Speakers at a discussion on Monday said the government should immediately start working on developing a legal framework to protect the secrecy of the data about citizens, which were submitted to either the government or the commercial organizations.
The discussion styled ‘privacy and the protection of the citizens, consumers and economy’ was organised by a local non-governmental organization, VOICE at the National Press Club auditorium in the capital.
Ahmed Shawpan Mahmud, the executive director of VOICE, said that personal and family information of the Bangladeshi citizens were stored with the Election Commission and different telecom operators.
‘The data carry potentials for being commercially traded. So the sales or transfers of such data should be legally prevented,’ he suggested.
It is the responsibility of the government to assure the citizens that the secrecy of their information will be guarded by the government and the companies, before calling them to submit information about them, he pointed out.
VOICE has partners like the London School of Economics and Political Science and the UK-based Privacy International in this campaign.

COMING SOON

Voice is currently seeking a qualified individual to fill the post of ICT RESEARCHER. We are looking to produce a comprehensive report on the state of Internet Censorship and Mobile Telephony in Bangladesh. For more details please see our employment opportunities page.

A meeting was organized by VOICE and Borendra Unnayan Procesta (BUP), a local NGO on `Peoples Right to Information: IFI’s accountability’ on 17 March 2008 at the Rajshahi Gender Development Resource Centre (GDRC). The meeting was attended by NGO activists, journalists and different professional groups. Fayezullah Chowdhury, Executive Director of BUP, acted as a moderator and Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive Director of VOICE, presented as a key speaker at the meeting.

Ahmed Swapan Mahmud asserted that people have a rightst to access information and our present government has agreed about this issue in order to disseminate information. Financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and World Trade Organization (WTO) are not accountable to disseminate all information to the people. People have not even have the right to file a case against them. People in Rajshahi are not informed about the strategies of the projects implemented in their locality. People have no participation in the design of projects, which are made by consultants.

A Seminar was held yesterday afternoon (April 2nd, 2008) by VOICE at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT) conference room in Uttara on the topic of “Gender Empowerment through Reflect Circles in Rural Bangladesh.”

Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, and Parker Mah, VOICE ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) Intern, presented the seminar, which led off with an introductory speech by the Vice-Chancellor and Founder of IUBAT, Prof. M. Alimullah Miyan. The seminar culminated in the first-ever public screening of a new documentary production by VOICE, ‘Reflect Circles: Realities of Change,’ on the subject of their Reflect Circles.

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness was endorsed on March 2nd, 2005, by more than one hundred signatories such as ministers, heads of agencies and senior officials, including all major donor and recipient governments. It presents a road-map intending to improve the efficiency of international aid. Along with giving the developing countries more power in the formulation and implementation of their policies, the Paris Declaration is based on 5 major principles: ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results, and mutual accountability, that should, if applied, help achieve development outcomes that are more aligned with the developing countries' realities and needs.

For the first time, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness has been translated by VOICE into Bangla, so can now be easily spread amongst the Bangladeshi community.

Click below to access the full Paris Declaration, Bangla version.

VOICE operates 10 REFLECT circles in 10 separate village locations, all located in the Myemensingh area. REFLECT stands for REGENERATIVE FREIRIAN LITERACY through EMPOWERING COMMUNITY TECHNIQUES, an education method developed by Ahmed Swapan Mahmud and VOICE.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Staff correspondent - New Age
http://www.newagebd.com/2008/feb/28/met.html

Jonoganatantra Andolon, a social organisation, on Wednesday demanded that the government ensure the security of Professor Anu Muhammad.
   It also demanded a proper investigation into the death threat to Anu Muhammad and the trial of those responsible.
   The five-point demand, which was placed at a press conference in Dhaka, also includes restoration of a democratic environment, freedom of expression, active role of the state in ensuring the security of the citizens and ensuring human rights including the right to participate in political, cultural and economic activities.

VOICE, as a research organization, compiles and publishes several documents every year. These range from small pamphlets and info-briefs to detailed book-length documents, research and seminar papers, and annual reports. In addition, VOICE puts out two regular newsletters:

Counter-Hegemony, a bimonthly English-language newsletter with the latest updates on VOICE activities;

Golaghor ("seed house"), a quarterly newsletter on food and seed sovereignty issues in Bangla.

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AMAR EKUSHEY BOOK FAIR (BOI MELA 2008)

Alternative ICT trainers find their VOICE in Dhaka