Bangladesh
With a focus on gender equality, civic accountability, and social cohesion, our Bangladesh office encourages innovation in tackling community challenges, building leadership capacity that reflects the country’s diversity, and facilitating broad-based participation in the country’s development.
Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj,
Country Representative
Contact
The Asia Foundation – Bangladesh
House #5, Road #8 Baridhara
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh
Tel: +880 (2) 4108-1821 to 26
Fax: +880 (2) 4108-1835
Email: bangladesh.general@asiafoundation.org
Promoting religious peace and tolerance
We are empowering citizens from across faith groups to respond to and reduce violations of religious freedom through the creation of an Early Warning Systems effort in Bangladesh. For communities and individuals who are being targeted for their religious beliefs, there are no systems in place to forewarn of impending threats. In Rajshahi District, with the support of the U.S. Department of State, community leaders from the private sector, local government, academia, and civil society assess threat reports and enlisted “peacekeepers” to train and mobilize volunteers to raise the alert about threats of imminent violence. To understand the impact of these efforts, we conducted an interfaith assessment and conflict analysis of local religious freedom dynamics to inform peacebuilding strategies.
NEWS FROM BANGLADESH
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Emerging Marketplace Dynamics in the Rohingya Refugee Camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
February 23, 2021
Publication -
Community Perspectives on Access to Civil Justice after Cross-Border Displacement: The needs of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
February 23, 2021
Publication
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Development Letters
January 26, 2021
Publication -
The Asia Foundation and UNESCO Dhaka Partnership in Bangladesh
2021
Program Snapshot
Growing the Bangladesh economy with women entrepreneurs
Women in Bangladesh face a distinct set of challenges when they seek to start or grow a business: many run the household and care for families, and society expectations impact property ownership and access to collateral, finance, buyers and markets. They are challenged by often limited access to networks for support and to strengthen their voices. With funds from the GSRD Foundation and the Lotus Circle we are equipping women’s business associations in six districts to increase networks, facilitate loan opportunities, and promote the use of information technology among these new entrepreneurs. We sponsored six district-level networking events, trained more than 550 women entrepreneurs, built six online marketing and sales portals to gain access to buyers, and hosted public private dialogues promoting new policies to support women’s entrepreneurship.
Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth program
In spite of Bangladesh’s impressive growth in recent decades, over 40 million people still live below the poverty line. Many question if the growth has been “inclusive” and helped generate large-scale productive employment for the growing number of citizens entering the labor force each year. To increase evidence-based dialogue on inclusive growth, The Asia Foundation and the Overseas Development Institute, with support from the UK Department for International Development, are implementing the Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth Program in coordination with the General Economics Division of the Planning Commission. In addition to quarterly workshops, the project will produce six thematic research reports to support specific policy recommendations.
Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth
In spite of Bangladesh’s impressive growth in recent decades, over 40 million people still live below the poverty line. Many question if the growth has been “inclusive” and helped generate large-scale productive employment for the growing number of citizens entering the labor force each year. To increase evidence-based dialogue on inclusive growth, we are implementing the Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth Program in coordination with the General Economics Division of the Planning Commission.
HIGHLIGHTS ACROSS ASIA
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About Us
March 1, 2021
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The Future of Work for Women in the Pacific Islands
February 26, 2021
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Vogue Paris Spotlights Lana Condor’s Vietnam Girls Scholarship
February 17, 2021
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Rapid Response Fund Buoys Mongolian Women Entrepreneurs Hit Hard by Covid
February 17, 2021
Blog
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Insights on China’s 2021 White Paper on International Development Cooperation
February 17, 2021
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Virtual Event – The Economist’s Technology for Change Week Asia
Singapore
March 8-12, 2021
Events
Impact Report 2020
Leading through change