Inaugurating the programme, Fr Savio Silveira, the Provincial of the Mumbai Province, emphasized that the Province was constantly looking for relevant ways to serve poor and disadvantaged young people. “Young people have their dreams; we Salesians want to support you in realizing your dreams” said Fr Silveira, addressing the youngsters present for the inauguration. He pointed out that today's world is increasingly driven by technology, particularly computer technology. In this situation, advanced computer skills are essential to find suitable employment and build successful careers. Economically disadvantaged youth often miss out on available job opportunities since they lack these skills. Fr Silveira explained that DB-ACE hoped to bridge the digital divide between poor youth and their economically fortunate peers by providing disadvantaged youngsters with highly advanced computer training at a meager cost. 

Fr Barnabe D’Souza, the director of Don Bosco Academy, Nerul, addressed the gathering and said he was delighted that DB-ACE was being launched at Nerul. “This is the first centre in the Mumbai Province to begin the DB-ACE programme” he said, “but we hope that this training programme will soon commence in other institutions of the Province.”  He then explained that DB-ACE had been designed as a five-phase programme, beginning with basic computer skills, then progressing to more complex skills, such as coding languages, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. He said that the students would receive an official certificate at the end of each training phase. Fr D’Souza reiterated that in this “dream year” of Don Bosco, the DB-ACE programme was a “dream project” initiated by the Salesians of the Mumbai Province to offer marginalized youth the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

The DB-ACE programme will be launched at Don Bosco, Chinchwad, in October. Over the next few months, it will be initiated in the Province's other institutions.