1430 | Bangla New Year Carnival
“The Mongol Shobhajatra festival symbolizes the pride the people of Bangladesh have in their heritage, as well as their strength and courage to fight against sinister forces and their vindication of truth and justice.”
– UNESCO
Social Action Plan
Online Knowledge Society as part of youth empowerment through civic engagement and skills development programme, calls the internet-savvy youth to take part in the online campaign to mark International Women’s Day and asks them to prepare a handwritten placard on a white paper by identifying major issues related to women, girls and adolescents and children. And they are also asked to show the placard to the audiences and set it to a photo frame prepared by the Online Knowledge Society and post it to social media on the 8th of March 2023. About 50 youths from 6 regions of Bangladesh responded and participated in the Social Media Campaign to mark International Women’s Day 2023.
“Inspired by an ancient tale of a hummingbird trying to put out a forest fire, the United Nations has kicked off a World Water Day 2023 campaign that calls on everyone to do what they can to solve the global water and sanitation crisis.”
After the International Women’s Day campaign, the Online Knowledge Society launched a hummingbird campaign to mark World Water Day 2023. As a hummingbird effort, again the Internet Savvies are asked to take a water-related photograph from their localities and set the photograph to the photo frame prepared by Online Knowledge Society and post it to social media on 22 March 2023 to celebrate World Water Day 2023. Hundreds of youth hummingbirds responded and participated in this campaign.
`Accelerating Change’, the main theme of World Water Day 2023, and learning from social media campaigns, Online Knowledge Society generate the idea `Campaign to Social Action’ for accelerating change in 2023 and again the campaign participants are asked to identify 4 action areas for accelerating change related to their social media campaign in International Women Day and World Water Day. Based on their identified action areas, a social action plan (SAP) is developed for each individual volunteer.
“A social action project is a multi-step process in which youth address an issue they care about, learn about it and potential solutions to solve it, then take action to create positive change on this issue.”
The youth internet savvies will executive their own social action plan in their own communities and they will be skilled human resources for the future through participating in these multi-step processes and become a real change maker in society.
Youth Engagement to the World Water Day 2023
Volunteer Enrolment for the Next 6 Months long Online Training
50 Rural Voices for gender equality
Youth Empowerment through Civic Engagement and Skills Development
The volunteers are preparing themselves to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023 by reading about women’s rights, chatting about context, vulnerability, and exclusion of women, and planning to lunch a social media campaign as part of one volunteer for one family program. They are also preparing the family profiles, resilience, and sustainability profile of the family for whom they will engage in social action. A series of online training programme has been decided to conduct among these volunteers to capacitate them to link to micro issues at the macro level.
Participation of youth whether male or female in all spheres of society is important. The youth understand they are deprived and there have a very limited role of youth in local and national decision-making processes as well as leadership initiatives. But they didn’t find out a way to ensure their participation in the decision-making process. Civic engagement, the on job training, the internet sphere / cyber sphere, chatting with others about social problems, get together, informal meetings, and formal training will provide them a space to find out a way to explore their leadership in society. Hope the programme one volunteer for one family will prepare them to become leaders in bringing social change to their communities.
More about Online Knowlege Society, Please click here.
Together we are much bigger
Youth are the most critical actors in a social change nowadays. But no one felt about them just before a decade ago when we connected the youth folks using online in 2008. Critiques came to us as email fighters. we hadn’t an office but dreamed to make it online. A third-party free website (forgot the name) that had a messenger-like chatbox was our online address, we called it a workstation and we connected the youth volunteers using the chatbox around the country with limited internet access. But we tried to bring limitless outcomes from limited online opportunities. We broadcasted the offline events using skype and ustream the distance people.
Read moreInternational Mother Language Day
Happy Birthday, Svante Arrhenius
Svante Arrhenius Biography | (Scientist) | Birthday: February 19, 1859 (Pisces) | Born In: Vik | Died At Age: 68 | Family: Spouse/Ex-: Maria Johansson, Sofia Rudbeck Died On: October 2, 1927, | Place of Death: Stockholm
Swedish scientist Svante August Arrhenius remains one of the most influential scientists in history and although it is true that he started off as a physicist; he ended up being more influential as a researcher par excellence in chemistry. He showed a remarkable gift for arithmetic at an early age and for all intents and purposes, he was a child prodigy who excelled in the sciences. His major projects were related to chemistry and Arrhenius was also one of the leading purveyors of what is now known as physical chemistry. Arrhenius was Sweden’s leading scientist throughout his life and his papers on the greenhouse effect is regarded as a benchmark study on climate change in the 21st century. He is known as the ‘father of climate change studies and all the research that has been conducted on it is based on the findings of Svante Arrhenius. Besides his study on the greenhouse effect; he is also famous for his work on the theory of electrolytic dissociation. Arrhenius is often referred to as a physical chemist in light of the sort of studies he conducted. Read on to know more about his life and contribution to physical chemistry.
Read moreWORLD SOCIAL FORUM (WSF) 2024: PREPARATORY MEETING OF BANGLADESH PROCESS
The world economic forum (WEF), a club of the power elites led by multinational corporations met at the snowy Alps of Davos, Switzerland to set the course of world development for global finance, unchecked capitalism, and the control of global politics to promote neo-liberal economic regime, a mechanism to earn profit over people. Incensed by the ubiquitous, uncritical, and unchecked promoter of the neo-liberal economy by the world economic forum (WEF), in 1999 two Brazilian activists Oded Grajew, who was working on corporate social responsibility, and Chico Whitaker, the executive secretary of the Commission of Justice and Peace, an initiative of the Brazilain Catholic Church decided to create an open space for the grassroots to gain a voice to critique the neo-liberal economy. With support from the government of Rio Grande do Sul, a committee of eight Brazilian organized launched the open space for grassroots named World Social Forum (WSF) in 2001 with a bold affirmation “Another World is Possible” at Porto Alegre, Brazil, and stood as an alternative and a challenge to the World Economic Forum, held at the same time. The expectation of the first WSF was that about 3,000 people attend, but instead 20,000 activists from around the world came to Porto Alegre to organize and share their visions of alternatives to a neo-liberal economy. WSF annual meeting drew the attention of alternative thinkers and activists around the world and eventually the meeting moved out of Latin America, Mumbai, Caracas, Nairobi, Dakar, and Montreal. Cumulatively, the WSF brought together millions of people using the open space of WSF to share their experiences and collective dreams for a better world.
Don’t let them decide for you!
Read moreAspire to inspire before expire
Online Knowledge Society – New journey begins with a new set of volunteers
Online Knowledge Society trains the youth folks on soft and hard skills for building them into future leaders. Some new volunteers from Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Carmichael Collage, Rangpur, Gaibandha Degree College, Rangpur, Gaibandha, and Khulna districts participated in a webinar for taking guidelines for their journey.
For more: Online Knowledge Society
Bangladesh in the age of subway
The government has taken the initiative to build 258 kilometers of subway to solve traffic congestion in Dhaka. Under this, subway will be constructed on 11 routes in Dhaka by 2050.Read more
US-Bangladesh Relations: Opportunity to restore reputation
US-Bangladesh Relations: Opportunity to restore reputation
We, the people of Bangladesh are excited about the news of the arrival of Donald Lu, the US assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in the country to discuss various priority issues including strengthening bilateral relationship, expanding economic engagement and hear perspectives on labor and human rights. The portrait what is coming to our mind by reading the different media reports about your role in Pakistan and Nepal, it is making us worried in some extent also. It is very happy that the media is also briefing about you that you are a quiet and efficient policymaker in the area of justice, human rights and democracy. You have long-standing experiences in this sector. You are welcome. We hope, the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and USA will further be strengthened through this visit by mutual understanding and discussion.
Three million people of this country have given their blood for independence as well as human rights, justice and democracy dreaming to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. After independence, some conspirators and culprits kill our leader, the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They broke our dream. History will always hate them and pronounce their name as conspirators. After three decades, again Bangladesh is now emerging and dreaming to be smart and developed country by 2041 under the leadership Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of father of the nation. You can fill your drops to our dream. We need many of others cooperation in our journey, they will fill their drops to our dream. We want to build our portrait as a nation not to harm anyone in our journey and we want to see the portrait of you as a game changer initiator of our country which will pronounce your name with pride in the history of Bangladesh.
Read moreGreenwashing…
Out of a total 20 sponsors of Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Summit, 18 were either directly supporting or partnering with the fossil fuel industry. Calling Sharm el-Sheikh climate conference is a ‘greenwashing’ forum, Greta Thunberg abstained from COP27. Human rights groups were also repeatedly condemned Egypt’s record under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and noted the state’s unlawful surveillance and intimidation tactics at the event in last November. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is condemned and also accepted delegates by participating COP27 under the presidency of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Another `Greenwashing’ news came today early of the morning at news media that Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, will preside over the next round of global climate talks (COP28) in Dubai. Al-Jaber’s firm pumps some 4 million barrels of crude a day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily, generating more of the heat-trapping carbon dioxide the UN annual climate negotiations aim to limit.
Read moreDIGITAL JOURNALISM
Volunteerism, Volunteers Social Action Plan (V-SAP), Social Dialogue and Volunteer Led Advocacy
Training Workshop on Capacity Building of 4th Cohort of Volunteer’s of Youth Conservation Crops (YCC) on Volunteerism, Social Action Plan (V-SAP), Social Dialogue and Volunteer Led Advocacy at Cox’sbazar, Bangladesh.
Read moreHappy New Year 2023
Inauguration of Metro Rail
Smart Bangladesh by 2041: PM
Pointing out that Bangladesh will be developed as a developed Bangladesh in 2041, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, ‘That Bangladesh (of 2041) will be a smart Bangladesh. From Digital Bangladesh we will move to Smart Bangladesh.’
She said these things in his address as the chief guest at an event titled ‘Progressive Technology, Inclusive Development’ at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital on the occasion of Digital Bangladesh Day on Monday (12 December) morning.
The Prime Minister mentioned the four foundations of Smart Bangladesh. She said, ‘Four foundations have been set for building Smart Bangladesh. They are – 1. Smart Citizen: That is, every citizen will be proficient in using technology. 2. Smart Economy: That is, all the work of the economy will be done using technology. 3. Smart Government: A lot of it has already been done, the rest will be done, and 4. Smart Society: That is, our whole society will be smart.’
Sheikh Hasina said, “the government has formulated the Delta Plan 2100 to outline the development path of the country in addition to the 2041 vision. I hope the youth will take the country forward and become smart citizens to be the soldiers to achieve the 2041 goals.”
Singapore Statement of APRM
The 17th Asia and Pacific Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) concluded yesterday with endorsement of the Singapore Statement, a shared vision of the region’s priorities for national action among ILO member countries including Bangladesh in the coming years.
The announcement made of Singapore Statement after the meeting said that Covid-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic crisis for the countries of the region. Because millions of people have given their lives due to the epidemic. Business and livelihood have been destroyed. Despite signs of recovery, climate-related natural disasters and rising food and fuel prices have created a crisis in the labor market.
Read moreOnline Action Week 2022
Volunteer Day 2022 Speech
“Is is not possible to build build a beautiful country without volunteers who are genuine social workers. About ten lakh volunteers are working in the country as the government is encouraging youth volunteers. The government has undertaken many initiatives, including the formation of the Voluntary Policy with the aim of developing the country and the young generation to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country through participation in voluntary activities.“
– Md Zakir Hossain, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education, Bangladesh
Read the Post of 2022
Need to increase utilization of Climate Funds
Northeastern Flash Flood, May-June 2022
Training on Social Action Plan of Volunteers
DIGITAL BANGLADESH TO SMART BANGLADESH
CAUTION TO FALLING INTO DISASTER TO OVERCOME DANGER
LOOKING BACK FOR THE FUTURE
PROFIT OVER PLANET AND PEOPLE
ACTION ALERT! BREAK THE SILENCE
The disappointing news of G20 climate talks
Statement of UN Envoy and Mis-, Dis-, Mal- Information
Manta Community
Agro-Meteorological Information System
Agro-Meteorological Information System
I found a dashboard of an agro-meteorological information system during the trip to the 16 unions of Patuakhli and Gaibandha districts last September to conduct disaster and climate readiness assessment with team CPE. Logo of the World Bank was placed on the dashboard. It means the project was implemented with the financial support of the World Bank. But the dashboards were a useless item hanged to the wall of the Union Parishad Offices. There is no updated information on the `information board– captioned news on Rajshahi District published in the Daily Prothom Alo on 13 November 2022, also found online. Seeing and reading such an example of wastage of lending money, feel pained.
Read moreManta Community
I travelled Char Mantaj, the last southern island of Rangabali Upazila of Patuakhali district on 27 September 2022 to conduct climate and disaster vulnerability and readiness assessment with CPE team. The story has been developed from the observation of the study sideline.
I see that women with their children are living in boats, somebody cooks food on there at Char Mantaj, the last southern island of Bangladesh. They are `Manta’ folks who spend their whole lives in boats. I knew little about them. I read some articles about them. After returning to Dhaka from Char Montaj, I searched for the articles on the `Manta’ community. Approximately 500 plus families are in `Manta’ community in Patuakhali district, these articles say. `Manta families’ float around the rivers of Char Mantaj. They are also found in the southern rivers, char and estuaries, particularly in Panpotty, Golachipa, Kalaiya, Boga, Bodnatali, Ulania, Patuakhali Sadar region. We also found such a family near the Goinkhali Launch Ghat of Rangabali during our journey from Char Momodarbunia Sluice Gate to Char Mantaj by launch.
Statement of UN Envoy and Mis-, Dis-, Mal- Information
In a statement on 15 September 2022, at the end of a 10-day visit to Bangladesh, Mr. Ian Fry, UN Special Rapporteur on the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of human rights said, “I visited some of the most adversely affected regions of Bangladesh and it is clear to me that the burden of climate change should not be carried by Bangladesh alone. For too long, major emitting countries have denied their responsibility for the suffering they are causing. This must end. The major greenhouse emitting countries have a clear obligation under international law to provide funding to help highly vulnerable countries like Bangladesh to recover from the impact of climate change.”
In the same statement, he said, “I received a statement of claims from the environment and climate change human rights defenders that they have been subject to harassment and imprisonment due to speaking out against climate change issues. It was claimed that there was `shrinking local space’ for public comment. A number of incidents were reported to me where environmental and climate change human rights defenders have been arrested or harassed by authorities for protesting against the development of new coal-fired power stations and other climate-change-unfriendly developments. I have also heard of incidents of death threats made against environmental human rights defenders by ‘unknown’ people. This intimidation by persons possibly linked to the Government does not auger well for a nation striving to position itself positively in the international arena on climate change.”
Prodip K. Roy 