ESDG for BD project ended with determination to support girls in making career in ICT Sector

The closing ceremony of the Enabling Sustainable Goals of Bangladesh for - 2030 (ESDG for BD) project was held in the capital by expressing the hope of taking the country's girls one step further in the information technology sector. At the same time, it was also discussed about spreading the learning gained from this project more widely. The project has been managed by Bangladesh Open Source Network (BDOSN) for more than 3 years with the overall support of Foundation for Humanity. Our girls are trying to move forward with the country one step at a time in keeping with the technology dependent world. But the socio-economic conditions of Bangladesh have not yet become conducive for women to enter the technology-based workplace. Keeping this issue in mind, this project was launched in 2019 by Bangladesh Open Source Network (BDOSN) to facilitate the participation of women in the technology sector. Under this, various programs including skill development training, job preparatory workshops, career counselling, visits to technology-based institutions, programming competitions, internship placements are conducted to make the women students of the university proficient in the information technology sector across the country. Through this project, BDOSN has imparted information technology based knowledge and skills to about 17000 female students of the country. At the outset of the closing ceremony, project manager of ESDG for BD project Kaniz Fatema delivered a congratulatory speech about the overall progress of this project. She said, "The reason why the participation of women in the ICT sector in our country is so low is the lack of enough female role models in the country. I believe that BDOSN can play a role in bridging this gap by leveraging its 16 years of experience working with the STEM and ICT sector.” In the closing ceremony, Methopath, a research-based organization, presented the summary of the research done on the success of this project. According to them, the confidence of the students has increased to a great extent by participating in the ESDG for BD project. In relation to working with the women students of the country's ICT sector, the professor of North South University Dr. Nova Ahmed said, "While doing PhD outside the country, I felt inferior because I was lagging behind others to take care of my child and study. Later, in a conference, I saw that everyone was appreciating my weaknesses as virtues. I was hoping that an initiative like the ESDG for BD project would be taken in Bangladesh to transform the weaknesses of girls. It is made possible through BDOSN'. At one stage of the event, Pooja Chakraborty, one of the participants of the ESDG project, who is currently doing her post-graduation in Italy, sent a short video message sharing her experience. She is one of the winners of the National Girls Programming Contest. According to her, this project has increased her interest in technology and has helped her with ideas about information and workplaces at various times. Tafseer Binte Mannan, one of the winners of DevMania, an innovation competition, said that she got an opportunity to sharpen her skills through this project. Also, Sama Jamila Rahim, a participant of Girls Innovation Bootcamp, said that this project has inspired her to overcome inertia and fear and move forward. At one stage of the discussion, Safayet Hossain, head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of City University, shared his opinion about the project. He congratulated BDOSN for giving the university students the opportunity to visit the best IT industries of the country and increase their scope of knowledge through this project. Rayhan Islam, one of the workers who worked on this project for 3 years and 6 months, said in his speech, 'If you can get them out of the inertia that works among the girls of Bangladesh, nothing can stop the success of girls. It is my pleasure to work with this project'. Wasiur Rahman Tanmoy, Capacity Development Coordinator on behalf of the Manusher Jonno Foundation (Foundation for Humanity), said in his speech at the end of the closing ceremony, “Usually the results of a project are evaluated long after its completion. However, one part of the ESDG for BD project was its performance analysis which I found to be a unique aspect of the project. The foundation is keen to provide more support to people in this type of work.” Finally, BDOSN general secretary Munir Hassan announced the end of the program by expressing the hope of taking more far-reaching initiatives in the future using the experience of the ESDG for BD project. He said, BDOSN believes that the journey initiated by women through this project will serve as a milestone in the advancement of women in the IT sector.