TikTok, in collaboration with the Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival (DIMFF), hosted by the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), celebrated the achievements of the top 10 winners of the #CreateOnTikTok competition in a ceremony at Cineplex, SKS Tower, Mohakhali, on January 29, 2024. The occasion highlighted the creativity of individuals who used TikTok for storytelling through short films.
The #CreateOnTikTok competition, a part of TikTok latest initiative to empower content creators to craft short films using their mobile devices, culminated with the screening of the winners films. The event showcased various storytelling techniques in vertical video format, offering a glimpse into the evolving digital content creation landscape.
The selected winners are Abrar Zahin, Rayed Zakwan, Ahnaf Ali, Ashrafuddin Rahat, Sadiqul Islam, Sheikh Taseen, Isfar Mostakim, Takdir Talha, Rony Sharafat, and Mohammad Rafsan. They received certificates from TikTok, recognizing their contribution to digital content creation.
The winners expressed their gratitude and excitement over this unique opportunity. "Thankful to TikTok and ULAB for bringing a change in short-form content creation through #CreateOnTikTok competition and recognizing creators for their creative stories that are portrayed in vertical format. I am delighted to be a part of it.," said Ahnaf Ali, reflecting the sentiment of many participants.
By facilitating the submission of films through DIMFF social media pages and a dedicated TikTok micro-site, the campaign has opened new doors for filmmakers, enabling them to present their stories to a wider audience. The jury for the campaign, comprising Director Zahid Gogon, Film Critic Sadia Khalid Reeti, and Director Nazmul Hasan Shukorno, underscored the campaign commitment to excellence and innovation in digital storytelling.
Uber today rolled out the round-trip feature on its flagship long-distance product, Intercity. The new feature will allow passengers to book single or multi-day return on outstation travels with Uber, while retaining the same car and driver. The new feature empowers users with a much higher level of flexibility and convenience on their business or leisure trips. Riders can now book outstation round trips from Dhaka to any city for as many as 5 days. The vehicle and the driver will be with the rider through the duration, with the enhanced flexibility of adding stops as they go. The option to reserve rides up to 90 days in advance has been designed to help in better journeys for planned, outstation travel. The feature is beneficial for drivers, too, as this gives them the option to lock in higher earnings and plan their days ahead. The fare for round trips includes waiting time and overnight lodging fees (for multi-day trips) to ensure the drivers are compensated for their time. Commenting on the launch of the new feature, Nasheed Ferdous Kamal, Country Head, Bangladesh, said, “The roundtrip feature on Intercity is a great addition to travelers seeking extended flexibility and convenience. Outstation travel has largely been an unorganised market so far, and Intercity round trips change that game entirely with the host safety and tracking features available on all Uber rides. We are excited to redefine the future of long-distance road travel.” This will also further eliminate the hassle of manually booking a local rent-a-car service for a travel journey; with the added advantage of tracking the journey through the app, making the trip safer and much more reliable.
Visa, the global leader in digital payments, today announced the launch of the fourth edition of Visa Accelerator Program with an open call for applications.
The initiative aims to enable startups in Bangladesh to unlock growth potential by collaborating with Visa payments experts. The 2024 edition focuses on new opportunity areas – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Global Money Movement and Loyalty of the Future, with an emphasis on areas like Digital Acceptance for Micro, Small and Medium Businesses (MSMBs) and Embedded Finance.
Speaking on the launch of the program, Soumya Basu, Country Manager, Visa Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, said, “We are delighted to invite up-and-coming payment innovations of the country to the Visa Accelerator Program and power their solutions with Visa. The Program offers startups a unique opportunity to work with our subject matter experts to enhance and test their solutions with real-world opportunities, building a runway for growth. We aim to drive the next wave of momentum for global payments by enabling seamless, safe money movement through positive payments experiences.”
Tailored for companies in the pivotal expansion stage, the program will emphasise on development of proof of concept, product solutioning and fast-tracked commercialization, arming startups with potential collaboration and accelerated growth. A select group of startups from across the Asia-Pacific region will, through the program, address evolving challenges of the payment ecosystem. They will also co-develop, test, and iterate new solutions and leverage Visa extensive network of financial institutions, merchants and digital partners to pursue tangible go-to-market opportunities. Launched in 2020, the Visa Accelerator Program has consistently supported advanced stage startups with experienced mentors, cutting-edge technology, and opened doors to investment opportunities.
Applications for this edition of the Program will close on March 8, 2024. The selected startups will engage in the program from May to November 2024, culminating with a Demo Day later.
Startups interested to know more and submit applications can visit www.visa.com.sg/apaccelerator
Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited and Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on strategic partnership to accelerate smart education opportunities for colleges and universities.
This MoU was signed at University Grant Commission (UGC) office in Agargaon.
The MoU accentuates Huawei commitment to advancing smart education initiatives, including smart campuses and classrooms. Huawei and BdREN will collaborate to establish cooperative relationships to innovate new opportunities and prospects together using cutting-edge technologies like High Performance Computing (HPC), Cloud, Artificial intelligence (AI) etc. In this process, Huawei will provide high-speed internet/data connectivity hardware and other associated application software to the universities and research institutes in collaboration with BdREN.
Peng Xiaolei (Andy), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Enterprise Business Group (EBG) of Huawei South Asia; and Mohammad Tawrit, Chief Executive Officer, BdREN, signed the MoU on behalf the respective parties. Allen Liu, Vice President, Huawei South Asia and Managing Director of Government & Enterprise Business Group, Huawei Bangladesh and Muhammed Alamgir, Acting Chairman, UGC and Acting Chairperson, BdREN Trust were also present in this ceremony along with other officials from both organizations.
Allen Liu said, “Our commitment extends beyond technology; we aim to cultivate local talents, and to provide transformative digital solutions for the education sector. Huawei envisions a collaborative journey, bringing profound value to Bangladesh through smart education solutions. Huawei is delighted for the fruitful partnership with BdREN. With this
we embark on a path toward a digitally enriched and empowered future."
Muhammed Alamgir said on this occasion, "BdREN stands as a flagship organization in Bangladesh, working in a non-profit modality and providing high-speed high-quality networking services to public universities. With the anticipation of Huawei significant role in the imminent IT revolution, we actively seek strategic partnerships to navigate the evolving landscape. Huawei commitment is a source of optimism, and we aspire to leverage its capabilities to the fullest, dedicated to building a society that empowers marginalized communities through technological advancements."
Huawei served with smart education technologies in 80+ countries, and 2800+ universities all over the world. More than 500K Primary and secondary schools have been benefitted with Huawei ICT solutions. In Bangladesh Huawei provided smart ICT solutions to multiple universities.