The 2026 ASEAN Digital Awards recognized 45 technology products submitted by domestic agencies, businesses and research groups in 6 main categories.
The organizing committee of the ASEAN Digital Awards (ADA) said it had received 45 registration applications from Vietnam for the 2026 season. This is the highest number in the last three editions. The submitted applications were spread across six categories: products for the public sector, private sector, digital products for the community, digital content, digital startups and digital innovation.
According to the Organizing Committee, this number of applications and even distribution reflects a broad and diverse picture of digital transformation in Vietnam, in which many fields are recording rapid technology application rates such as healthcare, education, robotics, banking and finance, and information security.
An information security unit participated in the award. Image: NVCC
A representative of the Department of International Cooperation commented that this year’s applications have good professional quality. Many products are methodically developed, have stable operating models and begin to record real users, instead of just stopping at the test product level. Some AI platforms are assessed as having the potential to compete in the regional round.
According to the rules, each entrant must submit a product introduction video in English with a maximum duration of three minutes, accompanied by a set of technical description documents according to the ASEAN model. After receiving, the ADA Vietnam Secretariat established a national selection council to evaluate and select qualified products to represent Vietnam to attend the regional preliminary round. Scoring criteria focus on creativity, practical applicability, social impact, product maturity and regional scalability.
Each member country will select and submit entries, which may be in many different categories. Products that pass the Regional Preliminary Round will move on to the Final Round held directly in Hanoi within the framework of the sixth ASEAN Digital Ministerial Conference (ADGMIN). Here, representatives of each development group will present directly to the Jury, which is members nominated by ASEAN countries and international guests. The council scores and ranks Gold, Silver, and Bronze according to each category. The organizers said ADA attracted hundreds of applications from many countries.
The ASEAN Digital Awards ceremony will take place in January 2026, within the framework of the sixth ASEAN Digital Ministers conference (ADGMIN-6) in Hanoi. This is the first time Vietnam has hosted the award since the award was renamed from ASEAN ICT Awards in 2021.
In many previous seasons, Vietnam has been one of the countries with outstanding achievements, winning many gold and silver awards in various categories. Make in Vietnam products have been honored as online learning platforms, digital agriculture applications or medical AI solutions, contributing to strengthening Vietnam’s technological position in the region.