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State Minister for Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said to build a smart young generation and social system in Bangladesh, the country needs to ensure good mental health of the children.
To achieve that goal, government, private sector, academia, media partnership should work together, he added.
Mentioning that now is the right time to be aware and to make others aware, the state minister said, “To create awareness on this issue across the country, trainers and counselors should be appointed for mentoring in educational institutions.
“Besides, we can provide technology and assisted counseling in community health clinics to create grassroots mental health awareness.”
The state minister made the remarks as chief guest at the “ICT and Mental Health” round table discussion jointly organised by Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC), UNDP Bangladesh, and Moner Bandhu at the conference room in ICT Tower in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Thursday.
Under the chairmanship of Bangladesh Computer Council Executive Director Ranajit Kumar, Secretary of ICT Division Md Shamsul Arefin, World Bank Senior Health Expert Dr Bushra Binte Alam, UNDP Senior Governance Specialist Sheela Tasneem Haq, PTIB Project Manager Robert Stoelman, NIMH Professor Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed, founder and CEO of Moner Bandhu Tawhida Shiropa are delivered their speech.
The state minister Palak said, “It is our responsibility to keep the digital space safe for future generations. To that end, we must work together to stop cyber bullying, identify and remove negative content, and raise awareness about mental health.
“Besides that those individuals, organisations or institutions responsible for the mental health risks of our young generation, such as social media or deep fakes, need to be identified and held accountable.”
Palak added, “As the successful implementation of the Digital Bangladesh vision has increased the influence and reach of technology in our lives. It is also creating an adverse effect on our mental health.
“If we do not act now on this matter then the goal of building smart citizens and smart societies will be thwarted.”
