President for coordinated efforts to ensure proper use of ICT

President M Abdul Hamid today stressed the need for taking coordinated initiatives to ensure the proper use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at all levels to continue the campaign for 'Charter of Change.'

"Only mass people's combined efforts can build ICT and knowledge based, non-communal, happy, prosperous and sel1f-reliant 'Digital Bangladesh," the President said while inaugurating the programmes on the occasion of "World Telecommunication and Information Society Day-2017" at Osmani memorial Auditorium here.

The president said the government's initiative is merely not enough to reach the ICT successes at all the country's 16 crore people's doorsteps but local ICT entrepreneurs must come forward to make the digitization campaign a success.

Referring to recent cyber attacks in about 150 countries, including developed ones, the president also underscored the need for building joint capacity at national and international levels to address the vulnerability of global cyber attacks.

If proper security and protection of data could not be ensured, the level of risk would go up, and as a result, the country's financial and banking institutions, trade and investment entities and service sector might face a big collapse, he said.

President Hamid said new strategy and innovative technology must be developed for ICT security to keep the development process along with economy, trade and investment free from hackers.

"An active and effective step is a must to prevent the misuse of the technology . . . We have to take necessary steps by creating legal frameworks, inventing technology, doing awareness campaign and developing human resources in this regard," he said.

Nowadays telecommunication and ICT have come an integral part of every stage of life in today's world, the President said, all should have to be more aware of respective social and religious values, culture, individualities, secrecy of information and data in all offices.

President Hamid said the flourish of ICT accelerates the country's overall development thoughts and pace, but it also increases challenges to some extents as its misuse is on the rise causing harm to people, society and states.

About this year's theme 'Big Data for Big Impact' the president said 'big data' is playing a positive role to take pragmatic decisions in running a government, its trade and commerce, social, economic and cultural issues. Recalling the contribution of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who earlier undertook different realistic steps to build Sonar Bangla amid ensuring people's economic emancipation, President Hamid mentioned that Bangladesh had become the member of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 1973 due to relentless effort of Bangabandhu.

The Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry arranged programme with Posts and Telecommunications secretary Shyam Sunder Sikder was in the chair. State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry Imran Ahmad and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood, among others, spoke on the occasion.

The President also released some postage stamps marking the day.

He also distributed awards among six students of different schools, colleges and universities across the country for essay writings on ICT affairs.