Fellowship to 23 Sr politicians to bolster their pol skills

USAID’s Strengthening Political Landscape project presents graduation certificates to 23 senior politicians to bolster their leadership and political skills.

USAID’s Strengthening Political Landscape project presents graduation certificates to 23 senior politicians to bolster their leadership and political skills under the Senior Leaders’ Fellowship Program

Dhaka: Nov 22 - Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Strengthening Political Landscape project, implemented by Democracy International, awarded certificates to 23 senior mid-to senior-level central and grassroots political leaders from across Bangladesh for successful completion of the Senior Leaders’ Fellowship Program. The graduating senior fellows represent three major political parties: Bangladesh Awami League (AL), Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jatiya Party (JaPa). The highly regarded Senior Leaders Fellowship Program (SLFP) is designed to provide mid-level and senior-level leaders of central and grassroots organizations with opportunities to hone their leadership and political skills. It also helps them develop positive relationships with leaders across parties and with young leaders in their communities. Since September 2022, the 6th graduating class of fellows underwent intensive training and fieldwork on various topics, including the role of political parties in democracies, internal party democracy, campaign management, the voting process, and women's political empowerment. At the graduation ceremony, Bangladesh Awami League Presidium Member, Lt. Col. Muhammad Faruk Khan (Retd.) MP; BNP National Standing Committee Member, Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan; Jatiya Party Presidium Member, Md. Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan; and Democracy International Chief of Party, Dana L. Olds presented certificates to the senior fellows.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Faruk Khan (Retd.), MP said, “you have received training in various issues on democracy, including campaign management, conflict management and others. We hope you will apply what you learned to improve your political parties. You attended here to train and became friends with each other. I am happy to see that DI organized training on the political empowerment of women.”

Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan said, ‘’if democracy is lost, our values of liberation war will be in vain. To implement the spirit of the liberation war, we must implement democracy properly. In a democratic country, everyone should have the opportunity to speak. I want every person to take the country and society forward by practicing democracy. You are enriching your respective party through training. This training will help develop democracy in this country. We will request the grassroots political leaders to show us the mistakes our central-level leaders make.’’

Md. Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan said, “I believe in multi-party democracy and participatory politics. DI's work is very inspiring for politicians in the country.’’

In her concluding remarks, DI Chief of Party Dana L. Olds said, “as senior leaders, you must serve as an example to the young politicians in your constituencies that you can work together across parties to improve the lives of the people of Bangladesh. Your role is critical to promote women in politics and amplify the voices of other marginalized groups.” - Press release