New competition ‘Digital Khichuri Challenge’ promoting diversity, peace kicks off

A specially designed new media and digital competition has begun in Dhaka with an aim to promote diversity and peace, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 Nov 2016, 04:31 PM
Updated : 28 Nov 2016, 04:31 PM

Starting from Monday and ending on Nov 30, 25 young Bangladeshis ranging from social entrepreneurs, programmers, grassroots leaders, designers, storytellers, students, and others would compete in the “Digital Khichuri Challenge”.

They will try to find new solutions and produce new digital platforms and tools that can promote the strength of Bangladesh’s diversity and promote peace and tolerance. 

The competition is co-sponsored by Facebook and the UNDP, with support from Google and organised by Affinis Labs (and AJ+).

This is the first such competition in South Asia, although similar events have been organised worldwide in the past, the UN agency said in a statement.

To kick off the event, a free workshop was organised on Monday for young contestants and others, where representatives from Facebook, Google, Twitter, AJ+, and UNDP Bangladesh presented the best practices and strategies in social and new media.

The winning team will be announced on Wednesday.

Facebook, UNDP and Affinis Labs will work closely with the winning team for at least six months to support the realisation of the prototype they create during the competition. 

Up to $ 5,000 will be provided for the winning idea to create a tangible product that can be promoted and launched.