Eminent professionals and members of the Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) at a meeting on Saturday observed that public policy without evidence and participation can make journey towards blind development.
They made the observation while addressing the annual general meeting (AGM) of the IID in Dhaka.Ananya Raihan, member of IID and Executive Director of Dnet, argued that people’s right to information is a part of the freedom that Amartya Sen highlighted in ‘development as freedom’.
Barrister Sara Hossain, Member of IID and Honorary Director of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Service Trust (BLAST) said the free flow of information requires a supportive environment which the government should create through pro-free speech Right to Information and ICT Acts.
Editor of Dhaka Tribune Zafar Sobhan said, “In our society often both public and private sector decisions are not profoundly based on evidences, owing to a severe lack of proper information”.
Rafiqul Islam Rowly, the new Chairperson of IID and Managing Director, CSL Software Limited also echoed with the statement.
He mentioned that while public sector often remains reluctant to use information, private sector also suffers from the lack of proper information.
Asif Saleh, Senior Director of BRAC and BRAC International noted that most institutes often fail to understand the enormous role ICT is playing in public life.
Consequently, traditional policy advocacy remains roundtable oriented, leaving little or no scope for wider public participation. Both policy making and policy advocacy need to make proper use of information and ICTs to increase its reach and effectiveness, he added.
Meghna Guhathakurta, Executive Director of Research Initiatives, Bangladesh (RIB) emphasized on the need for ICT to be mainstreamed into the development process. ICT is not just a technical tool, rather it can help the entire process of policy advocacy connecting grassroots to policy making, she observed.
Syeed Ahamed, CEO of IID, stressed the need for correlating data with people’s everyday needs. He gave examples on how IID use ICT to bridge the digital divide between the haves and have-nots of access to development discourse.
IID’s new website (www.iid.org.bd) was inaugurated by the distinguished participants at the end of the meeting, says a press release. – Staff Reporter
