Dhaka, Feb 25 – The three-day Bangladesh School of Internet Governance (bdSIG) 2023 drew to a close on Saturday. The seventh edition of the fellowship program brought together youth and professionals from the private sector, government, academia, civil society, and media to help them shape the future of the internet by bridging the gap between technology and policy. The bdSIG 2023 began at the Daffodil International University (DIU) in Dhaka's Savar on Thursday with sessions on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the internet of things, big data, AR, and VR.

DIU lecturers Arid Hasan conducted the session "Artificial Intelligence in Natural Language Processing," Musabbir Hasan "Data Science," and Assistant Professor Apurba Ghosh conducted the session "Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technology."
DIU Vice-Chancellor Professor M Lutfar Rahman, AHM Bazlur Rahman, founder of the Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF), and Mohammad Abdul Haque Anu, founder and secretary general of the BIGF, spoke at the final session of the day. On Friday, at the YWCA Guest House and Training Center in Mohammadpur, Bazlur, also CEO of the Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Community, gave the fellows presentations about key internet issues, including the internet ecosystem; political, legal, economic, sociocultural, and technical dimensions of internet governance as well local point of intersection of internet governance and Sustainable Development Goals. He also had interactive conversations about the key actors in internet governance, digital infrastructure and adoption, digital rights, human rights, digital economy, digital divide, and geopolitical positioning. Rezaul Islam, quality assurance manager of the BGD-eGOV CIRT, talked about cybersecurity and Bangladesh's preparedness.
Mamunur Rashid, the consultant at the Enhancement of Bangla Language, conducted the session "Bangla Language in the Digital World." Also, Anu discussed the activities of the BIGF and its communities, including the Bangladesh Women IGF, Bangladesh Youth IGF, and Bangladesh Kid's IGF.
He highlighted the aims and purposes of the bdSIG and briefed the participants about the school's sessions from 2017 to now. "No matter what age you are and whatever stage you are at in your career, we have a program for you. At the bdSIG, we want to listen to everyone and encourage them to learn with us as well as spread the knowledge," Anu said. "Over the years, the bdSIG and BIGF have become platforms where we share knowledge and ideas, team up, and strengthen bonds." Nazmul Hasan Majumder, vice-chair of the bdSIG, discussed the activities of the school in the last three years in creating a digital talent pool through networking, mentoring, and collaboration. "The bdSIG fellows are picked through a multi-step evaluation process.

The selection committee tries to achieve professional, geographical, age, and gender diversity in the selection." "We follow a multi-stakeholder approach as we want our fellows – whether they are working intechnology, academia, civil society, business or government – to understand how to partner with other stakeholders to advocate for internet-related key issues." Ashrafur Rahman Piaus, secretary general of the bdSIG, discussed international fellowship opportunities and challenges for the participants to equip them with the knowledge they need to join a global
community of like-minded people after the program. Faisal Ahmed Bhubon, secretary general of the Bangladesh Youth IGF, discussed the activities of his
platform in the last two years. The program ended today with an understanding of Smart Bangladesh, freelancing and monetization, the digital economy in Bangladesh, the Digital Security Act, and the fellows describing their learnings from the program and plans for taking the multidisciplinary and multi stakeholder knowledge beyond the fellowship.Hasanul Haq Inu MP, chair of the parliamentary standing committee on the information and broadcasting ministry and chair of the BIGF, was present at the closing session.

Selim Sharier : Sound of Community