Showcasing Bangladesh's development at home and abroad

Over the last decade or so, development has been the magic word in Bangladesh. Amid the ongoing debate over the feasibility of some of the mega projects to portray this development and the efforts by the opposite spectrum of the political arena here to undermine and glorify these, one category of content has skyrocketed in popularity on social media platforms riding this wave of visible development: videos that sell the image of a developing Bangladesh.

Visual proof of Bangladesh's rapidly changing infrastructural outlook is being presented to audiences at home and abroad through the internet, and especially via YouTube.

Creators such as Raid BD, Infotalk BD, Nibeer Mahmud, Uplift Bangladesh, and Unique Bangladesh, etc have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers in recent years, and they have done a spectacular job in selling the image of a developing Bangladesh to the most important stakeholders, the people of Bangladesh.

The Daily Star spoke to a few of these creators to understand why and when this particular type of content originated, the reason behind their success and popularity, and the impact it is having on people's perception of Bangladesh.

Raid Bd, one of the first YouTube channels in this category in Bangladesh, was opened by an individual named Nazmul Karim in 2009.

"I opened my channel in the beginning to make different videos as a hobby. Around 2018, when the construction of the metro rail began in Uttara, I happened to visit that area and made a video of the first pillar as it became visible. I uploaded it on YouTube and got a great response, people told me to upload more videos afterwards. That is how I started," he said.

For others, the beginning was more planned. Mahmud Shawon, founder of InfoTalkBD, another such YouTube channel, was working as a senior reporter for a TV channel in 2013 when construction was yet to begin of the Padma Bridge. At first, he was incredulous that this feat could be achieved, but eventually, as the bridge started to materialise and other projects like the third terminal at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and the Bangabandhu Expressway neared completion, he decided what he wanted to do.

"I wanted to capture these times that we are living in. I wanted to capture how, one by one, different development projects are changing the face of our country," Mahmud said. He started his channel in 2020.

As Bangladesh took on more and more ambitious development projects, and they started to take shape for people to see, interest in these projects kept growing. On YouTube, hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis living at home and abroad started tuning in to these videos.

"While most of our audience lives in Bangladesh, around 13 percent lives abroad. Migrant Bangladeshis express joy in any sort of positive news coming out of Bangladesh. Because we make videos with information on different development projects, they really enjoy it," added Mahmud Shawon of InfoTalkBD.

Nibeer Mahmud, who also works as a TV journalist and has a YouTube channel by his own name where he makes videos on various Bangladeshi megaprojects, shares who his audience is.

"Bangladeshis who live abroad are very receptive to this type of content. They regularly say that the Bangladesh they knew when they lived here has changed. They like watching the infrastructural developments that have taken place here, and they are proud of it. In the comments section of my videos, you will see that the same people whose remittance helps our economy function are spending money for internet access to watch Bangladesh develop," he said.

As far as the process of content creation goes, infrastructure-related YouTube videos pose some specific challenges. Firstly, there is the issue that these videos have a short lifespan. A video that updates viewers on the progress of the BRT-3 project from the airport to Gazipur using drone footage of the entire area might become out of date within a week with the progressing work.

Production costs and the costs of upkeep for channels like these can become prohibitive, given the hasty editing cycles, the high cost of video equipment, and the transportation costs. However, the three content creators who spoke to The Daily Star for this article said their channels are all financially sustainable, which may explain why more and more creators on YouTube are joining this category.

The picture these YouTube channels paint of Bangladesh is mainly a positive one. One could describe it as looking at the future with rose-tinted glasses and giving people hope that the future will be bright.

But the reality is that these mega projects are often linked with irregularities -- completion delay, over-expenditure, corruption etc. Do these YouTubers address these issues?

"If I don't touch on these problems, my audience will not accept my videos. With YouTube and social media, no one is stopping me from making content I want to make. However, I have to use my own experience to set a bar for myself and ask the right questions about these projects when they run into problems. There is never any obstacle to describing things exactly as I see them," said Nibeer Mahmud.

Mahmud Shawon offers an alternate view, "While most people are positive about my videos, there are often comments that ask why we aren't talking about irregularities or corruption. One thing needs to be clarified here. Mainstream media can report on government projects from various angles, including irregularities and corruption, and speak to all the stakeholders for a complete story. But this is difficult for a YouTube channel, many people won't be willing to speak. Of course, because I have had the chance to follow many notable projects from start to finish, I try to mention it if I notice slow-paced work or something that is not right. But I also try to portray the positive side, the economic benefits, and how these projects help the environment and people."