‘Digital literacy vital for BD migrant workers’

Digital literacy is crucial for Bangladeshi migrant workers for their safety and security, said speakers at a programme in the capital on Wednesday.
They said most of the migrant workers spend their leisure time using different online apps like Facebook, Youtube etc.
Due to lack of proper awareness and skills in using internet, sometimes they fall in danger at their job destination countries. Through digital literacy such vulnerability can be reduced significantly, they commented.
They made their observation at the final round of Digital Khichuri Challenge (DKC) 2019 competition at Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Auditorium in the city.
The theme of the DKC-2019 was 'Digital literacy to the Bangladeshi migrant workers'.
Team Edsight and Choukosh were awarded the winner and runner-up respectively in the student category. The teams 'We Workers' and 'ProbashKotha' were awarded the winner and runner-up respectively in the startup category.
With the help of Facebook and Bangladesh ICT Division, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiated the "Digital Khichuri Challenge" competition in 2016. The aim of the programme is to uphold the cultural diversity, pluralism and tolerance.
Migrant workers have inherently been subject to a lot of obstacles and struggles. Many of them often find themselves in places distant from their Bangladeshi migrant community, leading a life of isolation and social exclusion.
They only find solace and some companionship using social media heavily to spend their time and keep in touch with their family, increasing their social media usage compared to when they were in Bangladesh.
However, they lack awareness of the risks posed by social media, making them vulnerable to cybercrime, cyberbullying, disinformation and propaganda.
Nazmul Islam, director general of East at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said even literate people is falling prey to fake news. So, not only literacy but it is also needed to create awareness about safe use of internet.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT Division, appreciated DKC's approach for instilling digital literacy into the migrant workers.
"We want to create a digital Bangladesh with digitally literate citizens," he said.
Robert Stoelman, senior programme manager of UNDP Bangladesh, among others were present at the programme.
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