�Active Citizens� study tour of Bangladesh

Y&I Desk

A group of 25 young volunteers from eight countries came together in Bangladesh last week for a study tour under ‘Active Citizens’ project, hosted by the British Council. The main objective of the visit was to increase understanding about the power of global networks engaged in social development.
The participants from UK, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Lebanon, Vietnam, Myanmar and host Bangladesh took part in the programme from January 16 to 23, which included a 5-day workshop and 2 days of community visit.
The activities were designed to bring together partners, facilitators and participants from diverse backgrounds around the world. During the weeklong visit, participants were able to share insights and knowledge on how they are engaged in social activities in their own countries and communities, the challenges they face and their accomplishments.
The young volunteers shared their ideas at a workshop on ‘marketplace’, held at a hotel in the capital on Jan 17.
“I always believe, by doing some volunteering work, it is possible to develop one’s own community and society. When I heard about the project of Active Citizen, I thought this is high time to get involved with a global network, and it would probably be a great opportunity to learn something more,” said Rio Floreza, a participant from the UK.
“This is a very unique and interesting concept to learn about another culture and gather different innovative ideas to develop a society. It is kind of a hub, where different youth leaders are sharing their own strategies to contribute to the society, while the youths from different cultures are gathering ideas so that they are able to contribute to their own societies,” Rio added.
“I come from a poor area of Sri Lanka. I came here to know how different people in different parts of the world are contributing to their society. So, by learning new things, I will be able to contribute to my society. And not only that, I have a plan to train and share these ideas will my community,” said Md Naleej from Sri Lanka.
“This type of programme is very much important to develop young minds. We are sharing different problem-solving ideas so that we will able to solve different problems in our society,” said Zein Yalmayee of Bangladesh.
Toufiq Hasan, project manager of British Council, said the young ‘Active Citizens’ went through a learning journey that provided them a solid understanding of Bangladesh’s culture, the power of networking and how youths are mobilising resources in communities through their leadership qualities to bring about positive social changes.
Active Citizens is a global project run by the British Council and its partners in over 30 countries. It promotes community development through capacity building of young leaders for civic engagement and volunteerism. It also organises international study visits to provide volunteers knowledge about other cultures, community, communication and project management.

�Active Citizens� study tour of Bangladesh

YI Desk A group of 25 young volunteers from eight countries came together in Bangladesh last week for a study tour under Active Citizens project, hosted by the British Council. The main objective of the visit was to increase understanding about the power of global networks engaged in social development. The participants from UK, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Lebanon, Vietnam, Myanmar and host Bangladesh took part in the programme from January 16 to 23, which included a 5-day workshop and 2 days of community visit. The activities were designed to bring together partners, facilitators and participants from diverse backgrounds around the world. During the weeklong visit, participants were able to share insights and knowledge on how they are engaged in social activities in their own countries and communities, the challenges they face and their accomplishments. The young volunteers shared their ideas at a workshop on marketplace, held at a hotel in the capital on Jan 17. I always believe, by doing some volunteering work, it is possible to develop ones own community and society. When I heard about the project of Active Citizen, I thought this is high time to get involved with a global network, and it would probably be a great opportunity to learn something more, said Rio Floreza, a participant from the UK. This is a very unique and interesting concept to learn about another culture and gather different innovative ideas to develop a society. It is kind of a hub, where different youth leaders are sharing their own strategies to contribute to the society, while the youths from different cultures are gathering ideas so that they are able to contribute to their own societies, Rio added. I come from a poor area of Sri Lanka. I came here to know how different people in different parts of the world are contributing to their society. So, by learning new things, I will be able to contribute to my society. And not only that, I have a plan to train and share these ideas will my community, said Md Naleej from Sri Lanka. This type of programme is very much important to develop young minds. We are sharing different problem-solving ideas so that we will able to solve different problems in our society, said Zein Yalmayee of Bangladesh. Toufiq Hasan, project manager of British Council, said the young Active Citizens went through a learning journey that provided them a solid understanding of Bangladeshs culture, the power of networking and how youths are mobilising resources in communities through their leadership qualities to bring about positive social changes. Active Citizens is a global project run by the British Council and its partners in over 30 countries. It promotes community development through capacity building of young leaders for civic engagement and volunteerism. It also organises international study visits to provide volunteers knowledge about other cultures, community, communication and project management.