Bangladesh Consultation at the eve of Sixth Meeting of the
UN Internet Governance Forum 2011
Dhaka [Bangladesh 25 August 2011] Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF) arranged a Bangladesh Consultation meeting on Bangladesh’s preparation ahead of the upcoming sixth Internet Governance Forum (IGF) scheduled to be held in Nairobi, Kenya with the support from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and Drik ICT Ltd in collaboration with Monthly Computer Jagat, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication and Center for e-Parliament Research.
At the meeting, H.E. Hasanul Haq Inu, the Honorable Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, was present as chief guest and Major General Zia Ahmed, psc (Retd.), the Chairman, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, was present as special guest. Under the moderation of H.E. Dr. Akram H. Chowdhury, Honorable MP, and Chairperson, Center for e-Parliament Research
Three articles written by Professor Dr. Md. Mahfuz Ashraf, Department of Management Information Systems Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka, Mr. Tarique M Barkatullah, Senior Systems Analyst, Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC), and Lieutenant Colonel Rakibul Hassan, the director of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) were presented at the event.
In his speech, the chief guest said, taking part in the previous two IGF conferences, “We could include Bangla in the top level domain(TLD) because of this. So, many more success stories will come if we can ensure official participation.” While talking about the Digital Bangladesh vision of Bangladesh government, he stated, “There is an anti-digital administration within the government and activities like this sometimes get obstructed because of them.” He also said that we need to keep a watchful eye on these issues. He said that although the present government had decreased the price of Internet significantly, the ordinary people are not getting benefit from it. He advised BTRC to look after this matter.
He also stated that there was an acute shortage of Bangla (language) content in Internet. If adequate content in Bangla language cannot be arranged and ensured, then Internet will not be embraced by the common mass. He also stressed on creating legislations without any delay on Data Protection ACT and Data Privacy Act. He called on the government to take necessary steps to send official delegations at ICANN and IGF. He informed that from 2012, the world will move towards IPv6 technology. So, if we do not think about it from now then at one stage, we suffer the risk of getting isolated from the rest of the world.
Among others Abdullah H Kafi, Deputy President, Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO), Reza Salim, Director, Amader Gram, Abu Saeed Khan, Secretary General, Association of Mobile Telephone Operators in Bangladesh (AMTOB), and S M Altaf Hossain, Managing Director & CEO, Drik ICT Ltd. delivered speeches. The welcome speech was delivered by AHM Bazlur Rahman, member of BIGF and CEO, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication.
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About Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum:
Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum [Headed by Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Post and Telecommunication] is an emerging OPEN multi-stakeholder inclusive effort to illuminate issues and cultivate constructive discussion about the internet in conjunction with the UN Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF).
In provides a domestic independent forum in the Bangladesh to engage civil society organization, government, corporate sector, technical, media and academia, helping to create partnerships, coalitions and dialogues that demonstrate best practices and help move policy forward. For more info: anu@comjagat.com and ceo@bnnrc.net