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Artomossi, fighting against silting

The erosion of biodiversity and ecosystems has ecological but also social and economic consequences UNESCO within the framework of its Biosphere and Heritage of Lake Chad BIOPALT project is supporting the population of Artomossi in the ecological restoration of its wadi which is suffering from silting

Going Hybrid: Biennale of Luanda 2021 Lessons Learned (Part 1)

February 23, 2022

Changing Course, Transforming Education in Bangladesh on International Day of Education 2022

On 24 January 2022 the Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO BNCU and Secondary and Higher Education Division Ministry of Education MoE organized a discussion meeting to celebrate the fourth International Day of Education under the theme of Changing Course Transforming Education The discussion reveals transformations that have to be nurtured to realize everyones fundamental right to education and build more sustainable inclusive and peaceful futures The keynote presented by an eminent Journalist writer and educationist Mr Abdul Momen focuses on the transformation of education towards sustainable development including a resilient education system combating natural and manmade threats and emergencies towards the betterment of life as well as quality education The keynote speaker also presented several remarkable government initiatives to bring systematic changes for quality education such as the recently approved national competencybased curriculum framework and the Blended Education initiative The Deputy Minister of Education Mr Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury MP alerted that the digital divide is evident while maintaining learning continuity during the COVID19 pandemic He emphasized that the ministry needs to work with partners such as UNESCO in transforming education to address inequality and building knowledge societies through education The State Minister of Primary and Mass Education Mr MD Zkir Hossen MP acknowledged that IDE has created a platform to discuss education development and reform and that collective effort is crucial to achieving SDG4 targets

February 23, 2022

UNESCO Online Master Classes for Community Radio Stations in Bangladesh

Community Radio Stations are playing a vital role in the life of communities and their sustainable development as well as more recently through the COVID19 response UNESCO through its Communication and Information Programme supports and encourages community media including community radio in Bangladesh In this context the UNESCO Dhaka Office with funding support from the UNESCO MultiDonor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Media Pluralism and with the help of international and national expert trainers and tutors conducted two sets of capacitybuilding Online Master Classes for Community Radio Stations in Bangladesh between 2 and 22 December 2021 A total of 44 participants from 13 community radio stations across Bangladesh participated in the two sets of capacitybuilding Online Master Classes 1 Online Master Classes on Community Radio Journalism With facilitation support from expert trainer Ms Zerrin Afza the engaging and very participatory fiveday Master Classes on COVID19 Broadcasting focused on building the capacity of community radio stations in areas relevant to Community Radio Programme Production and Community Radio Programme Content During the first part of the training participants learned about the journalistic processes of reporting subjective radio programme presentation attractive and effective radio programmes as well as mobile journalism During the second part students focused and learnt about radio programme content development during which invited experts including Mr Afsan Chowdhury Mr Md Tazul Islam and Mr Saad Bin Shafiq shared their experiences and strategies to counter cyber bullying genderbased and domestic violence as well as to discuss issues around COVID19 radio broadcasting Following the completion of the Master Classes the expert trainer is conducting mentoring sessions with participants over the course of January 2022 to reinforce gained knowledge and to answer specific questions 2 Online Master Classes on Technical and Editorial Radio Broadcasting With facilitation support from the AsiaPacific Chapter of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and a team of tutors the engaging and very participatory fiveday Master Classes on Technical and Editorial Broadcasting built the capacity of participants from 12 participating community radio stations from across Bangladesh in technical and editorial parts of community radio broadcasting including the basic operation of hardware and software of radio production as well as creative editorial and postproduction techniques that are useful for community radio operation The Master Classes were coordinated by Mr Suman Basnet Regional Director of AMARC AsiaPacific as well as thematically led by Dr Ram Bhat President of AMARC AsiaPacific together with a team of 4 experienced audio professionals who acted as tutors The Master Classes which were carried out over the course of two weeks helped participating staff and volunteers from community radio stations to learn the basics of radio technology as well as to improve their content quality by applying editorial skills and creative techniques of radio production Following the Master Classes trainers and tutors are conducting mentoring sessions with participants over the course of January and February 2022 to reinforce gained knowledge and to answer specific questions The UNESCO Online Master Classes for Community Radio Stations in Bangladesh were a great success Participating community radio stations reported to have improved their technical editorial as well as their journalistic capacities to serve diverse audiences with relevant reliable and accurate information following the Online Master Classes and are looking forward to further training opportunities in the future

January 30, 2022

UNESCO’s Launching Event for Children Books on Traditional Games under cooperation between the Asia Foundation Bangladesh

In a joint collaboration The Asia Foundation and UNESCO Dhaka Office held the virtual Launching Event for Children Books on Traditional Games on Wednesday 15 December 2021 The event is part of the celebration of Bangladeshs National Day marking 50 years of the Independence and the celebrations of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman supported by UNESCO at its 40th General Conference The Asia Foundation in Bangladesh and UNESCO Dhaka Office joined forces to produce and disseminate books and reading materials focused on cultural heritage of Bangladesh and to promote reading among children and youth of Bangladesh As an outcome of this partnership 11 books were prepared in an age appropriate manner on the Traditional Games of Bangladesh under the theme of Lets Read about Heritage The contents was developed by reputed children book writers and illustrators under the overall guidance of the Asia Foundation and UNESCO Dhaka Office presenting traditional games of Bangladesh for children as an expression of cultural identity and living heritage of Bangladesh The books were approved and highly appreciated by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board NCTB and Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO BNCU The ebook versions of the 11 books for Children on Traditional Games are publicly available free of charge on the Asia Foundations Lets Reads Digital library httpsreaderletsreadasiaorgallnew Children Parents Students Teachers and Caregivers can download the books free of charge to their smartphones tablets or other digital devices Thus enabling their children to learn at and from home and giving them a chance to learn the expression of cultural identity and living heritage of Bangladesh

December 13, 2021

Launching of United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Sunday said that the United Nations has increased its development cooperation with Bangladesh during current Awami League government He was speaking virtually at a programme marking the release on The United Nations sustainable development cooperation framework UNSDCF 202226 He said the UNDSF would continue its help Bangladeshs economy recover from Covid19 shocks implement sustainable development goals by 2030 The program was organized jointly by the Economic Relation Division and UN resident coordinators office in Dhaka at NEC2 conference hall in the capital Planning Minister MA Mannnan UN Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo and ERD secretary Fatima Yasmin also spoke at the function

November 22, 2021

Call for Video Clips to Celebrate the 2021 World Teachers’ Day in Bangladesh

CALL FOR VIDEO CLIPS Teachers at the Heart of Education Recovery Deadline to Submit the Video Clips 24 October 2021 Background Since 1994 the world has celebrated World Teachers Day every October 5 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILOUNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education recruitment employment and teaching and learning conditions It also contains numerous recommendations for teacher participation in educational decisionmaking through social dialogue and negotiation with educational authorities One and a half years into the Covid19 pandemic the 2021 World Teachers Day will focus on the support that teachers need to fully contribute to the recovery process under the theme Teachers at the heart of education recovery particularly to address learning losses among their students to incorporate digital technology into their teaching and to safeguard their health and wellbeing for fostering resilience In Bangladesh despite the many challenges posed by the sudden shift to distance learning teachers played a critical role in maintaining learning continuity during the 18month school closure caused by Covid19 Following the school reopening from 12 September 2021 teachers are on the frontline to ensure safe school reopening and contribute to the delivery of blended education to compensate for the learning losses of students to the extent possible The Ministry of Education MoE Ministry of Primary and Mass Education MoPME Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education DSHE Directorate of Primary Education DPE Directorate of Madrasah Education DME Directorate of Technical Education DTE and a2i ICT Division in partnership with the UNESCO Office in Dhaka are joining hands to celebrate the 2021 WTD As part of the celebration of the WTD 2021 in Bangladesh UNESCO Dhaka Office and a2i ICT Division are calling for video clips from teachers to mark teachers innovation in challenging times of Covid19 and also to increase teachers participation in open discussion and decisionmaking at the education recovery stage Objectives To celebrate the 2021 WTD all teachers from Bangladesh are invited to share with us a video clip that responds to ONE of the following themes Teachers role in blended education How can teachers transition and transform their current education strategies to blended education during recovering from the Covid19 What concrete and easytoreplicate strategies may be utilized What support do teachers need Teachers health and wellbeing How teachers health and wellbeing have been affected during the pandemic What concrete and easytoreplicate measures including the use of scientific information and knowledge may be utilized to safeguard teachers health and wellbeing as frontline workers What support do teachers need Guidelines for Submitting a Video Clip a Who can participate Teachers who wish to submit the video clips should be the teachers of educational institutions and universities in Bangladesh One teacher can submit a maximum of one video clip responding to one of the two themes mentioned above No limited number of teachers from an institution who wish to participate in video clip submission b How to produce the video clips Teachers who wish to join this programme should produce the videolecture clips in multimedia format for 57 minutes Should not be over 7 minutes that respond to the guide questions The video clips must be in Bangla or English The video clips must be uploaded on YouTube or Google Drive through which a link can be created and shared with us For the best viewing experience it is recommended to use a 169 ratio horizontal while producing the video An introduction should include Institution logo if available Teachers name position institution Titletopic of the video clip At the end of the video credits and acknowledgement are recommended to be included c How to submit the clips and deadline The deadline for submission of the clips is on 24 October 2021 midnight Bangladesh time Video clips must be submitted through this link d Permission to publicize the video clips Teachers should allow the organizers to publicize the video clips at the Teachers Portal official website social media and other online platforms of UNESCO Dhaka Office and a2i Teachers should allow the organizers to store their video clips at the Teachers Portal in compliance with the CC license Findings from those video content will be incorporated in 5 pillars of Blended education framework e Criteria for selecting the video clips Marks in percentage Interesting and innovative content 30 Practical skills embedded and easy to understand 30 Creativity in presentation 20 Usefulness and relevance 20 Total 100 Certificate and incentive All teachers who will submit video clips that meet the requirements in the guidelines will receive a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the UNESCO Dhaka Office and a2i Each of the top 20 winners of the call for video clips will receive a tablet provided by Huawei Technologies in Bangladesh Huawei Technologies is a member of UNESCOs Global Education Coalition As a localized leading global ICT solutions provider in Bangladesh since 1998 Huawei has supported several ICT in education initiatives including the Seeds for the Future Program and ICT Competition ICT Mobile Training Bus Project Digischool Programme and ICT Academy Followup webinars Two followup webinars on teachers role in blended education and teachers health and wellbeing respectively will be organized in October and November 2021 to showcase good practices emerging from the video clips collections The webinars will be another platform to further the discussion on blended education and teachers health and wellbeing among stakeholders including teachers Contact Mr Shakil Ahmed shahmedunescoorg UNESCO Dhaka Office Avijit Saha avijitsahaa2igovbd a2i ICT Division Dhaka

October 5, 2021

The Asia Foundation and UNESCO jointly launch 100 early childhood books for children in Bangladesh as part of UNESCO project “Creation of Accessible Reading Materials”.

In a joint effort the Asia Foundation and the UNESCO Dhaka Office conducted a virtual launching ceremony of the UNESCO project Creation of Accessible Reading Materials on Sunday 5 September 2021 The UNESCO project Creation of Accessible Reading Materials is a global and regional activity of UNESCO to ensure the continuity of learning for children through the development dissemination and delivery of new and existing global and regional learning materials in response to the COVID19 pandemic During the ceremony 100 early childhood books which have been translated into the Bangla Language and are now publicly available free of charge on the Asia Foundations Lets Reads Digital library and the UNESCO affiliated Global Digital Library link httpsdigitallibraryio were officially launched Ms Beatrice Kaldun Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh stated that this is an important and timely initiative which ensures the continuity of learning for children through the development dissemination and delivery of new and existing global and regional learning materials in response to the COVID19 pandemic During her remarks Ms Beatrice Kaldun also stated that UNESCO believes in the journey of universal access to education and that no one should be left behind The country representative of The Asia Foundation to Bangladesh Mr Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj explained the aims and goals of the Lets Read Digital Library and its purpose of increasing inclusivity by making creative and animated books that were specifically developed for children available and accessible online During the launching ceremony Professor Abdullah Abu Syed Mr Korvi Rakshand Ms Anjuman Parvin and Mr Kazi Sameeo Sheesh discussed disability inclusion in the education system of Bangladesh including how the 100 translated books can help promote disability inclusion and digital literacy Mr Korvi suggested training and awarenessraising programmes to be initiated for youths to increase inclusivity for children with disabilities at the grassroots level Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed explained the benefits of mobile libraries in terms of increasing the number of youth readers and emphasized the importance of increasing the number of physical and digital libraries Ms Anjuman Parvin an early childhood development specialist stated that the Government of Bangladesh started the initiative of inclusivity of children with disabilities in 2002 The Government established a specific framework that focuses on increasing the accessibility of education to learners with disabilities However it is recommended to gain updated information on the inclusivity of children with disabilities through research and monitoring evaluation reports On a related note Mr Kazi Sameeo Sheesh senior research fellow at the University of Dhaka explained the necessity of including teachers in research on the education system as their work allows them to have a better understanding of children through more contact Conversations at the launch event stressed that COVID19 related closures of educational institutions have reinforced the need for openly available earlygrade learning materials and reading resources in languages that the children speak and that are interesting for their different tastes Participants echoed that the UNESCO project Creation of Accessible Reading Materials is an important and timely effort in this direction and that the 100 translated ebooks will make a great contribution in assisting Banglaspeaking children to continue their learning journey during the COVID19 pandemic and beyond The UNESCO project Creation of Accessible Reading Materials is made possible with financial support from the Global Partnership for Education GPE and is based on an existing collaboration with the Global Digital Library GDL under the heading of the Translate a story initiative which is accompanying countries efforts in improving the availability of early age reading materials during the pandemic through a digital library

September 15, 2021

Quiz competition on the occasion of International Literacy Day 2021

Since 1967 International Literacy Day ILD is celebrated every year around the world to remind all of us of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society International Literacy Day 2021 is celebrated on 8 September 2021 With the COVID19 crisis having disrupted the learning of children young people and adults at an unprecedented scale it has also magnified the preexisting inequalities in access to meaningful literacy learning opportunities disproportionally affecting 773 million nonliterate young people and adults To raise awareness about the importance of youth and adult literacy especially during times of crisis International Literacy Day is celebrated under the theme Literacy for a humancentred recovery Narrowing the digital divide On the occasion of International Literacy Day 2021 the UNESCO Dhaka Office is organizing an online quiz competition to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and lifelong learning in Bangladesh and beyond The online quiz will be available through this link from 11 16 September 2021 and participation is free of charge During the quiz participants are asked 10 questions relating to literacy and International Literacy Day At the end of the quiz participants have the voluntary option to provide their name and email address to participate in a competition Kindly note that we will not be able to reach you if you dont provide your email address and if you are selected as a winner All respondents who have answered all 10 questions correctly will be awarded with a PDF certificate of appreciation by email Data privacy will be strictly maintained by UNESCO Timeline Launch 11 September 2021 9 am Closing 17 September 2021 9 pm Results will be announced during webinar on 20 September 2021

September 9, 2021

2021 Expert Meeting for Building Network on Maritime Heritage

Maritime Living Heritage Coastal Communities in the AsiaPacific Region and Their Traditional Food System Coorganized by the International Information and Network Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the AsiaPacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO ICHCAP and the Pacific Community SPC the 2021 expert meeting for Building Network on maritime ICH is pleased to launch a call for presentation on Maritime Living Heritage Coastal Communities in the AsiaPacific Region and Their Traditional Food System The expert meeting is expected to be held in 29th October 2021 What is the theme The event is being held under the theme Coastal Communities in the AsiaPacific Region and Their Traditional Food System Conceptually traditional food is associated with cultural traditions heritage and environmental sustainability COVID19 pandemic has increased the vulnerability of people in preparing traditional foods and in transmitting knowledge around traditional foods to the younger generation it is necessary to pay attention to local indigenous or traditional systems of food preparation consumption and trade to better understand the extent of which existing cultural infrastructures need further work or support for improvement The expert meeting will be held in two 2 sessions Session1 Coastal Communities and Their Traditional Food System Ecocultural Approach Session2 Coastal Communities and Their Traditional Food System Socio Cultural Approach For more information on the event download the concept note httpswwwunescoichcaporgwpcontentuploads202108Con Who may submit presentations for the event Papers are not limited to academic papers Various stakeholders NGOs tradition bearers community members etc with expertise in maritime heritage particularly traditional foods in coastal communities can participate in the meeting How to submit a nomination Interest participants should email at ichcapnetworkinggmailcom latest by 13th September 2021 with their paper abstract and completed application form httpswwwunescoichcaporgwpcontentuploads202108App Calendar 13th September 2021 Closing of the call for presentation and last date for submission of abstract form 17th September 2021 Selected presenters will be notified 3rd October 2021 Final presentation manuscripts has to be submitted Contact us ICHCAP Email ichcapnetworkinggmailcom

August 31, 2021

UNESCO Dhaka Office Webinar on “Sharing Findings of Impact Assessment of COVID-19 on Culture Sector in Bangladesh & Unlocking Future Opportunities”

At the occasion of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2021 the UNESCO Dhaka Office organized a webinar on Sharing Findings of Impact Assessment of COVID19 on Culture Sector in Bangladesh Unlocking Future Opportunities on Monday 21 June 2021 To get a better picture of the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the culture and creative sector and its stakeholders in Bangladesh the UNESCO Dhaka Office responded to a call by His Excellency the Minister of Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh to conduct an assessment of the impact of COVID19 on the culture sector in Bangladesh During conducted webinar the findings of the conducted assessment were shared with key stakeholders as well as ways to move forward were discussed A presentation of the methodology scope key findings and expressed recommendations of the Assessment of COVID19 Impact on Cultural Sector in Bangladesh set the scene and formed the basis for the open discussion with interventions from various stakeholders from the cultural and creative sector During the webinar stakeholders shared their reflections and thoughts about the findings as well as about ways to turn the findings into concrete actions The lack of data and information exchange within the cultural ecosystem was mentioned by several stakeholders Similarly the importance to conduct a cultural mapping in order to increase connection and interaction within the culture sector was stressed The webinar not only revealed the findings of the assessment including the impact taken mitigation measures by and future recommendations for the culture and creative sector but also highlighted the significance of a cultural mapping for the further sustainable development of the sector Quotes from the participants

August 16, 2021

Celebration of International Youth Day 2021!

August 12, 2021