The Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP) of the Local Government Division in partnership with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) & the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised a day-long workshop titled ‘Mayors’ Knowledge Exchange Workshop on LIUPCP Good Practices’ recently (29 May) at a hotel in Dhaka.

The objective of the workshop was to share and discuss good practices around pro-poor and climate-resilient urban development emerging from LIUPCP interventions in 19 cities and towns.

Mr Md Tazul Islam, MP, Honourable Minister, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives (MoLGRD&C) was present as the Chief Guest while Mr Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh, and Mr Matt Cannell, Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director, British High Commission were present as Special Guests. Mr Muhammad Ibrahim, Secretary, Local Government Division, MoLGRD&C chaired the workshop.

In her opening remarks Ms Sonali Dayaratne, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh said, “The government has taken full ownership of our urban resilience programme. It has showcased how community women are tailoring solutions to the community’s needs in cities and towns.”

Mayor of Dhaka North Md Atiqul Islam, while chairing the session on 'Good practices of community empowerment and locally led approaches for climate-resilient infrastructure’ said, “Local action is the key to national success, and a bottom-up community-led development process will ensure pro-poor urban development.”

Mayor of Chandpur Md Jillur Rahman said, “Through LUIPCP, we have reached the urban poor households facilitating women’s participation in city-level committees.”

“Getting our voices heard was not an easy journey – but thanks to LIUPC and the municipality for creating a space that has shaped us who few are today” felt Ms Nazma Alam, Chairperson of Chandpur Town Federation.

The Chief Guest Md Tazul Islam, MP said, “By 2041, we want to become a developed country and this development journey will leave no one behind”. “To look forward to using the learnings from this workshop in the coming days.”

Stefan Liller, while addressing the workshop, said, “Our longstanding partnership with the Bangladesh Government and the UK spans nearly two decades, showcasing a robust model of urban poverty reduction and climate change adaptation. The programme continues to strengthen resilience at the community level, ensuring that our efforts are integrated into broader urban development strategies of local governments.

Commenting on the learnings from LIUPC, Matt Cannell said, “I am glad to see the partnership between the Bangladesh government, the UK government and UNDP improved the livelihoods and living conditions of 4 million poor urban people in Bangladesh.”

Mr Muhammad Ibrahim, Secretary, MoLGRD&C, thanked the UK Government and UNDP for supporting the LIUPC. “We look forward to fostering this partnership in the coming years.”

Around 120 participants comprising Mayors from City Corporations and Municipalities, development partners, government agencies, NGOs, INGOs, and bilateral and multilateral partners, attended the workshop.

The LIUPCP is working for pro-poor climate-smart urban development. Started in 2018, the project has reached around four million urban poor in its program cities and towns and has demonstrated several good practices in community empowerment, affordable housing, adaptive livelihoods, improved socioeconomic conditions, climate resilient infrastructures and pro-poor planning and municipal governance.

BDST: 1535 HRS, JUN 01, 2024
SMS