Technology has opened new opportunities for Maldivian youth to take their ideas, innovations and solutions beyond the country’s shores and connect with the wider world, First Lady Sajidha Mohamed has said.
Speaking at the inauguration of the International Theveli Conference, where she attended as chief guest, the First Lady said advances in technology have helped overcome many of the geographical barriers traditionally faced by an island nation such as the Maldives.
She said young Maldivians today have greater access to knowledge, international networks and economic opportunities, while also gaining platforms through which locally developed ideas and solutions can reach global audiences.
Despite communities being dispersed across islands separated by vast stretches of ocean, Sajidha said physical distance no longer has to determine access to opportunities.
The First Lady’s remarks came as she addressed this year’s conference theme, “Transformative Innovation in the Twenty-First Century: Science, Technology, and Society.”
She described the International Theveli Conference as having developed beyond a conventional academic gathering into a platform bringing together specialists from different fields and participants from around the world.
According to Sajidha, such platforms allow people to exchange experiences, introduce new ideas and explore how those ideas can be transformed into practical solutions.
Her address also focused on the rapid pace at which emerging technologies are changing everyday life.
Developments in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and digital technologies have created possibilities that would have been difficult to imagine just a decade ago, she said, while fundamentally changing how people learn, communicate and engage with the world.
However, the First Lady stressed that technological progress should ultimately be measured by how it improves people’s lives.
She said innovation becomes meaningful when it contributes to better education for children, improves access to healthcare, creates more opportunities for young people, strengthens communities, protects the environment and makes everyday life easier for families.
For the Maldives, she said, innovation carries particular importance because the country’s unique geography has long required communities to find creative ways of overcoming practical challenges.
Technology is now helping bridge those geographical divides by bringing knowledge and services closer to island communities while connecting Maldivians with opportunities outside the country.
“Technology must leave no one behind,” Sajidha said.
She stressed that technological development should remain inclusive and ethical, with human wellbeing at the centre of innovation.
“In this new era, we must ensure that innovation remains inclusive, ethical, and rooted in human connection. While AI and emerging technologies hold the potential to revolutionize education, healthcare, public services, and the economy, they must serve humanity,” she said.
The comments come as the Maldives places increasing emphasis on digital transformation across government services and the wider economy.
The government is pursuing its Maldives 2.0 agenda, which seeks to accelerate digitalisation across multiple sectors and expand the role technology plays in the country’s economic and social development.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has also set a target for the digital economy to contribute 15 percent of the Maldives’ gross domestic product by 2030.
Concluding her address, the First Lady urged society to move away from viewing youth simply as consumers of new technology and instead recognise them as potential innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs and problem solvers.
She encouraged young Maldivians to be bold in developing new ideas, ask difficult questions and continue searching for solutions capable of addressing the challenges of the future.
