Around 100 civil society activists, leaders from marginalised communities, former policymakers, and government officials convened for the closing ceremony of the Promoting Advocacy and Rights (PAR) activity at a city hotel on Wednesday.
During the event, youth and women leaders from Dalit, Cobbler, and slum communities presented advocacy achievements of citizen-led, cross-sectoral partnerships between civil society, government, and the private sector to improve their communities’ priority issues, including unplanned urbanization, environmental protection, and social inclusion of historically marginalized groups, said a media release.
Saidur Rahman, director general of the NGO Affairs Bureau, said, “I applaud PAR’s civil society achievements and am hopeful that there will be support for similar initiatives moving forward.”
Alena Tansey, USAID Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Office Director said, “While this project is coming to an end, the approaches we’ve employed are perhaps as important as ever in this country’s evolution towards a more democratic society. I hope we continue to leverage this powerful model for bringing citizens, civil society organizations, and local government together to protect human rights, advocate for progressive reforms, and pave the way towards greater prosperity for all people.”
Former and current policymakers, Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary and Barrister Rumeen Farhana, shared their recommendations for moving the priority issues of marginalized communities forward.
Katie Croake, Chief of Party, Counterpart International, thanked PAR’s grantees and community members for their partnership and contributions and said. “With your impressive dedication, confidence, and resilience, I’m confident that your work to improve the lives of the most marginalized communities in Bangladesh is unstoppable.”
Since 2018, the PAR Activity, funded by USAID, and implemented by Counterpart International, has been supporting civil society organizations in Bangladesh to advocate for citizen-led priorities and strengthen civic participation.
bd-pratidin/GR
