Identifying A Gap
At 10am, we asked a simple question:
“Who here has used AI before?”
Two hands went up.
By 4.15pm, all 23 hands were raised.
In between those two moments was a day of questions, curiosity, a little trial and error, and plenty of “Oh, AI can do that?” moments.
This was Jom Pand.AI, a free AI literacy workshop organised by Telcowin for the community of Taman Sri Sinar, with the support of Digitalise MY and Pusat NADI Taman Sri Sinar.
The workshop was designed around a simple idea: as AI becomes increasingly present in our everyday lives, access to technology should also come with access to the knowledge needed to use it safely, confidently and responsibly.
Because being AI-ready isn't simply about knowing which button to press. It starts with understanding what you're using.
What Does Being AI Ready Mean?
As AI rapidly evolves, transforming into new versions at an unprecedented pace and seamlessly weaving itself into our everyday tasks, it continues to raise the bar for efficiency and innovation. But as the technology moves forward, ordinary Malaysians risk being left behind.
AI may be ready for many, but for many more, the unknown can become a barrier, potentially even a threat to their skills and safety.
That is why AI literacy matters.
Jom Pand.AI, which translates loosely to “Let's Get Smart”, was created as a basic AI literacy workshop to help participants take that first step. Rather than simply teaching people which AI tools to use, the workshop focused on helping participants understand what AI is, how to use it effectively, and how to navigate it safely and responsibly.
From learning how to give better instructions to AI, to exploring how it can support everyday tasks and small businesses, participants were introduced to practical ways AI could fit into their lives. Just as importantly, they learned about the limitations of AI, the risks of AI-related scams, and why personal or confidential information should never be shared carelessly with AI tools. We stuck to the message that being AI-ready isn't just about knowing how to use AI. It's about knowing how to use it wisely.
So, when 23 people raised their hands at the end of the day, confident that they knew how to use AI more responsibly and effectively, the image captured exactly what immediate community impact can look like.
Small steps to big change.
Turning Our Pledge Into Action
For Telcowin, Jom Pand.AI was more than a workshop. It was one small way of turning our commitment to Pledge 1% into something tangible within the community. Pledge 1% is a global movement, co-founded by our partner Salesforce, that encourages companies to give back by committing a portion of their resources towards creating positive social impact. For Telcowin, that commitment means finding ways to share not only resources, but also our people, time and expertise with the communities around us.
Education felt like a natural place to begin.
Technology has always been at the heart of what we do. As AI becomes an increasingly important part of the technological landscape, we saw an opportunity to use that knowledge to make the technology a little more accessible to people who may not otherwise have the chance to explore it fully.
Jom Pand.AI was made possible through a collaboration between Telcowin, a youth-led NGO Digitalise MY, and Pusat NADI Taman Sri Sinar.
Telcowin fully financed the workshop, while our employees contributed their time and skills as volunteers. Digitalise MY supported us in developing the curriculum and planning the programme, while Pusat NADI helped us reach the local community, provided the space for the workshop to take place, and connected us with small F&B businesses that we supported by having them as catering for our event.
It was a relatively small initiative. But perhaps that is the point.
Social impact doesn't always have to begin with something big. Sometimes, it begins with the willingness to share what you know with someone who has never had the proper opportunity to learn it.
From the day
Then The Questions Came In
Perhaps the most heartwarming and inspiring part of the day was not what happened during the workshop, but what was happening around it. For most of us organising the event, this was the first time our participants were not only on time, but 30 minutes early! Throughout the day, the room remained lively with questions, conversations, and the occasional moment of surprise when participants realised AI could be used in ways they could never have imagined.
Aspiring small business owners and retirees alike came together to achieve one mission by the end of the day, to explore what you can do with AI and how it could help them with their work and day-to-day life. To see people who had been away from formal learning for some time sitting attentively and taking in something completely new was something truly inspiring.
And then, somewhere along the way, the questions changed. It was no longer just:
“What is AI?”
It became:
“How can I go deeper with AI?”
“When is the next workshop?”
One participant had a very important suggestion for a potential next session:
“Can you schedule it after my breakfast?”
Okay aunty. We hear you!
Behind the laughter was something quite meaningful. The participants weren't simply interested in learning about new technology. They were there to learn and be part of a community, together, seeing how lives could be changed with the safe and responsible usage of AI. And that, ultimately, was what we hoped Jom Pand.AI would create. Not experts, but confidence to learn and explore.
One Raised Hand At A Time.
By the time the workshop was over, the room felt different from how it had that morning. The same 23 people who had walked in with different levels of familiarity, curiosity, and perhaps even uncertainty about AI now came up to the front of the room one by one to collect their certificates of completion. A moment to mark their efforts and confidence.
23 may not sound like a huge number. But sitting in the Pusat NADI in Taman Sri Sinar, it felt significant. Because behind every smile, there was a person who had been given a few hours, guidance, and a safe space to ask questions. Someone who had taken their first few steps towards understanding a technology that will increasingly become part of the world around them.
For us, that is the heart of Jom Pand.AI. AI will continue to evolve. New tools will emerge, new possibilities will open up, new risks and threats may be introduced, and the way we work and live will continue to change. But while technology moves forward, people should not be left behind.
We may not be able to teach everyone everything about AI in one afternoon. But we can create opportunities for people to start. We can make learning more accessible. We can share what we know. We can help someone take that first step.
That is the kind of change we hope to keep creating not just through our pledge. One opportunity, one conversation, one community changed.