A-five day-long workshop on Developing Curriculum and Conducting Research in Communication for Development (C4D) among Higher Educational Institutions of Bangladesh began at BRAC Centre for Development Management at Savar in Dhaka yesterday, says a press release.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh jointly organised the workshop. UGC Chairman Professor Abdul Mannan addressed the programme as the chief guest. Ms. Neha Kapil, Section Chief, C4D, of UNICEF, Bangladesh delivered the welcome remarks.

Ms Waithira Gikonyo, Senior Learning Adviser, UNICEF, David H Mould, Professor Emeritus, Ohio University, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Professor Mannan thanked UNICEF for arranging the workshop to include child protection and their rights in tertiary education’s curriculum of Bangladesh. He said the workshop will play a significant role for designing curriculum and conducting participatory research in C4D to achieve results for children.

The UGC chairman opined that C4D and ICT4D are essential for achieving sustainable development goals and addressing social problems of Bangladesh. He said communication helps to change people's mindset and improves their lives.

Ms. Neha Kapil said that there is a vast need for advancing C4D/SBCC related research, to serve current programmes and to meet the needs of future developmental programmes. ‘It is also important to demonstrate and share lessons, experiences learned in using C4D/SBCC to achieve development goals including the rights of children and their communities to the global C4D communities’, she said.