder of the COMO Group, a Singaporean portfolio of lifestyle companies operating in 15 countries worldwide. Ming was previously Managing Director of IPOS International, part of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. Prior to joining the public sector, she was Head of Stewardship of the COMO Group.


Ming also serves on the boards of several private companies, Singapore’s National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), and on the Digital and Technology Advisory Panel for Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre. Her current portfolio spans philanthropy, social impact, sustainability and innovation.