Digital technology is the must to eradicate poverty: Telecom Minister

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said that there is no alternative to using digital technology to eradicate poverty and inequality. Eliminating inequality means eliminating financial and social inequality as well as digital inequality. Our people are very talented, they can work. If they can be groomed properly, they will play an incredible role in the transformation of Bangladesh. The minister called on private organizations to come forward to play a role in the government's programs to ensure their digital skills in empowering people to survive in the technology-based future world. The minister expressed his realization while speaking as the guest of honor at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Manusher Jonno Foundation (Foundation for Humanity), a non-governmental organization, held at the Liberation War Museum auditorium in Dhaka on Saturday. Planning Minister MA Mannan was present as the chief guest on the occasion. The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications described the Internet as an essential tool for the development of digital technology and said that many countries of the world, especially Scandinavian countries, have recognized the Internet as a fundamental right in the constitution. Mustafa Jabbar, the pioneer of digital technology development, said that since we could not participate in the industrial revolution in the past, agriculture was the basis of the transformation of our society. He said, to eliminate the backwardness of hundreds of years, Bangabandhu had sown the seeds of the third industrial revolution through various revolutionary programs, including the establishment of the geo-satellite center in Betbuniya, achieving the membership of the ITU and the formation of the T&T Board are a few of his steps taken by him. The seeds planted by Bangabandhu during the 18-and-a-half-year rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have germinated and transformed into a huge tree today. He highlighted the initiatives taken by the Department of Posts and Telecommunications to bring digital infrastructure to the doorsteps of the backward communities of the country, to digitize 28 neighborhood centers in the hilly regions, and to introduce digital education systems in 650 primary schools in the backward regions of the country. He said, in the Haor and the islands, we are working to provide digital connectivity facilities to remote Char areas. Work is underway to deliver high-speed internet to every part of the country by 2023. Mentioning the role of foundation for people in the service of people is very commendable, the minister said, you have to move forward by creating a roadmap for the next twenty years. The next 20 years will not be like the last 20 years. In the next 20 years, you must focus on digital technology. Now is the time to teach girls to do e-commerce, to sell sarees, jewelries or cooked food online at home along with sewing skills. Shaheen Anam, the executive director of the Manusher Jonno Foundation, chaired the event and the Executive President of Power and Participation Research Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, British High Commissioner in Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson, Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde, Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam, Executive Director of TIB Dr. Iftekharuzzaman and top local NGO personalities of the country spoke on the occasion.