Tech

APICTA SUSPENDS BASIS IT ASSOCIATION FOR 2 YEARS

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2023

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Executive Committee (EXCO) has suspended BASIS IT Association for 2 years due to the lack of cooperation,noncompliance to the clear directive of the EXCO regarding the requirement for participants to attend in person and the disruption caused due to their late stage withdrawal of the APICTA Awards program held December 7 – 11, 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
APICTA was not immune to the global impact of COVID-19 and as a result no in-person
APICTA events were held in 2020 and 2021. A joint virtual award program was held for the
very first time for these two years. On March 30, 2022, Pakistan won the bid to host
APICTA Awards in Islamabad and following key decisions were made at the APICTA EXCO
committee meeting:

Ratified that the APICTA event for 2022 in Islamabad be held physically.
If by the event date (December 7 to 11, 2022) a member economy had governmentimposed
travel restrictions due to COVID-19, all participants from that member economy
could opt to attend virtually.
As for the Primary and Secondary Student category, it was made known to all member
economies that the students could participate virtually or physically.
With this context several meetings were held including a crucial meeting on November 8,
2022, where Bangladesh was represented by BASIS.
At the meeting, the host economy, Pakistan, through P@SHA, the organiser of APICTA
2022, together with APICTA EXCO, offered the following to each economy:
a) Visa applications made through P@SHA for all participants from every economy to ease
the burden of applying directly, if they wish to.
b) Assistance where required from any government department or relevant diplomatic
channel to ease in the process of visa application.
c) Subsidies including discounts for lodging for all judges travelling from various
economies and in some instances, airline fare discounts.

Chairman APICTA, Mr. Stan Singh said, “despite all of this, Bangladesh through BASIS did
not take advantage to explore this opportunity so that all judges and participants who were
registered to attend could travel with ease and economically to Islamabad.”
On November 19, 2022, APICTA Secretariat received a letter from BASIS expressing in the
letter that they were still “waiting” for APICTA EXCO’s response on their request to attend
virtually. However, the APICTA EXCO were confused over this strange and lapsed request
as the matter was resolved at the November 8, 2022 meeting, but nevertheless APICTA
EXCO responded soonest on November 20, 2022 expressing to BASIS that there was no
actions or decisions pending from APICTA EXCO and that it was not only made clear at the
November 8 meeting of the decision, but reiterated the decision in that, unless there was
any travel restrictions due to COVID-19, all participants (excluding students) must attend in
person.
BASIS was also offered additional time to register entries, even though the entry date into
the judging system was already closed. Despite all of the support that was offered, there
was no response from BASIS after the email which was sent from APICTA EXCO on
November 20, 2022.
On November 21 & 22, 2022, the APICTA Secretariat with P@SHA, wrote to every
participant from all economies respectively, informing them that unless their economy still
had travel restrictions due to COVID-19, that physical attendance was mandatory. In the
same correspondence, it was reiterated that Primary and Secondary Students Categories
could participate virtually. In the days leading up to the Awards, some of the participants
from Bangladesh were actually applying for Pakistan visas and making travel plans to
Islamabad. However, they informed P@SHA that BASIS requested them not to attend
physically but rather virtually because APICTA EXCO had agreed for Bangladesh to do so.
said, “once judging schedules and other logistics were finalised, Bangladesh withdrew completely on the eve of the event from the awards program, without giving any notice whatsoever and silently, which caused chaos and wreaked havoc in the scheduling causing the host economy to re-schedule the entire program, and this was against the harmony of APICTA.”
Mr. Singh continued to say, “this action taken by Bangladesh was reckless, unacceptable,
and untenable to APICTA EXCO and against the spirit of APICTA. The actions from BASIS
has never happened in the history of APICTA and we were all profoundly upset over this
matter. At the APICTA EXCO meeting in Islamabad, this matter was discussed and every
EXCO member at that meeting felt such action taken by BASIS was truly reckless,
unacceptable and a decision was taken to give BASIS the opportunity to explain their
actions. The response from BASIS was assigned to an APICTA EXCO sub-committee
ONLY to investigate the facts and carry out due diligence on the matter. The sub-committee
shared their findings and recommendations to the APICTA EXCO who then unanimously
decided to suspend BASIS as a member of APICTA for a period of two (2) years. In
addition, in the past we never had any issues arising with any of the BASIS leadership”
In addition, APICTA EXCO is compelled to address and clarify some of the statements
which have been circulating in the public domain:
i. Nepal had requested a leave of absence for a period from APICTA following a major
earthquake and the APICTA EXCO accepted their request and will welcome them back
when they are ready to do so and APICTA wishes them well.
ii. APICTA welcomes any new member economies, and several economies within and
outside the Asia Pacific region have shown keen interest in APICTA membership. The
EXCO reviews each application on a case-to-case basis.
iii. The core APICTA goals and objectives are always maintained – that is, promoting
growth in every member economy and providing them with every opportunity to
showcase the best examples of ICT innovations in government, businesses, community,
and individuals alike.
Over the last few years, APICTA has introduced other elements to the eco-system of
APICTA by adding initiatives like Business Matchmaking, Students Exchange, Startups
Networking etc. In addition, enabling all participants to experience the culture of the host
economy via wonderful social and tourism opportunities whilst providing and facilitating
networking and business opportunities for them, and as the technology landscape changes,
APICTA will continue in its endeavour to make changes to add to the value chain.

Mr. Inserra concluded by saying, “since its inception, every economy has had the
opportunity to host the APICTA event and Bangladesh did so successfully in 2017. It is
important to note that this suspension does not apply to participants from Bangladesh,
whom we strongly felt were deprived the opportunity in Islamabad. As such they shall have
the same opportunity to participate in the upcoming APICTA Awards 2023 & 2024. APICTA
requires that all entries must come through a representative body of the member economy.
Since BASIS, as the incumbent member body representative is suspended, we will explore
other options with the assistance of the IT Ministry to ensure active participation from
Bangladeshi students, startups, IT companies and experienced category judges.”
APICTA will not be making any further comments regarding this matter

Tech

Rampant Corruption Plagues ICT Sector in 15 years : White Paper

Published

3 weeks ago

December 3, 2024

Md Mojahidul Islam

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Highlights

ICT sector plagued by corruption
Hi-Tech parks fail to attract investors
Lack of transparency in project implementation
Misuse of funds to benefit preferred vendors
Calls for robust project evaluations

The White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy, submitted to the Chief Adviser today (1 December), identified the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as one of the most affected by corruption.

“The review of the White Paper puts the banking sector on top of the most corruption-ravaged sectors, followed by physical infrastructure, and energy and power,” it reads.

ICT was also identified as one of the most corruption-affected sectors by its operational and technological novelty, it added.

The White Paper committee’s comment highlights years-long corruption allegations in the key sector the Awami League pledged to improve during the 2008 election for the sake of national progress.

And the story later frustrated the youth and technology experts due to huge waste of taxpayers’ money in improper projects. These lacked transparencies and were alleged to benefit people close to the then regime.

In the one and half decades of Sheikh Hasina’s ruling, the state spent nearly Tk29,000 crore to build “Digital Bangladesh” and later “Smart Bangladesh by 2041.”

Most of the funds were allocated to infrastructure projects, which still require justification from sector experts. For instance, Hi Tech parks outside major cities barely attracted investors.

Government-funded projects aimed at youth ICT training, women empowerment, and local app and game development, costing hundreds of crores of Taka, appear to have primarily benefited officials and their preferred vendors, reveals the gradually unfolding facts.

The interim government in August formed a committee to evaluate the ongoing projects already recommended to downsize them in lots of unjustified cases. It will also dig deeper to find the anomalies in the already finished projects.

In an example of how the government projects were being justified in questioned ways, the white paper mentioned a 2013-18 ICT Division project “Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment, and Governance Projects” that had a 43% cost increase to Tk774 crore, from its original budget of Tk521.97 crore.

According to the White Paper, the large capacity-building initiative aimed to promote the IT sector and train 30,000 individuals for employment within it. The evaluation report from the Planning Ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division showed strong satisfaction with the project’s success.

However, it overlooked the contributions of training institutions, colleges, and universities that also played a role in advancing the sector, the White Paper stated.

Additionally, the quality of the evaluation report was inadequate, as it failed to distinguish the marginal impacts of training 30,000 individuals on the entire IT sector.

This analytical weakness in assessing the project’s impacts has contributed to the continuation of various ICT and other projects that lack tangible benefits.

“It highlights the need for more robust evaluations to ensure that future initiatives are grounded in a clear understanding of their actual contributions to the sector,” said the White Paper.

Bangladesh lags behind many comparator countries in a number of technological indexes, despite the digital and smart nation narratives.

Tech

Corruption behind Tk 650bn investment in telecom, ICT sectors

Published

3 weeks ago

December 3, 2024

Md Mojahidul Islam

Reading Time: 2 minutes

ICT Advisor Nahid Islam has said due to ‘irregularities’, Bangladesh has not realised the full benefits of the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ initiative despite a substantial investment of Tk 650 billion in the telecommunications and ICT sectors under the Awami League government.

Speaking at an ADP review meeting at the Posts and Telecommunication Division on Monday, Nahid criticised the execution of numerous costly projects under the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ banner which, according to him, failed to deliver their promised impact.

From fiscal year 2010-11 to 2024-25, the ICT Division implemented projects worth Tk 250 billion, while the Posts and Telecommunications Division accounted for projects totaling Tk 400 billion.

Despite these investments, Bangladesh scored a modest 62 out of 100 in the June 2024 edition of the ICT Development Index by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union, trailing behind nations such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Vietnam, and Bhutan.

Highlighting the country’s technological lag, Nahid referenced the May 2024 Ookla Speedtest Global Index, where Bangladesh ranked 109th out of 147 countries in internet speed, below Kenya.

Also, Bangladesh placed 108th in broadband internet performance, with India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Ghana all performing better.

In the realm of artificial intelligence, the IMF’s June 2024 Artificial Intelligence Preparedness Index placed Bangladesh 113th, again behind India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Ghana.

The Digital Quality of Life Index 2023 by cybersecurity firm Surfshark saw Bangladesh drop five notches to 82nd among 121 countries, with internet speed 5 percent below the global average.

Rankings in the Key Government Index, e-security, and internet purchasing capacity were similarly below par.

Nahid also pointed out that Bangladesh lags in freelancing, ranked 29th among the top 30 global destinations, as per an April 2024 report by US-based CEOWORLD magazine, trailing behind India and Pakistan.

These indicators, according to Nahid, reflect not just the failure to enjoy the full benefits of digital initiatives but also suggest pervasive irregularities in the sector.

He criticised the frequent delays and the need for repeated extensions in project timelines, calling for more sensible proposals regarding extensions.

Nahid emphasised that timely and proper project completion could significantly propel the nation’s progress in internet and telecommunication sectors, benefitting all Bangladeshis.

The meeting disclosed that nine projects are currently underway within the four offices of the Posts and Telecommunications Division for the fiscal year 2024-25, involving entities such as Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited, or BTCL, Teletalk Bangladesh Limited, the Directorate of Posts, and Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC.

As of August 2024, national-level project progress for the fiscal year was reported at 1.02 percent, with the Posts and Telecommunications Division achieving a progress rate of 3.84 percent.

Tech

Web Summit to host hundreds of curated community meetups in Lisbon this November

Published

3 months ago

September 13, 2024

Amino Ambian

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Web Summit has announced today that it will host hundreds of curated community meetups in Lisbon this November, powered by its proprietary software, Summit Engine.

This initiative is part of Web Summit’s renewed mission to foster meaningful connections and communities. By bringing people with similar backgrounds, interests and objectives together in community meetups, Web Summit hopes to make the event feel smaller and more intimate for attendees, as it continues to grow and scale across the world. Hundreds of these community meetups will take place alongside signature challenging discussions on how technology is shaping the world.

So far, this year’s top speakers include Yinon C. (Yinon Costica), co-founder of cybersecurity powerhouse WIZ , which recently made waves by turning down a US$23 billion offer from Google; Julie De Moyer , LVMH ’s recently appointed chief data and AI officer; Lidiane Jones , CEO of popular dating app Bumble Inc. , which harnesses AI to improve matchmaking; Cristiano Anon, CEO of Qualcomm, the company working to create bigger, better, and more affordable AI chips; and Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted messaging app Signal, which is fighting against government measures to scan citizen’s private messages.

Also taking to the stage will be Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang ; Škoda Auto CMO Meredith Kelly; Amazon Web Services VP of AI Matt Wood ; Meta’s global head of consumer marketing, Eshan Ponnadurai; Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada, and much more. They will be joined, by world comms@websummit.com leaders and changemakers, including Germany’s Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck; Portugal’s minister of youth and modernisation, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López.

Global tech companies, including IBM, Adobe, Intercom, Samsung Next, and Niantic Labs will exhibit on the floor alongside financial giants such as Visa and American Express. Other notable partners include Novo Nordisk, Bosch, EDP, and KPMG.

New for 2024: Hundreds of curated meetings

Of course, Web Summit isn’t just about the speakers – it’s about the connections. That’s why this November, our curated meetups, powered by Summit Engine, will bring together attendees with shared roles or interests in AI, fintech, crypto, food tech, sustainability, and more.

To do this, Web Summit’s data science team uses in-house software to group attendees who have common interests and backgrounds, helping uncover emerging communities. This technology was tested this year at Web Summit Rio in April, and at Collision in Toronto in June. From data scientists in Uruguay and food tech startup founders and investors to public sector AI innovators, Web Summit wants to make sure that the right people find each other at our events. Attendees can use the Web Summit app to easily connect and stay in touch with those they’ve met long after the event ends in November

“This is going to be our biggest but also our smallest event yet … we aim to host thousands of community meetups at the event and across Lisbon in November. We are evolving from being one large event to becoming a collection of a thousand deep, interconnected experiences,“ said Paddy Cosgrave .

“Over the last 15 years, the world has changed in many ways, and we’ve always been committed to adapting and re-evaluating our mission and goals to meet evolving challenges, ideas, and global circumstances. We’re currently in an especially charged moment in time,” Paddy continued.

“We are bigger than ever, but our mission remains the same – connecting the people, companies and ideas that change the word. Ultimately, the best event experience is when you walk away with a stronger network than you came with,” added SVP of product Brian Flanagan .

Just announced

The full list of speakers at Web Summit is being announced today:

● Lidiane Jones, CEO of Bumble

● Anastasis Germanidis , co-founder and CTO of Runway

● Meredith Kelly , CMO of Škoda Auto

● Sarah Myers West , co-executive chair of AI Now Institute

● Patrick Kluivert, former footballer with Barcelona and The Netherlands

● Paula Goldman , chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce

● Omar Berrada, CEO of Manchester United

● Hans Niemann , chess grandmaster

● Meredith Whittaker , president of Signal Messenger

● Munya Chawawa, actor and comedian

● Atul Bhardwaj j, chief digital and technical officer at the LEGO Group

● Smita Hashim , chief product officer at Zoom

● Alex Hirschi, founder of Supercar Blondie

New speakers are being added regularly on the Web Summit speaker page

About Web Summit:

Web Summit is a technology events company, bringing together a global community of founders, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors to connect and exchange ideas about the technology and trends shaping the world. Web Summit events – including Web Summit in Lisbon, Web Summit Rio in South America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East, and RISE in Asia – have gathered nearly one million people since Web Summit’s beginnings as a 150-person conference in Dublin in 2009. Its newest event, Web Summit Vancouver, will launch in May 2025.

Useful Links:

Web Summit website: https://websummit.com/

Web Summit Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/albums/

Web Summit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJtkHqH4Qof97TSx7BzE5IQ