It was a fair unlike any other.
It did not have the hustle bustle of the Ekushey Book fair; the window-shoppers and chaos of the annual trade expo; or the dandy gadgets and electronic novelties of the computer fairs.
But everyone who visited the three-day Digital Innovation Fair 2011 that ends today came away with something.
For some, it was the knowledge that anyone can now book hotel tickets from anywhere in the country over the internet, or how schoolteachers even in remote villages can develop digital classroom contents with help of textbooks, websites and YouTube videos.
Others learned how the education boards use digital devices to check examination papers or how the much-hyped electronic voting machines introduced by the Election Commission (EC) work.
“I didn't know you could view the maps and all the details of DAP (Detailed Area Planning) from the RAJUK website!” said Iqbal Hossain, a civil engineering student of a private university.
“I also didn't know that you could have immediate weather updates from your mobile phones or farmers can actually seek expert opinions on crops, fertilisers and insecticides through websites and cell phones,” he said. “These are information that many of us need for our everyday life, work and other things, and more people should know about these.”
Showcasing innovative government initiatives and projects on the use of ICT in various government and private organisations was the motto for the Digital Innovation Fair 2011 that is being held at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Novotheatre in the city.
The fair, organised by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science & ICT, was also meant to bridge the communication gap between government, private organisations and the general people
“There are many convenient and useful services available for the people, and many of them do not know about them. This fair is a means to change that,” said.
A total of 68 different ministries, government authorities and private organisations took part at the fair with over a hundred different digitally enabled projects and initiatives.
While there was nothing to purchase or no rides to explore, the interesting and innovative initiatives from the many organisations attracted flocks of visitors.
The organisers said the fair also seeks to encourage both government and private organisations to come up with innovative services and deliver them to the people's doorsteps.
Over 125 unique digitally enabled services were introduced over the past two years and the innovation fair in the last year and this year played an important role in making that possible, they said.
National Digital Innovation Award 2011
This year the second National Digital Innovation Award 2011 ceremony was merged with the fair and held yesterday where 31 top initiatives from 180 nominations received awards in various categories of which 11 became champions.
Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith was present as the chief guest at the award ceremony with Jamilur Reza Choudhury, eminent educationist and chairperson of the jury board of the National Digital Innovation Award 2011.
Of the champions three of the initiatives are from government organisations and the eight from private organisations.
Among government organisations, Bangladesh Post Office received the award for its Electronic Money Transfer Service (EMTS) under the e-Finance category. Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited's (DESCO) Online Bill Payment System through the internet was the runner-up in the category while National Board of Revenue's (NBR) Online Income Tax Calculator and Online Income Tax Return Submission received special mention.
Ministry of Communication received the champion's award for its Central Management System of Roads and Highways Department under the e-Inclusion and Participation category. Directorate General of Food and Management Information System (MIS) were chosen as runners-up.
Agriculture Information Service (AIS) received the champion's awards under the e- Livelihood category. The Deputy Commissioner's Office at Bandarban was chosen as the runner-up for its Record Room Digitisation initiative. And Deputy Commissioner's office at Naogaon received special mention for its Customised database software on Agriculture Khasland Management Information System (AKMIS) and Agriculture Khasland Settlement Information System.
Eight initiatives from individual, private and social enterprises received awards.
Gonit pathshala, an initiative from the students of Dafodil University, received the champion's award under the eLearning and Education category. Bangla Text to Braille Translator was picked as the runner-up while TeamCreative Ltd.'s Champs21, a study assessment website, received special mention.
Rabbit's Fury, a videogame, received the champion's award under e-Entertainment and Games category while Halda River: A Natural Fish Spawning Heritage of Bangladesh received the award under the e-Culture & Heritage category.
appRain Content Management Framework received an award under e-Science and Technology category while Ankur ICT Development Foundation was picked as the runner-up for its Bangla Spell Checker.
Under the e-Livelihood category, Activity for Reformation of Basic Needs' (ARBAN) initiative to Promoting Info- Lady for Building Inclusive Information and Knowledge based Upazilla won the champion's award.
Somewhere in net ltd's somewhere in... blog received the champion's award under e-News and Social Media category while CEGIS (SMS Gateway System for Monitoring Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) to reduce the community health risk of Bangladesh received the award under m-Health category.
In the m-Science and Technology category, Transformer Protection from Unauthorised Person received the champion's award.
Ministry of Science & ICT and D.Net organised the contest while Access to Information Programme (A2I) is the Principal Partner and The Daily Star, The Daily Prothom Alo, ATN News were the organising partners.
