The Daily Star features an article about a new British Council survey, which finds that Bangladeshi youth show a lack of interest in politics. The Asia Foundation’s Sheela Tasneem Haq, who was present at the survey’s launch ceremony, is quoted. Read the full article: “Youths for development.”
The Independent features an article about The Asia Foundation’s workshop held in Rajshahi entitled, “District Public-Private Dialogue,” which focused on ways to improve trade in Bangladesh. Read the full article: “Separate industrial policy needed for N-region.”
An article in The Daily Star features a talk co-organized by The Asia Foundation on April 12, that urged the government to establish special economic zones in Bangladesh’s Sylhet district. Read the full article: “Dialogue demands immediate establishment of SEZ in Sylhet.”
Asia’s religious and community leaders play a central role in combating corruption, poverty, and instability, but broader knowledge of critical national issues would enhance their contributions to development at the community level, according to delegates at the “Regional Conference on the Role of Religious and Community Leaders in Advancing Development in Asia.”
The four-day conference, convened jointly by the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) and The Asia Foundation, was held in Dhaka and attended by religious and community leaders from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Tajikistan, and Thailand, together with representatives from The Asia Foundation and the United States government. Participants identified ways that religious and community leaders can tackle important national development issues, including good governance and preventing corruption, improved public health services, conflict resolution, empowering youth, and gender justice and equity.
Delegates developed strategies to address their community’s most pressing needs and identified critical challenges to overcome, such as a lack of coordination between governments and civil society groups, a reluctance to engage religious leaders in the design and implementation of local policies, and distrust between various religious organizations along theological or political lines.
Conference delegates had the opportunity to interact with representatives of the successful Leaders of Influence (LOI) program – developed in 2004 by The Asia Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Bangladesh and the Imam Training Academy, with USAID support – and to then participate in an inter-faith, intergroup meeting with their LOI counterparts. Examining the feasibility of adapting aspects of the Bangladesh experience to their own national development plans was cited as a highlight of the program.
The conference concluded with delegates designing country-specific action plans, including training programs for imams and other religious leaders on social development issues; convening regular forums for government, civil society groups, and religious leaders to engage in dialogue and improve communication; and providing opportunities for religious leaders to learn about, and interact with, leaders of other faiths.
Conference materials and presentations are available on the Leaders of Influence website and interviews with delegates are available on the Leaders of Influence YouTube Channel. Following the Dhaka conference, delegates will continue to share ideas and resources through Facebook and Twitter.
For more information, please visit our Press Room.
In a USAID press release announcing the religious leaders conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on “the role of religious and community leaders in advancing development in Asia,” The Asia Foundation is credited for co-hosting the three-day event March 21-24. Read the full article: “U.S. Sponsors Bangladesh Conference for Religious and Community Leaders on Advancing Development in Asia.”
In an article in The New Nation on the occasion of International Women’s Day about the increase in women’s access to education and health care in Bangladesh, The Asia Foundation is mentioned for supporting the Female Secondary School Stipend Programme there. Read the full article: “Honouring the women on Women’s Day.”
The Asia Foundation recently welcomed Hasan Mazumdar as its new Country Representative in Bangladesh. Mr. Mazumdar succeeds Kim McQuay, who served as representative there from 2003 to 2009. With a background in both international development and the private sector, Mr. Mazumdar brings a deep knowledge of development issues in Bangladesh and the region, demonstrated management capabilities, and extensive relationships with bilateral donors and the private sector.
Mr. Mazumdar comes to the Foundation from CARE, where he worked for over 10 years in both Bangladesh and Pakistan. In his role as CARE’s Deputy Country Director in Bangladesh, Mr. Mazumdar managed 800 employees, led 25 projects totaling $40 million, and was responsible for finance, administration, and human resources. As CARE’s Country Director in Pakistan, he oversaw economic, governance, small and medium enterprise (SME) development, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and women’s empowerment programs.
From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Mazumdar worked for Cairn Energy, PLC, in Dhaka as Head of Finance and Administration. Prior to that, he worked as Senior Manager with KPMG in Dhaka where he provided audit and business development services to some of the largest multinationals and leading NGOs in the country. He has also held positions with Deloitte & Touche and with Frauenthal & Associates in Ohio.
Mr. Mazumdar is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of The American Institute and Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dhaka University.
The Asia Foundation’s programs in Bangladesh promote fair elections and democratic representation, give policy voice to rural small business, assist the poor to access justice, build trust between police and communities, and engage religious and secular leaders of influence to support women’s rights, development, and governance reform. Through its Books for Asia program, the Foundation donates 70,000 books and journals annually to Bangladesh.
For more information, please visit our Press Room.
In a Daily Star article about the rise in the flower farming industry throughout villages in Bangladesh, the president of Flower Growers’ Association in Baliadanga village Motiar Rahman cites The Asia Foundation’s role in contacting the authorities to assist. Read the full article: “Profiting from flowers.“
Forbes.com published news of the Goldman Environmental Prize winners, each of whom are program partners of The Asia Foundation. Syeda Rizwana Hasan of Bangladesh and Yuyun Ismawati of Indonesia won the highly coveted prize honoring grassroots environmentalists. Read the full story “Goldman Environmental Prize Recipients Saluted by Asia Foundation.”
The Australia Agency for International Development (AusAID) announced its support for work related to the upcoming Bangladesh national elections. Australia’s $1 million contribution to The Asia Foundation will help support the deployment of 165,000 domestic election monitors, as well as voter education and electoral reform initiatives. Read the full AusAID press release.
On Thursday, March 29, 2007, the Bangladesh Election Working Group, a non-partisan 34-member coalition of civil society organizations committed to free and fair elections and governance reform, released findings from a rapid assessment of citizen perceptions of recent political events in Bangladesh. The report, conducted in all 64 districts of Bangladesh from February 3-7, 2007, was conducted with technical support from The Asia Foundation.
The National Public Perception Study Report can be accessed via download, by clicking here.
The report, the first in a series of planned public perception surveys, states that there is a broad consensus that the state of emergency proclaimed in January 2007 was necessary in view of the political crisis and lawlessness prevailing at the time in the country. It also reflects citizen perspectives on other issues such as the newly appointed Caretaker Government, public security, electoral reforms, and election timelines. It is based on 1,437 in-person interviews of Bangladeshi men and women.
A second perception survey report comparing citizen views in March 2007 with those expressed in February 2007 will be released shortly.
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