Chief Adviser's Special Assistant for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb on Monday inaugurated Upazila Service and ICT Training Centres established in 100 upazilas across Bangladesh under the Establishing Digital Connectivity (EDC) project.
The inauguration ceremony was held at the conference room of the ICT Division with its Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury in the chair.
Speaking at the event, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb said to build a Digital Bangladesh, it is essential to go beyond capital-centric initiatives and expand ICT services and skills at the upazila and grassroots levels.
He said centres in 100 upazilas have already been completed and work on another 179 centres will be finished within the next six months.
To enable upazila-level ICT officers to work effectively, office space, training centres, and co-working spaces have been ensured, he added.
Through these centres, ICT skills of students and freelancers will be developed, government officials and employees will receive cyber security training, and ICT support will be provided to educational institutions, said Taiyeb.
CA’s special assistant also said that the centres will remain active year-round through IDEA, Startup Bangladesh, and other training programmes; therefore, along with infrastructure development, proper use and maintenance must be ensured.
ICT Division Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury said out of 400 upazilas, 303 centres have become operational, of which 100 were rolled out on Monday.
Through these centres, local people, especially youth, will be able to access a wide range of modern, technology-based services, he continued.
Shish Haider said each centre will have a modern digital lab, well-equipped training rooms, a startup zone, and a plug-and-play zone. The startup zone will provide high-speed internet and necessary digital devices, enabling at least 20 entrepreneurs or freelancers to work together at a time, he added.
"As a result, youths at the upazila level will receive training as well as working-space facilities, which will play an important role in creating new entrepreneurs and freelancers," he said, adding that more than 50,000 people will be able to receive digital services annually from each plug-and-play zone.
He further said that this initiative will play a significant role in the country's digital transformation and in building "Smart Bangladesh".
Chief Engineer of the Local Government Engineering Department Md Belal Hossain, Director General of the Department of ICT Md Abu Sayed and Additional Secretary of the ICT Division Md Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan, among others, were also present at the programme.
