1. Global Leadership Meeting Rajendrapur, Dhaka Asif Saleh
Youth and Technology
Global Leadership Meeting
Rajendrapur, Dhaka
Asif Saleh

2. What are they celebrating?
Context is Bangladesh

3. Early Adopters
Which sector saw the biggest success in technology adoption in public service delivery in Bangladesh?
Education
Use of SMS as university application
Results via and SMS

4. Lessons
“So my final hope for 2012 is that technology becomes so intrinsic to the development process that we no longer feel the need to separate it out. We never had p-health (paper health), or b-learning (blackboard learning). ICT4D will only have truly succeeded when it becomes invisible, intrinsic and yes, ultimately works its way out of a job” - Ken Banks, Founder, Frontlline SMS

5. What Youth Wants
Voice
Access
Service
Networking

6. Framework – What Youth Wants
Springboards,
Reinforcements,
Linkages
Technology can support all three

7. Framework – What Youth Wants
Springboards / Voice
Reinforcements / Linkages
Access
Service
Technology can support all four

8. Lessons from around the world – Spring board
Ushahidi
Arab Spring
RTI activists in India
Quantify demand
Missing Voice
Works as catalyst

9. Lessons from around the world – Reinforcements / Linkage
Remote entrepreneurs network in Bangladesh
Rise of the Facebook

10. Lessons from around the world – Access
Jobs / Souktel
Jobs infor via mobile
Access to market
E-chaupal
Access to information

11. Lessons from around the world – Service
Public Service
Education - Khan Academy
Social Safety - NID based safety net
Health – remote diagnosis
Training -- distance learning

12. Local Context - Bangladesh
Stratified society
Access is usually controlled by a few
Privileges and benefits of citizens are big city centric
Voice is contained

13. What Technology Enables
Takes the face off the interaction
Puts the control to the individual
Democratises access
Makes Geographical distance irrelevant

14. My Drishtipat Experience
Served as a plaftorm for diaspora
Linked with the larger peer group

15. Trends Internet connection grew almost 12 times in 2 years
Massive rise of online blogs in local language
Internet viewed as the most democratice media currently existing

16. Opportunities
Public-Private-Social sector to collaborate on bringing solutions
Creating virtual community around common shared goals
Creating an echo-system for innovation and entrepreneurship where small network get linked in with larger global network

17. Closing Thoughts
Country lacks infrastructure, so a purely technology intervention may be a divider
Effectiveness may increase in complimentary role online-offline
‘Hole in the Wall’ effect is widely seen
Realizing potential for many is now possible more than ever in a ‘smaller’, more connected world