The Southeast Asia World Quantum Day Initiatives
On April 2024, quantum physicists from five Southeast Asian (SEA) countries - Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Philippines – meet to discuss the challenges faced by their countries in formulating national quantum strategies, as well as find opportunities for regional collaboration in SEA. This initiative was undertaken in preparation for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technologies 2025.
As a result, the SEA Quantum Network was formed, and three major events were scheduled to take place in 2025:
QISTCon.ph 2025 in the Philippines, 30 July to 1 August 2025;
SEA Quantathon 2025 in Thailand, 3-5 August 2025;
ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 in Malaysia, expected to November 2025.
These events are considered pilot initiatives of the SEA Quantum Network, and they aim to foster collaboration among governments, industry, and academia across the SEA region, with the long-term objective of building a regional quantum ecosystem.
On 11 April 2025, Thailand organized a webinar titled “SEA Quantathon 2025 × World Quantum Day” to promote participation in SEA Quantathon 2025 and launch the SEA World Quantum Day Initiatives. The webinar aims to increase the visibility of local quantum events and community efforts within participating countries, particularly events held across the SEA region.
While primarily targeting local participants, these events align with the common goals of the SEA Quantum Network. A wide variety of activities were held under the initiative, including industry-academia panel discussions, quantum science communication talks, and academic lectures. Topics ranged from the history of quantum theory and sustainable applications of quantum computing to quantum games and recent development of quantum technologies.
A notable achievement of this collaboration was Vietnam joining the SEA Quantum Network and organizing its first World Quantum Day event.