CTO Secretary General participates in Beyond ‘21

Secretary General, Ms Bernadette Lewis delivered the feature address at the opening ceremony of Beyond ‘21, a virtual summit organised by Inspiring Bangladesh Ltd. from 24^th to 26^th of October 2021. With the theme Collaboration. Growth. Investment, the summit attracted some 23,000 participants from 12 countries.

Inspiring Bangladesh Ltd is a social network company that provides registered users a portal  for sharing topical data, blogs, stories, and videos and encourages likeminded individuals to connect with each other and nurture a better future through entrepreneurship, business ventures and self-transformation. The event was held in association with the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, a national government agency dedicated to the establishment, management, and operations of technology business parks.

Speaking on the topic, Digital Skills and Youth in the Commonwealth Agenda, Secretary General Lewis spoke of the need for governments to commit to the digital transformation agenda and commended Bangladesh for its Digital Bangladesh programme: She identified the need for providing affordable universal broadband connectivity, ensuring that citizens can use digital devices, and to make appropriate online content available. The Secretary General gave practical examples of the roles of different stakeholders in building digital skills of the youth. She also stressed the importance of reforming school curricula so that it reflects the demand for digital skills.

Ms Lewis celebrated indigenous ICT innovation and commended Mr Imran Fahad the Chief Executive Officer of Inspiring Bangladesh Ltd for his vision in establishing the first Bengali social network platform designed to inspire Bangladeshi youth and the younger generations.

Explaining the role of the CTO, the Secretary General stated:

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation is doing its part in building digital skills in youth and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Capacity building and training are a significant mandate. The CTO develops and delivers ICT training programmes for CTO Members. Bangladesh as a Member of the CTO through its representative organisations, can request training from the CTO.”

In addition, Ms Lewis announced the upcoming launch of the CTO’s Online Learning Resource Centre (OLRC) that will offer essential workplace insights and self-paced short courses to enhance employee skills and performance.

Other opening Ceremony panellists included His Excellency Mr Ito Naok, the Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh; Mr K. A. M. Rashedul Mazid, the Managing Director of Raise IT Solutions Ltd, a Dhaka-based outsourcing and IT solutions firm; Barrister Hamidul Mishbah, Founder of the Bangladesh Intellectual Property Forum;  Mr Atiqur Rahman, Country Director of Dell Computers Bangladesh and Mr Jordan Olivas, Chief Executive Officer, QisstPay, a Pakistani-based payment provider that allows customers to purchase now and pay back later.

The discussion can be viewed on Facebook on the following link.