State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak received the award in Geneva, Switzerland, winner of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Award-2024, one of the awards in the information and technology sector in the international arena.
This year, he received this award as the winner in the Building confidence and security in use of ICTs category for developing Secure Video Conferencing System (BOITHOK) of Bangladesh Computer Council.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, Boithok, “our homegrown video conferencing solution, has been a crucial tool in ensuring the continuity of vital services across various sectors. During the pandemic, Boithok provided a secure and reliable platform for remote education, allowing schools and universities to continue their operations seamlessly. It facilitated virtual healthcare consultations, ensuring that medical advice and support were accessible to all, even in the most remote areas. The application also played a pivotal role in the administration and governance of our country.
The UN ‘WSIS Award 2024’ is a recognition of our collective efforts and the dedication of the entire Bangladesh Computer Council team. It is also a reflection of our commitment to using technology to serve our people and build a more resilient, inclusive, and empowered nation under the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the prudent guidance of the Architect of Digital Bangladesh, Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
Hopefully, our young and talented programmers will come up with more opportunities and innovative solutions that will be useful and game-changing in the upcoming days.”
Tarek M. Barkatullah, former project director of BGD e-Gov CIRT, who was in charge of creating the platform, told that, “I am proud that ‘Boithok’ has received an international award. During Covid all government activities like all other sectors have become online dependent.
Data privacy then becomes an important issue. Then the work of building the meeting platform started using local resources. Using the platform will not only protect the country’s data but also save dollars. So I think we can be benefited if we can widely use Boithok. Tarek M. Barkatullah also thanks to those who have worked tirelessly to build this platform.”
The WSIS Awards are an international award created at the request of stakeholders at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, which is managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations. The awards aim to evaluate and recognize the role of individuals and organizations contributing to sustainable development using ICTs.
It is one of the awards in the ICT sector. Winners are selected based on votes received from different parts of the world and other factors.
It should be noted that multiple initiatives or projects in each category are selected as champions through voting to determine the WSIS award. One of them is declared as the winner. This year 18 projects were awarded as winners and 90 projects as champions.