Tradition must be preserved in digital technology: Mustafa Jabbar

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said digital technology is the key to preserving tradition. Technology should not be feared, neglected, or abandoned, but the Bengali language, culture, and heritage should be protected in its facilities.

He spoke as the chief guest at a seminar on ‘Role of Technology in Preserving Heritage’ jointly organized by SME Foundation and AFDB in Dhaka yesterday.

SME Foundation President. Masudur Rahman presided over the function while BGMEA President Faruk Hasan, AFDB chief Mantasha Ahmed, Walton Executive Director SM Zahid Hasan, and Pathao Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fahim Ahmed spoke on occasion.

The telecom minister said, “We will not be able to go back to sailing or plowing, and we will be able to preserve the lost heritage with digital technology.” At the same time, he called upon all concerned to work for the advancement of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as an exporter from the country of importing digital products while upholding the tradition of Bengal.

“We are exporting software to 70 countries around the world,” he said. Digital devices manufactured by Bangladesh are being exported to many countries worldwide, including Nepal, Nigeria, and the USA. Made in Bangladesh is playing a glorious role as the second-largest manufacturer and exporter of garments globally.

Referring to the visionary technology-friendly policy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Minister said that Bangladesh is witnessing unimaginable success in exporting readymade garments as well as readymade garment exporters to the world in continuation of the resolution announced by the Prime Minister on August 6, 2015, to import and export digital products. He mentioned that in the continuation of the Digital Bangladesh program announced in 2006, Bangladesh has been able to overcome the hundreds of years of backwardness in technology and keep pace with the developed world.

Speaking on occasion, SME Foundation President Masudur Rahman said, “The essential part of the Bengali tradition is our Bangla language. Mostafa Jabbar Saheb has done the historical work of writing Bangla very simply by applying the Bangla language in computers, as a result of which Bangla language has risen to prominence in the digital age.

Speakers at the event emphasized the need to preserve the heritage and digital transformation. Later, the Minister visited various stalls of the country’s traditional cottage industry fair, including the weaving industry organized by the SME Foundation.