BYLC Youth Leadership Summit 2012

The second Youth Leadership Summit will be organized by BYLC on April 26-28, 2012 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Dhaka. The theme of this year's Summit is 'Leading Bangladesh into the Future: A Journey of Exploration'. The Summit is expected to draw approximately 450 youth delegates, comprising of BBLT graduates as well as university students outside of the BYLC network. The Summit will provide a platform for young people to network, enhance their knowledge and voice their thoughts on pressing national issues. The delegates will also have the opportunity to interact with 50 nationally and internationally renowned speakers, including senior government officials, academicians, diplomats, entrepreneurs and civil society leaders. The title sponsor for this year's Summit is the U.S. State Department.

BBLT 7 students wrap up projects in Chittagong

BYLC completed its seventh Building Bridges through Leadership Training (BBLT) program on October 29, 2011 in Chittagong. Thirty-six participants took part in the program, where they received an intensive month-long training on leadership, followed by three months of community service. Participants successfully executed five projects in the Tulatuli community in Khulshi, each dedicating 120 hours of service. The team Ogrophathik carried out a project to increase employment of community members by providing them training on embroidery and bamboo artistry. Team Prottoy conducted a health camp, while team Shoptorshi's project involved a hygiene campaign in the community. The projects have served more than 450 residents of Tulatuli. Five BBLT 7 graduates are currently catalyzing change in the community by teaching leadership to secondary school students in the BBLT Junior 3 program in Chittagong.

BBLT 8 students work with SAJIDA Foundation

Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the Honorable State Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, addresses students at the opening ceremony of BBLT 8 in Dhaka.

The eighth signature leadership training program Building Bridges through Leadership Training (BBLT) commenced with an inaugural ceremony held at the Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka on November 12, 2011. The event was attended by Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the Honorable State Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, as the chief guest and Ms. Lauren Lovelace, the director of the American Center, as a special guest.

Forty-three students from 27 different institutions were selected to participate in the program through a rigorous recruitment process involving 835 applications from over 100 institutions. The participants, who are the first batch to train in the new center, have completed a month of classroom training and have begun their community service projects for the next three months.

The projects will be conducted in collaboration with SAJIDA Foundation at their three major centers in Kamalapur, Kawran Bazar and Mouchak areas of Dhaka city. SAJIDA Foundation is a development organization that works to improve the living standards of poor people through sustainable and effective interventions.

Spotlight:
Sharmin Rumpa, BBLT 7 Graduate

Sharmin Rumpa, a BBLT 7 graduate, is currently an undergraduate student of Business Administration at the International Islamic University Chittagong. After completing the BBLT 7 program, Rumpa continued her community service project with underprivileged women in the Tulatuli community in Chittagong. She shares her experience with us.

What motivated you to continue your community service project after completion of the BBLT program?

For the BBLT 7 program, my team and I had developed a project to create employment opportunities for underprivileged women by providing them training on embroidery. The success of our work raised interest among other women in the community to take the training. Their enthusiasm gave me and two of my peers confidence to continue the project beyond the formal three-month service commitment to BYLC.

How has the response from the project been?

In our project, we trained five women, who have now become adept at crafting basic embroidery work. Presently, they are trying to experiment with new techniques and ideas. Moreover, 14 new participants have joined our project in the last two months. We are working with them to identify potential buyers in the local market for their products.

Have you worked on any other projects?

Yes, I have just completed another project. My fellow BBLT 7 graduates and I wanted to do something special for the Tulatuli community on December 16, Bangladesh's Victory Day. With winter approaching, we decided to distribute sweaters and blankets among people in the poor community. We are grateful to Every Gift & Fashion, a local clothing store, and Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) for giving us 800 sweaters and 150 blankets. This helped us to celebrate our Victory Day by distributing the collected materials among 300 community members.

Tell us about your experience with the warm clothes distribution project.

The experience has been wonderful! Initially, we were worried whether we would be able to reach as many people as targeted. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the large turnout on the day of the event. Although at first it was getting a bit difficult to manage the large crowd, our volunteers did a great job at maintaining order. Their effort helped us to distribute most of the clothes to children and elderly people, who are most vulnerable to the winter cold.

How has the BBLT training helped you to execute these projects?

I always had a strong desire to work for the betterment of my community. However, up until now, I lacked the required knowledge and courage to organize a project. Through the BBLT program, I gained experience in problem solving, project planning, proposal writing and budgeting. Most importantly, BBLT has taught me to communicate with others with clarity and confidence. These skills are proving to be quite effective as I continue to organize such service projects.