The Deputy Head of the Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh – Mr. Thijs Woudstra, has called for combat against rumours, mis and disinformation. He called this in a meeting with stakeholders in Brahmanbaria district as a chief guest on Thursday (04 July, 2024). Later, a group performance of a drama and audio-visual contents exhibition also took place in the afternoon.
South Asia Center for Media in Development (SACMID) organized the vibrant and engaging meeting titled “Raising Community Awareness to Prevent Rumour, Mis and Dis-information on Social Media Platforms.” The meeting held at 11 AM in the conference room of Brahmanbaria Press Club. A total of 54 participants, including journalists, government and NGO officials, teachers, students, influencers, social, religion, and opinion leaders- activists from Brahmanbaria district took part in the meeting.
Among others, Syed Kamrul Hasan, Program Manager of the project and the Deputy Director of SACMID, Namia Akhter, Senior Policy Adviser of the embassy and Adnan Fahad, Associate Professor of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies of Jahangirnagar University, Baharul Islam Molla, general secretary of Brahmanbaria Press Club and others were present respectively.
During the meeting, the participants shared their thoughts, learnings, and experiences following the implementation of the project in the area. They highlighted the issues caused by the spread of rumours in Brahmanbaria and discussed how their participation in the project activities has led to greater awareness and understanding of combating misinformation and disinformation. Expressing gratitude, they also voiced their expectations for expanding such programs to remote areas to achieve a more significant impact.
In the afternoon of the same day, SACMID hosted a drama performance and an audio-visual content exhibition in Shilpakala Academy in Brahmanbaria. The event showcased five award-winning audio-visual works from a national competition. Following the exhibition, a cultural group called ‘Khelaghar’ performed a drama titled ‘Gujobe Hoy Khoti,’ aimed at raising awareness against rumors. The event was attended by over a hundred individuals from diverse backgrounds, with a notable presence of young participants.
The project, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by SACMID, aims to empower communities with the knowledge and tools needed to identify and prevent the spread of false information on social media platforms. This initiative is a crucial step towards building a more informed and resilient society by increasing media literacy, access to information ensuring right to information regarding SDG goals both directly and passively.
SACMID is a media development organization founded in 2017 and registered under the NGO Affairs Bureau.