With a view to empowering women through technology, Microsoft Bangladesh has announced 18 female volunteers across the nation from the National Youth Assembly as Microsoft Brand Ambassadors.
Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing Director of Microsoft Bangladesh Limited, has made the announcement on February 1 at the National Youth Assembly 2017, organized by Volunteer for Bangladesh, a youth wing of JAAGO Foundation, in Cox’s Bazar.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for ICT Division, and Marcia Bernicat, US Ambassador to Bangladesh, were also present at the program among other distinguished guests.
“Microsoft Bangladesh will bring technology to the hands of these girls. I am very passionate about developing women in the technology business and will personally mentor all 18 of these girls to help them to bet on technology to solve problems which could later become a business idea. We will expose them to what is available in the world of technology. Microsoft has a global competition called Imagine Cup in April 2017 and I will encourage the girls to participate in the competition from Bangladesh and who knows – one of them may become a winner ” said Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing Director of Microsoft Bangladesh.
Handing over certificates to the newly-announced brand ambassadors, Kabir also talked about how technology could play a vital role in the progress of women empowerment in our country.
The brand ambassadors will have internship and training opportunities at Microsoft Bangladesh. This ambassadorship is the gateway to the world of technology and other privileges needed for scaling up the endeavors of the young women. They will join the Windows Women team and will also be able to learn how Microsoft employees work through shadowing them during the internship.
State Minister for ICT Division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, said, “The government is working to achieve its Digital Bangladesh vision by 2021, and by that time we want to build an inclusive Digital Bangladesh where both women and men will have equal opportunity and benefits. As part of the government’s ‘One Student One Laptop,’ initiative, I’m announcing 18 laptops for these women.”
The National Youth Assembly 2017, organized by the JAAGO Foundation, is a four-day residential workshop that brought together about 200 youth leaders from 8 divisions of the country. Workshops on different topics, interactive sessions between the volunteers and prominent speakers from different fields were held at the assembly with an aim to strengthen the participants’ skills and help them serve their communities in better ways.
