Save the Children in Bangladesh commemorated International Women’s Day 2024 with a gala event and entrepreneur carnival, Girl Talk with Leaders, at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh Complex.
The event was held from 9am to 4pm on Sunday and Monday with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh as a cooperation partner.
The program seeks to accelerate Save the Children in Bangladesh's investment in girls to advance their future.
An Entrepreneurs’ Carnival was organized with the Save the Children’s Education for Youth Empowerment (EYE) program that showcased women-led businesses that were strengthened by the program.
The program provides young people the tools to succeed in the workforce and advance in their chosen fields, emphasizing vocational training and practical skills, access to appropriate funding, market linkage, and reaching their target demographic.
The entrepreneurs were from the EYE program and Shishuder Jonno and HIV/Aids programs of Save the Children in Bangladesh.
External entrepreneurs included Orange Corner Bangladesh, Anondomela from (Women’s Empowerment for Inclusive Growth) WING project of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported by The Netherlands Embassy, and Dotlines.
The event commenced on Sunday with an inauguration and welcome speech by Shumon Sengupta, country director, Save the Children in Bangladesh.
It was followed by a presentation by Zafar Sadique, adviser (Investment in Children), Save the Children in Bangladesh, providing an overview of the progress made toward investing in girls and women, policy and legal frameworks to support their empowerment and a gender-responsive budget.
Shamema Akther Shamme, advisor, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), Save the Children in Bangladesh, continued the presentation, detailing the organization’s survey of 18,000 girls from 64 districts of Bangladesh better to comprehend their aspirations and the forms of support they feel were necessary for their progress.
A panel discussion, Girl Talk with Leaders, established a dialogue between children and youths with government and development organizations leaders moderated by Nishat Afroz Mirza, deputy director, Education for Youth Empowerment, Save the Children in Bangladesh.
The interactive sessions engaged Aroma Dutta, member of parliament, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh; Shaheen Anam, executive director, Manusher Jonno Foundation; Mushfiqua Zaman Satiar, senior policy advisor – Social Sector Focal Point for SRHR, Gender, and Youth, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh; Prapa Mozumder Neha, speaker, Child Parliament; and Shumon Sengupta.
The discussion was followed by an award ceremony for the seven finalists from the “Invest in Women: Idea Challenge.”
The challenge engaged 49 women-led youth groups investing in youth and women’s economic empowerment and social development, education, health, and skills development, and leadership capacity to respond to climate change.
The youth groups presented solutions ranging from social norms changing young women’s leadership, market linkage for marginalized groups and alternatives to plastic waste management to improving cybersecurity awareness and readiness.
The panelists provided closing remarks to encourage women’s leadership and their power to create and transform the future they want to see.
The event's second day began with a welcome speech from Madhu Kalra, advocacy, Campaign, Communications, and Media Director, Save the Children in Bangladesh.
Later, a panel discussion was held titled Importance of Investment in Young Women, moderated by Tania Sharmin, Director - Food Security & Livelihood/ Child Poverty, Save the Children in Bangladesh.
The panelists included Tapon Kumar Biswas, additional secretary, Director of NGO Affairs Bureau, Prime Minister’s Office; Bitopi Das Chowdhury, country head, Corporate Affairs and Brand and Marketing Standard Chartered Bank; Sadia Hossain, chief operating officer, YY Venture; Madhu Kalra; and Saba Nowreen, Young Entrepreneur.
Aroma Dutta, member of parliament, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, said: “We need to extend our discussion and experience beyond girls and women. Young boys and men must be a part of the women-centered dialogue if we want to see a change in their approach and attitude. Our engagement with them must be as methodologic as how we engage in equality and inclusion dialogues.”
Shumon Sengupta, country director, Save the Children in Bangladesh, said: “Save the Children’s far-reaching commitment to economic empowerment of young people, particularly girls, aims to harness the immense demographic dividend that Bangladesh currently enjoys. We aspire to empower young people to break the cycle of poverty by investing to strengthen the knowledge, life skills, and technical expertise of adolescent girls. Increasing their agency has the highest potential to end child, early, and forced marriage, and prevent early parenthood.”
Mushfiqua Zaman Satiar, senior policy advisor – Social Sector Focal Point for SRHR, Gender, and Youth, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, said: “Investing in women is one of many steps we need to prioritize to accelerate their success. However, that is just the start. It’s absolutely mandatory that all leaders and stakeholders also invest our time to mentor them towards a mindset in which they are the builders of their own futures.”
