UNDP
Facebook, UN Women partner to train community orgs on online safety in Bangladesh
Facebook has partnered with UN Women Bangladesh to conduct a daylong virtual programme on digital citizenship and online safety for over 80 participants from 30 grassroots and community organizations in Bangladesh.
Representatives from Facebook led sessions covering a wide range of topics including managing digital presence, privacy tools, and online safety for women.
Also Read: Women often assaulted online in Asia but find limited recourse: UN Women study
“Women around the world are empowered by digital tools to organize for causes they care about. At Facebook, we continue to invest in digital literacy and citizenship, resiliency, and safety programs around the world, including Bangladesh. We are delighted to partner with UN Women in Bangladesh as we support and promote communities led by women and invested in women,” said Beth Ann Lim, Director of Policy Programs for Facebook in Asia Pacific.
This workshop marks a continuation of Facebook’s partnership with UN Women Bangladesh which began on International Women’s Day in March this year, through LedByHer, a social media campaign to feature Bangladeshi women leaders and the role that digital platforms can play to tell their stories and build resilience.
Later this year, Facebook and UN Women Bangladesh will be hosting a series of intergenerational dialogues between women of different ages from the same fields.
Shoko Ishikawa, Country Representative for UN Women Bangladesh said digital space has given a new dimension to gender-based violence that continues to be normalized and embedded in our societies.
Also Read: Facebook supports COVID-19 health awareness and vaccine rollout in Bangladesh
UN Women Bangladesh is working with public and private universities to build the capacity of young women for creating positive content and counter misogynistic speech, she said.
“We thank Facebook for this partnership and hope it will help organizations working on women empowerment, human rights and marginalized populations to use digital tools more effectively and build a more inclusive community.”
Facebook regularly engages with civil society groups in Bangladesh and around the world to help inform its policies and programs.
This workshop is just one of its investments to build a safer digital space in Bangladesh, especially for women.
The company has plans to build on the workshop and work closely with organizations and community groups to increase their capacity and help create a more informed and responsible online community.
Also read:90,000 adolescents to get training on online safety
Last year, Facebook launched its flagship program We Think Digital in Bangladesh in partnership with the ICT Division, Ministry of Education and UNDP Bangladesh.
This global program helps people improve their digital capabilities and promotes responsible digital citizenship, as well as critical thinking and sharing thoughtfully online.
UN report says Myanmar poverty could double from coup chaos
Political turmoil and disruptions following the coup in Myanmar could undo years of progress and double the number of its people living in poverty to nearly half the population, a United Nations report said Friday.
The report by the U.N. Development Program, or UNDP, said 12 million people could fall into dire economic straits as businesses remain shuttered in a standoff between the junta and a mass civil disobedience movement.
“The hardest hit will be poor urban populations and the worst affected will be female heads of household,” Kanni Wignaraja, the UNDP’s assistant secretary-general for the region, told The Associated Press via a Zoom recording.
The Feb. 1 coup wrested power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained along with more than 3,400 other people. Since then, the military has severely restricted internet access and gradually stepped up violent repression of protests.
Many factories, offices, banks and other facilities have closed and trade has been disrupted by work stoppages and other disruptions at ports, economists and others familiar with the situation inside Myanmar say. That has worsened already bleak conditions due to the pandemic.
Also read: Myanmar airstrikes target ethnic forces on 2 fronts
The UNDP said conditions could deteriorate by early 2022 to a level of poverty last seen in 2005.
The economy grew rapidly after a previous military regime initiated a partial transition to a civilian government, while keeping control of key ministries and industries and seats in parliament.
Foreign investment in garment manufacturing, tourism and other industries helped create millions of jobs, providing a lifeline of support for many families living in rural areas.
But that progress has ground to a halt as the coup added to troubles from the pandemic.
“With the effects of the political crisis, we could see these gains removed in just a few months,” Wignaraja said.
The research agency Fitch Solutions has forecast that the economy will contract 20% in the current fiscal year, which ends in September. In a report released last week, economist Jason Yek noted that food insecurity is rising due to hoarding and inflation, while people struggle to access cash to pay for necessities due to the closure and cash limits put on ATMs.
A weakening of the Myanmar kyat to about 1,600 kyat per dollar from about 1,350 kyat before the coup also hinders the country’s ability to import much needed medicines and other supplies.
“We really cannot rule out any worst-case scenario,” Yek said in an online briefing.
So far, foreign governments and businesses have sought to levy pressure on Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and others in the junta through targeted sanctions meant to cut off financial support to the army, or Tatmadaw.
The UNDP report’s findings suggest that ordinary people already are suffering regardless of sanctions.
Also read: Myanmar guerrillas capture gov't base; airstrikes follow
The magazine Nikkei Asia Review said Thursday that the group Independent Economists for Myanmar issued a report urging the targeting of sources of foreign exchange, such as Myanmar’s exports of natural gas, its biggest revenue earner, and of gems and jade.
Sanctions could freeze deposits linked to the state-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank, it said.
It said targeting the junta’s sources of hard currency with international sanctions could reduce its revenues by roughly $2 billion annually.
It said the military was prioritizing spending on weapons and security operations over providing desperately needed public services.
Also read: ASEAN leaders demand Myanmar coup leaders end killings
The U.S. recently ordered sanctions against the company that controls most of Myanmar’s gems, pearls and jade sales, though a huge share of that trade is done illicitly.
So far, foreign energy companies involved in Myanmar’s natural gas industry have resisted calls for them to stop paying revenues to the government, saying such moves might endanger their employees and hurt access to already scarce electricity.
UNDP launches Accelerator Lab in Bangladesh to support SDGs
The Bangladesh Chapter of the Accelerator Labs, a new addition to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded by the German Cooperation and the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), was launched on Wednesday at a virtual event to accelerate learning and mitigate the challenges of the SDGs.
Attended by the Planning Minister M.A.Mannan as the chief guest, the virtual event brought together actors from the Government, private sector, development partners, civil society, and academia to accelerate learning to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
Addressing the panel discussion as the Chair, Planning Minister Mannan said the global network like UNDP’s Accelerator Lab can help Bangladesh to regain its space for timely achievement of the SDGs by 2030 and LDC graduation by 2026.
Sultana Afroz, Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh and the CEO of the Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA), PMO, in her remarks during the panel discussion, said Public-Private Partnership is crucial in achieving the SDGs.
"PPPA can collaborate with UNDP’s Accelerator Lab to bring innovations in achieving the SDGs.”
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, one of the panellists, said UNDP has always been with the Government of Bangladesh in its journey towards indomitable Bangladesh.
"The newly launched Accelerator Lab will be a tool to address many challenges in Bangladesh like climate change, disaster management, inequality, and, of course, the adverse impact of the COVID pandemic."
Momen also hoped that the Accelerator Lab would synergise all the initiatives to mitigate the challenges of achieving the SDGs through knowledge share, technology transfer, and best practices.
N M Zeaul Alam, Senior Secretary, ICT Division, among the other panellists, said, “With the help of ICT we are coping well with the new normal during the pandemic. UNDP’s Accelerator Lab can help us to reduce the digital divide caused by the COVID pandemic.”
The panel discussion was moderated by the Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh, Sudipto Mukerjee.
Earlier in the introductory remarks, Zuena Aziz, Principal Coordinator (SDG Affairs), PMO said, “The process of achieving SDGs, needs to be supported by our developing partners like UNDP. I hope this Accelerator Lab can give more strategic support in terms of technology, innovation, exploration and implementation.”
The Accelerator Labs are part of UNDP’s drive to be an incubator for the future.
To accelerate progress towards the 2030 agenda, creating actionable intelligence and testing innovative solutions with national partners are a must.
The Labs are designed to close the gap between the current practices of international development at an accelerated pace of change.
In 2019, UNDP built the world’s largest and fastest learning network, Accelerator Labs, on sustainable development challenges.
Started with 60 Lab teams covering 78 countries, the network has now expanded to 91 Labs covering 115 countries, including Bangladesh.
In 2020 alone, the Labs documented more than 1,700 grassroots-led solutions covering all 17 SDGs.
Online Eid Fair: UNDP-backed online marketplace teams up with Joyeeta Foundation
"Anondomela" an online marketplace initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for small and medium enterprises, has partnered with Joyeeta Foundation to organise the largest online fair for Eid during the COVID pandemic.
Anondomela Facebook page (facebook.com/anondomelashop) will remain active for the fair from April 24 to May 6, from 8 am to 8 pm, with an array of clothing, jewellery, home decor, food items and other knick-knacks from women-led small and medium enterprises, according to a UNDP press release.
Anondomela was launched by UNDP in April 2020 as an online marketplace for SMEs struggling to make sales amid the pandemic.
Read Retailers brace for flood of returns from online shopping
"Our initiative aims to ease the pressure that the Covid-19 crisis has put on these very small and largely informal entrepreneurs, at a time when most feel naturally inclined to demonstrate more social solidarity and care during the holy month," said Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Sudipto Mukerjee.
Joyeeta Foundation is a long-running initiative of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. The foundation empowers women entrepreneurs and artisans by creating a secure channel for them to showcase and sell their products.
"During this ongoing crisis in Bangladesh, when our entrepreneurs are struggling to survive, we are glad to be organising this online fair that will give them an opportunity to sell their products to a large audience. This online fair is part of our continuous efforts to come to people's aid in their time of need," said Joyeeta Foundation's Managing Director Afroza Khan.
Read Walton offers big discounts on online purchases
The online fair will have five 30-minute slots that will be divided among entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs can post details about their products and directly connect with buyers.
They can also promote their businesses through this opportunity.
Interested SMEs are encouraged to join Anondomela as a seller to participate in the fair. Their products can be delivered seamlessly through 'ekshop' delivery.
Read Lockdown: Shops, shopping malls to reopen from Apr 25
UNDP, BGMEA launch report measuring RMG's impact on SDGs
Although Bangladesh's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Financing Strategy expects a 42% contribution from the private sector, no consolidated industry impact on SDGs has yet been reported.
While some individual factories produce sustainability reports, the appreciation of the magnitude of the impacts has so far remained outside of systematic studies and reporting, making it difficult to understand industry trends and align private sector efforts to government goals.
"In Bangladesh, the RMG sector not only contributes to economic development but also to SDG achievement. It provides employment; supports healthcare of the workforce; invests in up-skilling the workforce; adopts resource recycling; increasingly uses renewable energy," UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukerjee said.
Also read: Explore new markets to sustain RMG industry: Commerce Minister
So, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and the Global Reporting Initiative have taken the first step towards a consolidated industry approach to private sector sustainability reporting.
In the past months, 47 BGMEA member factories conducted sustainability self-reporting – translating their impact into the language of National Priority Indicators (NPIs) and SDGs.
The efforts of the factories were consolidated in the report – "A Pathway to Manage Private Sector Impact on Bangladesh National Priority Indicators (NPIs) & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" – unveiled on Sunday.
Also read: Partnership crucial to achieve SDGs, national goals: FM
Also, the factories got a certificate of appreciation at the event for their contribution to NPIs and SDGs through sustainability reporting.
"With this report, we wanted to measure the readymade garment (RMG) industry's impact on SDGs to communicate with key stakeholders, such as the government, buyers, trade partners, and communities so that we can take action to support the country together," BGMEA President Dr Rubana Huq said.
"We hope to inspire more RMG factories and other industries to undertake sustainability reporting in the future as it is a key step in the journey of translating the private sector contribution to SDG financing into concrete achievements and future actions."
Swedish minister happy with Bangladesh’s use of climate change adaptation support
Swedish Minister of International Development Cooperatives Per Olsson-Fridh has expressed satisfaction at the use of his country's climate change adaptation support in Bangladesh.
Municipal councils must focus on increasing income or face dissolution: Minister
Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam said that the municipal councils must focus on increasing income or face dissolution as the Government plans to change the law in this regard.
Govt guarantor of social justice; governance indispensable element: Gowher Rizvi
Prime Minister's International Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher Rizvi on Wednesday said the government is the guarantor of social justice and governance is an indispensable element to ensure the equitable share of people's access and opportunity.
UNDP to address human rights issues in COVID-19 through innovations
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under its Human Rights and Justice Programme (HRJP) has launched Low-Value Grants (LVG) to foster small scale innovative actions to address human rights issues during and after COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh, engaging civil society organisations (CSOs) and community radio.
CMSMEs divisional Mentorship Program launched at DU
The Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Centre of Dhaka University (DU) on Monday launched a five-day ‘Bijoy Dibosh-2020 Virtual CMSMEs Divisional Mentorship Program’.