South Asia, ICT policy and a consultation....

On a day where thundershowers were predicted in the city — and some street protests — the APC’s regional consultation on ICT policy in South Asia got underway on April 19, 2005 at the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. The event is hosted by the Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BSES) in a scenic part of the city, where you can come across some tall buildings with a whole lot of antennas on the roof.

On a day where thundershowers were predicted in the city — and some street protests — the APC’s regional consultation on ICT policy in South Asia got underway on April 19, 2005 at the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. The event is hosted by the Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BSES) in a scenic part of the city, where you can come across some tall buildings with a whole lot of antennas on the roof.

The APC meet is part of its work with its Building Communication Opportunities (BCO) alliance. APC has been active at the national levels, promoting and supporting national policy advocacy processes in Africa and Latin America. "It’s vital for policy changes to take place at the national, regional and global levels simultaneous. Social spaces should be developed in all three places," APC’s communication and information policy manager Willie Currie said at the start of the day.

"This reflects the priority APC is placing on critical work that civil society has to do on all processes, that impact on our lives," added APC’s networking and advocacy manager. "Some of our earliest members were in South Asia, beginning in the late 1980s, including in Bangladesh and IndiaLink in India. At that time, our focus was dealing with very basic computing issues, such as capacity building. Fifteen years later, we are back to issues of fundamental importance, but still about connectivity — which maybe a lot biger now. We believe that increasing bandwidth will allow people to benefit from what access to technology allows."

BFES advisor Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelly felt the challenge is "how to (influence) policy in a situation of great flux", while Ministry of Science and ICT secretary Mian Mushtaque Ahmed, the special guest for the occasion, felt that the top priorities for this country were to boost computer literacy, build ICT infrastructure, get the private sector (both profit and non-profit), and deployICTs for poverty alleviation and good governance.

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