The announcement was made at a launching ceremony held at Banglalink HQ Tiger’s Den on Wednesday. High officials of the two organizations were present at the launching ceremony, said a press release
Although internet penetration has been rising commendably in Bangladesh, internet is yet to reach a vast portion of the total population. The most-pressing barriers to mobile internet adoption in Bangladesh stem from the lack of basic digital skills and a limited understanding of the advantages that the internet can offer to mobile users.
The ‘Internet101’ campaign works to ensure this new digitally empowered Bangladesh understands internet safety best practices by hosting one-on-one trainings at each of Banglalink’s 3000 retail locations. Furthermore, the campaign will also reach out to 1,600 college students through Youth Connect discussion forums at selected universities in locations where Banglalink has regional offices to discuss digital literacy and online safety.
“Digital literacy is fundamental to developing an inclusive digital infrastructure in Bangladesh, and stakeholder collaboration plays a key role in closing the existing digital literacy gap,” said Upanga Dutta, Chief Commercial Officer, Banglalink. “We are excited to launch the ‘Internet101’ campaign today in Bangladesh in partnership with Facebook as we continue to expand our efforts to ensure that all of Bangladesh has access to the vast opportunities the internet can offer. We firmly believe that this joint campaign will take us one step closer to the fulfillment of our vision to create a truly digitalized country.”
‘Internet101’ is the second digital literacy campaign brought to Bangladesh by Banglalink and Facebook. In 2018, Banglalink and Facebook launched the ‘Learn the Internet, See the World’ campaign, which educated 1.2M new users. The 18-month campaign provided basic training on internet best practices and the benefits of internet connectivity. Besides, the campaign shared guidance on how to effectively use Facebook as a tool to leverage businesses and individual skills.
“Facebook is always looking to work with credible local partners to achieve internet inclusion and, at the same time, maintain a safe and informed community to connect and share online. We are pleased to be a partner of Banglalink once again to improve digital literacy and encourage greater levels of digital citizenship in an increasingly connected community in Bangladesh,” said Karan Khara, Facebook company spokesperson.