• piact-bangladesh

 Since its establishment in 1980, PIACT Bangladesh worked with the rural and urban communities on different social issues such as  making  them aware , involve and participate; capacity building and develop ownership in community development. These include:

• Non-formal education for urban hard  to reach children and adult education at the rural communities,
• Protect early marriage of girl children,
• Making aware and linking   the unskilled and unemployed young population  of  the hard to reach areas with the government sponsored skills training and job opportunities,
• Providing information and linking the rural poor students, particularly the girls students  with government education  incentive systems to pursue their education,
• Motivating the rural communities to avail the community clinic services,
•  Making the rural people aware about infected diseases  such as STIs and non-communicable diseases such as HTN  and Diabetes,
•  COVID  19 prevention and COVID vaccination
• Establishing human rights of Commercial Sex workers (CSWs) and their children
• Capacity building of CSWs and their children and reintegrate them into the society
• Integrating HIV/AIDS information into the school  curriculum of  grades  VI to XII and teaching those in the classroom. 

 

The methods used for the above activities included : sensitization meetings, workshops, interpersonal communication , social media, folk media, community radio, poster, billboard, roadshow, social networks, community based  health workers and volunteers .

 Some of the issues were culturally sensitive such as establishing human rights of sex workers and integrating them into the society  and  integrating HIV/ AIDS information into the school curriculum . These were done through advocacy with the stakeholders from central level to the community level.

 

Some of the community mobilization programs activities implemented by PIACT Bangladesh are briefly mentioned below.

 

Social Marketing of SEIP (2016 to 2021) : PIACT Bangladesh implemented  this  project of  Skills for Employment Investment Project (SEIP) of Ministry of Finance with the purpose of reaching its target groups of unskilled /semiskilled unemployed young people living in remote areas of Bangladesh  to make them aware that they could avail  SEIP sponsored  skills development training and also could get a  job, in home and abroad , after successful completion of the  training . The following major activities were accomplished, in phases:

 

Organized orientation workshops with stakeholders at district level (64), organized rally and orientation workshops with school& college students, organized community mobilization meeting in remote villages. Organized sensitization workshop with small ethnic communities, people living with disability (PLWD) and underprivileged groups as well as on gender mainstreaming.

 

Disseminated key messages of SEIP at the community level through radio jingle in community radios and in Bangladesh Betar and through local level Cable TV Network as well as through digital LED bill board. Developed and distributed poster (normal and PVC), published  advertisement about SEIP skills training and job placement in local and national daily newspapers. Developed and aired TV spot, TV scrolls and video documentary. Developed and distributed a handout and newsletter. Developed case feature stories and case studies on the success of SEIP.

 

Upazila Level Workshop, Aditmari, Lalmonirhat

Rally, Noakhali

Community Level Meeting, Sadar, Noakhali

 

Advertising & Publicity on Community Clinic Activities (2019):The objective of the project was to  Publicize and popularize the community clinics to the general mass , particularly to the  rural communities and their role for making those functioning effectively  and sustain .The activities included : preparing and  telecasting  TV Spots  and TV Scrolls through popular  TV channels .

 

Publicity Campaign of LGSP-2 (January 2015 to June 2017): Local Governance Support Project-2 (LGSP-2) was implemented by Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives through the Project Management Unit (PMU). The objective of LGSP-2 was to enhance the efficiency and capacity of the Union Parishad (UP) and ensure accountability and transparency of its activities through direct participation of the community people empowering the communities to make choices on their development priorities and basic local services. The Government provided Basic Block Grant (BBG) and Performance Based Grant (PBG) directly to the accounts of all 4571 UPs across the country and held regular ward-level meetings, open budget, regular performance monitoring and assessment.

 

The PMU engaged PIACT Bangladesh to mobilize the local level stakeholders by empowering them with required knowledge about the project’s purpose, modalities and activities. The specific objectives of the assignment were to disseminate the project ideas and implementation procedures among the local level stakeholders, particularly among rural communities. The activities performed were: 

• Organized 64 district level and a national level workshop to sensitize elected representatives, representatives of civil societies, policy planners and journalists on LGSP-2.
•  Developed and telecast a  TV spot of 60 seconds   
• Developed and telecast two thematic dramas (15 minutes each)  
• Produced and broadcast four radio jingles (60 seconds each).
• Produced and telecast one video documentary of 15 minutes.
• Published six features on major achievements of LGSP-2 in widely circulated four national dailies (03 Bangla and 01English).
• Awarded best reporting and photography on LGSP-2.

Some Selected Photographs of District Level Workshops

Brahmanbaria

 

Comilla

Cox’s Bazar

Joypurhat

Jessore

Sunamgonj

 

Publicity Campaign of LGSP-3 (2022):  LGSP-3 was designed based on the experience LGSP-2.  The Project Management Unit (PMU) LGSP-3 engaged PIACT Bangladesh to mobilize the local level stakeholders by empowering them with required knowledge about the project’s purpose, modalities and activities.

 

The specific objectives of the assignment were to disseminate the project ideas and implementation procedures among the local level stakeholders, particularly among rural communities. The activities performed by PIACT Bangladesh were: Organized district level workshops(64)  with journalists, Civil Societies, opinion leaders , district level  government officials of different departments , women leaders; publication of  features in widely circulated national dailies; and award for journalist on best reporting and photography on LGSP-3 published in print and electronic media.

 

Education Awareness & Community Mobilization (EACM, 2010 -2012): In 2008, the Ministry of Education had started a project “Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (SEQAEP)”. The project covered 122 remote upazilas of 61 districts (excluding 3 Hill Tracts districts). PIACT Bangladesh implemented the EACM project In order to raise awareness about SEQAEP activities among key stakeholders, mobilize the community people for developing their interest and ownership for the project, and to avail the project incentive awards by the target group— the ultra-poor students, a project titled “Education Awareness and Community Mobilization (EACM)” of SEQAEP was implemented by PIACT Bangladesh in the project areas during May 2010 to November 2012. The activities implemented under the project were:

 

• Oriented the PTA Member-Secretaries of 3,981 education institutions of 122 upazilas on SEQAEP activities to benefit the project beneficiaries and they in-turn oriented  the PTA and SMC/MMC members of the secondary schools and madrasas with supports of PIACT Bangladesh
• All the secondary education institutions under 122 upazilas were grouped in 1,300 clusters. PIACT Organized cluster-wise cultural programs at 1,300 education institutions which included debate and essay competition on the benefits given to the ultra-poor students.
• Organized 1,857 folk songs and 199 street dramas in the rural setting where people of diverse social, economic, cultural and educational backgrounds were present. 
• Developed and aired 13 episodes TV serial.
• Developed a video film and displayed at the community level to reinforce messages about SEQAEP conveyed through EACM program.
• Displayed/distributed poster, sticker, pamphlet, leaflet and other informational materials about SEQAEP activities in the education institutions and strategic places at the upazila/district headquarters and at the community level. Newsletter was also developed and distributed.

 

National Campaign on Delayed Marriage (2001- 2002): PIACT Bangladesh implemented this national campaign with support from the Directorate of FP, MoH&FW. The purpose of the campaign was to change people’s behavior in favor of controlling fertility by increasing the age at first marriage of both boys and girls with particular attention to girls. The main activities performed were the following:

 

• Conducted formative research to understand the beliefs and behaviors of primary target groups in favor of and against early marriage.
• Designed workshops for different target groups (community leaders, FP committee members, female school teachers, marriage registrars, religious leaders, girl students at secondary and college levels, etc.) 
• Organized rallies and workshops at all divisional cities and all district towns for social mobilization and sensitization regarding the danger of early marriage and benefits of delayed marriage with the participation of youths and adolescents, parents, religious leaders and opinion leaders.
• Designed and erected billboards at the upazilas headquarters(50 remote upazillas)
• Developed TV drama and aired through BTV and ETV.
• Produced cinema slides, special radio programs and special TV programs and folksong, slogans and BCC materials