The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh and the British Council signed a deal on Monday at the UNDP Dhaka office to address the growing importance of English language proficiency in today's interconnected world. Recognising the significance of English skills in enabling youth to compete in the local and global job market, this collaboration aims to offer online self-study courses through Futurenation, focusing on workforce development and youth upskilling. Futurenation is a unique alliance formed by UNDP Bangladesh, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) & Grameenphone, working towards accelerating the Nation's future economic growth. UNDP to work with content creators to promote SDGs English has emerged as the global language of communication, even for non-native speakers, making proficiency in the language essential for accessing employment opportunities and entrepreneurial scopes with confidence. Leveraging the British Council's unparalleled expertise in delivering English language education for over 80 years, this partnership aims to equip the youth of Bangladesh with the necessary language skills to navigate the dynamic employment landscape. Through this joint initiative, UNDP Bangladesh and the British Council will establish a framework to facilitate global citizenship education, co-design initiatives, and provide skills and training programs for the youth. By combining their strengths, expertise, and resources, the two organisations seek to magnify their impact and accelerate progress toward shared objectives.Stefan Liller, the Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. UNDP to raise awareness on plastic pollution by introducing jute-polymer bags "This collaboration between the British Council and UNDP marks a significant milestone in our shared mission to promote education, culture, and sustainable development. By joining forces, we synergise our strengths, expertise, and resources, magnifying our impact and accelerating progress toward our shared objectives,” he said. One of the primary focuses of this partnership is to jointly develop training courses on business English, enhancing the employability of the youth and creating economic opportunities for all. Additionally, the initiative will prioritise climate action and youth, business and human rights from the youth perspective, and joint campaigns for creating social impact. Tom Miscioscia, the Director of the British Council in Bangladesh, said they are excited to collaborate with UNDP on the Futurenation programme. “Together, we will harness the transformative power of education and boost young people’s English language skills across Bangladesh to enhance their entrepreneurship and employment prospects. The British Council is committed to supporting Bangladesh’s next generation by building their skills, confidence, and connections through life-changing opportunities in English, education, and the arts.” The collaboration between UNDP and the British Council will open numerous opportunities for information sharing and consultation on matters of common interest. Together, they aim to ensure inclusive and quality education, leaving no one behind in the pursuit of sustainable economic well-being.

Sweden and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh have agreed to continue their partnership to create economic opportunities for ultra-poor rural women in Bangladesh  A cost-sharing agreement was signed at the Swedish Embassy on Sunday to extend the Swedish Embassy and UNDP Bangladesh’s flagship project ‘Strengthening Women's Ability for Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO II)’ until 2025. Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh Sudipto Mukerjee and Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka Christine Johansson signed the cost-sharing agreement on behalf of their respective sides to sustain their journey of empowering underprivileged women in Bangladesh. Also read: UNDP, ICT Division sign deal to launch cybersecurity awareness campaign Christine Johansson said the Swedish Embassy has been working closely with Bangladesh. “The engagement and continuous support from the government for project SWAPNO gives us extra confidence to move forward with this phase and shows how it can be replicated for further development.” Sudipto Mukerjee said Sweden’s collaboration with SWAPNO has been proven as an effective partnership that has brought substantial changes in the lives of rural women. “Extension of the partnership will maximize the benefits that SWAPNO offers in other vulnerable districts of Bangladesh,” he said during the signing. The extension of the SWAPNO project is effective from 30 June 2022. In the earlier phase, the project has aided economically disadvantaged women in developing their talents, linking them to services and the local market, and ensuring their financial inclusion. Realizing the success, the Embassy of Sweden has come forward to uplift 10,000 extremely poor and vulnerable women from 10 poverty-prone and climate-vulnerable districts from poverty. According to the latest independent evaluation report of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), SWAPNO empowers women in a way that has far-reaching implications in terms of facilitating distressed women's active engagement in local development activities and offering social support and recognition. Also read: UNDP to work with BRAC for accelerating pace of poverty reduction Among others, Ikramul H. Sohel, National Programme Officer, Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, Van Nguyen, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh, Kajal Chatterjee, National Project Manager of SWAPNO project, were present during the signing ceremony.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and BRAC have partnered and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the effectiveness of poverty eradication and make these efforts more impactful to ensure inclusive growth for Bangladesh.Sudipto Mukerjee, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh, and Asif Saleh, Executive Director, BRAC, signed the MoU on Sunday on behalf of their respective organizations at UNDP office in the city.Under this partnership, both organizations will work together to enhance the effectiveness of the poverty eradication effort for fostering inclusive growth in Bangladesh.Evidence-based policies and programmes will be designed, and a platform will be created to further strengthen the social protection systems in Bangladesh to make sure no one is left behind, according to UNDP. Also read: UNDP, BWJA seal deal to address, redress violence against women Signing the ceremony, Sudipto Mukerjee said the partnership will assist the government of Bangladesh to effectively identify and transfer social protection benefits to people living in extreme poverty."It will also pilot and develop holistic livelihood programmes collaboratively with different ministries of Bangladesh to ensure access to social safety net programmes and help the government in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030," he said. “A timely and much-required partnership to assist the Government of Bangladesh in bridging the gaps to achieve poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods for people living in extreme poverty by 2030”, said Asif Saleh. Also read: Norway, UNDP continue to work together for tolerant, inclusive BangladeshHe further emphasized that this partnership will help strengthen ongoing efforts and design new joint initiatives for social protection and resilience-building as we recover and try to build back better from COVID related shocks. BRAC and UNDP have a long history of successful partnerships at both the national and global levels in poverty eradication and human development and are committed to supporting the Bangladesh government in its effort to ensure inclusive growth. 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has teamed up with Puncforon, the winner of its Digital Khichuri Challenge 2020, to launch the "#MyResponse" campaign to raise awareness against online harassment on "Stop Cyberbullying Day." UNDP, under its "Partnerships for a Tolerant and Inclusive Bangladesh (PTIB)" project, has been working with the government and other partners to improve the digital literacy of youths and prevent violent extremism. "MyResponse'' campaign is an initiative of UNDP and Puncforon to contain the rising trend of cyber harassment, said the UNDP Friday. Under this campaign, noted personalities urged everyone to end cyberbullying in Bangladesh. Also read: ‘80% of cyberbullying victims are women’ "We have to break the silence because cyber offenders get away with the crime when there is no protest. It is time to act together against all forms of cyberbullying," said actor Chanchal Chowdhury. Singer Partha Barua, actor Rafiath Rashid Mithila and Bangladesh's first transgender news presenter Tashnuva Anan Shishir also joined in the campaign with the hashtag #MyResponse to protest against cyberbullying. UNGDP encouraged the online communities to speak up against cyberbullying with the hashtag #MyResponse. Social networks have become a major space for cyberbullying and online harassment, especially against women, girls and minorities, said the UNDP. Also read: Sadat's crusade against cyberbullying brings home the Children's Peace Prize Bangladeshi children between 10-17 are increasingly more vulnerable to online violence, cyberbullying, and digital harassment. The country has a high rate of cyberbullying and 80% of the victims are girls and women aged 14-22. A significant majority of cybercriminals and hackers fall between the age range of 16-17, according to the Cyber Crime Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. The risk can be reduced if internet users can be made more informed. Particularly, children and adolescents should be sensitised on the dos and don'ts of the internet, the experts say.

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.

"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

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.

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.

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.

Bangladesh has moved up two notches in the traditional Human Development Index (HDI) to 133 compared to last year, says a new report on Monday.