AGM of BIJF held with spontaneous participation of its members
The Annual General Meeting of the Bangladesh ICT Journalist Forum-BIJF, a registered professional organization of the information technology sector, was held on Saturday in the night with spontaneous opinions expressed by the members for 5 and a half hours. Vice President Bhuiyan Mohammad Enam Lenin delivered a welcome speech at the meeting held at the Conference Center of Vision Tower 2021 in the capital, chaired by Nazneen Nahar, the President of the organization.
Sabbin Hasan, the current general secretary of the organization, presented a report on the annual activities of the forum. At the same time, he has taken at least one meeting of the executive committee every month and kept the decision of the meeting in writing, providing organizational digital identity card to all the members at the beginning, making the organizational activities participatory through 9 sub-committees and round table discussion and creating awareness on national issues like e-waste management. Describe the training program. In the report, he also said that the current executive committee is working with importance on the infrastructural development of the organization, the development of financial management and the steps taken by the committee in making it cashless.
He said, "Our first objective was to make the post of Treasurer active and effective, so as to ensure financial stability." After that, he talked about other measures including the development of the official website of the organization with the circulation of various ID cards and facilities for the health protection of the members. He also talked about the various steps taken by the current executive committee and its success in the inclusion of the industry along with the development of the skills of the members.
According to the rules, Finance Secretary Saiful Islam Shanto presented the financial report for the financial year from October 2022 to June 2023. After discussion on the financial report, the audited financial report was passed unanimously and the existing audit firm NK Roy & Co. was entrusted with the responsibility of further auditing the financial accounts. Also, at the beginning of the meeting, the financial report of the ad hoc committee for the year 2019-22 was passed by voice vote to protect the constitutional continuity. At the same time, the financial report for the financial year 2022-23 was approved by a voice vote in the presence of more than two-thirds of the members.
At the time, he said, to protect the transparency of the organizational accounts, 90 percent of the total transactions were done through the bank. We have recorded all the accounts in due process. Also, all necessary documents and proofs of financial transactions have been preserved.
After the bill to establish a welfare fund independent of the executive committee for the first time for the members was unanimously passed, the majority of the members agreed to pay the annual subscription at a double rate. New members were introduced.
At the end of the meeting, organizing secretary Ariful Islam Arman presented a draft to update the constitution of BIJF. After a detailed discussion on the constitution, it was decided to formulate another draft based on the opinion of the members. The annual general meeting also decided on the formation of an election commission headed by a media personality. Most of the 42 members who participated in the meeting spontaneously presented their views in the annual general meeting. They all highly appreciate the transparency of financial reporting, accountability and participatory processes. Senior members too gave some valuable suggestions.
Senior members Suman Islam, Mehdi Hasan Palash, Hasan Bipul, Mojahedul Islam Dhew, Hasan Zakir, Hasan Shahriar, Rahitul Islam Ruel, khaled Saifullah, Mizanur Rahman Sohail, Tariqul Islam Khan Badal, junior members Shah Paran, Shahjalal Rohan, Alauddin Al Azad Alif and others also spoke in the meeting.
The Executive Committee has expressed its firm position by taking all suggestions in writing to establish BIJF as an ideal professional organization.
In view of the strong demand of the majority of the members to keep the term of the committee for two years, the president of the meeting, Nazneen Nahar, promised to announce the election date on time. He said that out of 9 members of the current executive committee, 6 are new and they are working in this executive council for the first time. In this committee composed of young and old, we all tried together to strengthen the organizational situation of the forum. As well as to ensure transparency and accountability in organizational activities. At the same time, I have opened the opportunity for members to express their opinions and criticize. The social media Facebook group was open for expression. By simplifying the membership application of the organization, we have tried to facilitate the development of members. We have been more transparent and structured than ever since membership. Our effort was to value every member of the organization. Also, our goal was to make every position and member of the executive committee active and effective. We have tried to strengthen BIJF's position organizationally. I believe we have done a lot of that. He concluded his speech by requesting all those who will come to the executive committee to continue this trend.
