MUMBAI: As the government of Bangladesh has announced its ambition to digitalise the country by 2021, in time for the nation’s 50th anniversary, BBC Bangla investigates the project’s chances for success in a special series of programmes In Jogajog Bangladesh (Connectivity Bangladesh), from Wednesday 10 to Friday 19 March, BBC Bangla provides audiences with an insight in all things digital in Bangladesh – and the country’s digital future The multimedia content will be broadcast on radio, online on bbcbangla.com – in text, audio and video – as well as by Bangladesh’s Channel i television.
Head of BBC Bangla, Sabir Mustafa, says: Arguably, full digitalisation of Bangladesh, where less than one percent of the population is currently connected, is a tall order On the other hand, mobile-phone use has expanded phenomenally in the past 15 years, and development organisations and private companies have stepped in to connect the rural population to the internet through a network of centres and direct-to-home services The BBC Bangla team is exploring the subject from a range of angles, to offer audiences an in-depth and comprehensive look at the extraordinary task….
Presented by Akbar Hossain and produced by Pulak Gupta, the eight BBC Bangla video news stories about digital connectivity in Bangladesh will be broadcast by Channel i in its prime-time news bulletin from Wednesday March 10 to Wednesday March 17, thanks to a special agreement with Channel i. In addition to television, the BBC Bangla series will also be available on shortwave and FM radio and online.
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What does e-governance mean for Bangladesh’s bureaucracy and public-sector services? BBC Bangla follows an Upazila (sub-district council) official, and two members of the public who are seeking the council’s assistance – to establish whether â€?digitalisation’ is changing the way bureaucracy works BBC Bangla also assesses whether the government’s ambition to link hospitals across the country through internet video, thus giving patients in remote areas the opportunity to be consulted by top doctors in the capital, is realistic
Bangladesh is mainly an agricultural country – how is digital connectivity being used to improve the lives of farmers? BBC Bangla follows a farmer to a rural â€?tele-centre’ where he requests information on fertilisers, pesticides etc, and asks him what difference the use of the internet has made to his work. BBC Bangla also documents how information delivered via SMS is helping farmers get better prices and deliver their produce to the markets at best possible time
Another highlight of Jogajog Bangladesh are InfoLadies – the â€?digital foot-doctors of Bangladesh’, who ride the length and breadth of the country on their bicycles With netbooks connected via mobile internet cards, they visit rural households to bring the internet to their doorsteps. The BBC Bangla crew follows one such InfoLady, documenting her day – and also talking to the scheme’s benefactors to find out if it is bringing any change to their lives.
BBC Bangla also looks at how the internet has affected Ghataks, the traditional Bengali matchmakers The BBC reports from a Ghatak’s office, following the matchmaker’s interaction with clients over the internet BBC Bangla is also following another Ghatak who comes to a tele-centre, seeking information about a potential groom’s employment situation.
Jogajog Bangladesh culminates on Friday 19 March on all platforms with a live Have Your Say debate Produced and presented from Channel i studios, the programme will hear out multimedia audiences’ view s on whether Bangladesh can leap-frog into the digital age by 2021.
