27 senior political leaders from the Central and Trinamool regions were awarded Graduation Certificates at a hotel in the capital on Monday evening for successfully completing a fellowship program organized under USAID’s Strengthening Political Landscape project to enhance leadership and political skills.
Democracy International’s Senior Leaders Fellowship Program is attended by senior leaders of Bangladesh’s three main political parties, Bangladesh Awami League, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and the Jatiya Party.
This high-quality program is being implemented to develop the leadership and political skills of senior political leaders at the central and grassroots levels, in which the fellowship helps leaders to network with leaders of different political parties and young politicians in their respective areas.
The graduating fellows of the 8th class of this graduation program, starting in July 2023, have received intensive training and fieldwork on various topics, including the role of political parties in democracy, internal party democracy, campaign management, the voting process, and the inclusion of women in politics.
BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Awami League Finance and Planning Secretary and Member of Parliament Wasika Ayesha Khan, and USAID Political Process Adviser Lubain Chowdhury Masum were guests at the graduation ceremony. At that time, the Chief of the Party of Democracy International, L. Olds, awarded Graduation Certificates to senior fellows.
Nazrul Islam Khan, a member of the BNP Standing Committee, said, “We hope for a qualitative change in politics.” At the time, he said, how much better the politics of Bangladesh would have been if we had respected each other’s opinions and not seen each other as enemies if only we had seen each other as opponents.
He also said, even if we hold different opinions, and are different parties, our purpose is the same. The people are as right as any final decider. In this case, he thinks that the parties should work together on common issues.
Bangladesh Awami League Finance and Planning Affairs Secretary and Member of Parliament Wasika Ayesha Khan said that even though we have differences, we must simultaneously avoid the issues that are harmful to us in order to move the country forward. Mentioning that politics is not comparable to other professions, he urged the fellows to extend a helping hand to their female colleagues. He claimed that the Awami League has more women’s representation in the central committee than other parties.
USAID is run on the money of the American people, Lubain Chowdhury Masum, USAID’s Political Process Adviser, said Democracy International launched a fellowship program for senior leaders in 2019 after the success of the Young Leaders Fellowship Program. So far more than two hundred senior leaders have completed this graduation.
Congratulating the senior fellows in the closing speech of the program, Democracy International’s SPL Project Chief of Party Dana L. Olds said he was inspired by the mutual respect of political leaders at the event. Fellows have the responsibility to pass on the lessons learned to young leaders in their respective areas. If there is even the slightest qualitative change in leadership through this, that will be our great achievement.
BNP Chairperson Advisor Abdus Salam, Joypurhat District Women’s Awami League President Shamim Aziz and Jatiya Party Joint Secretary General Fakhrul Ahsan shared their experiences on behalf of the three political parties at the graduation ceremony.
About USAID: Since Bangladesh’s independence, the United States government has provided more than eight billion dollars in development assistance to Bangladesh through USAID. In addition, the United States has provided more than 70 million dollars to fight against Covid-19 in Bangladesh through various departments of the government. In 2020, USAID provided more than 20 million dollars to improve the quality of life of the people of Bangladesh. Programs that USAID supports in Bangladesh include: strengthening democratic institutions and practices, expanding food security and economic opportunities, developing and adapting health and education services, and adapting to climate change conditions through environmental protection.
