Voice has just released its plan, to be implemented from next month to the end of 2010 and beyond, regarding a national strategy for Aid Effectiveness Advocacy.

Voice invites members of the community and concerned parties to download the plan here and encourages comments and collaborations.

Community meeting on ADB's Public Communication Policy will be held in Jamalpur on 8 July 2010. Local communities affected by the ADB's project, NGOs and CSOs will be attending the meeting. The meeting will broadly discuss on the ADB's PCP and on how the policy was put in place during implementation of ADB's projects in the area. VOICE has already translated the relevant materials on PCP which will also be shared in the community consultation.

An opinion sharing meeting held at press club in the capital on Sunday organized by different network of rights group criticized government policy that have created space of investment for the private sector, foreign companies in power sector. They mentioned that in view of other Asian country experiences it may create more public debts and increase disparity in society. The meeting was jointly organized by Action Aid, EquityBD, Jubilee South, SUPRO, MFTD, Unnayan Onneshan and VOICE.

Lidy Nacpil of Jubilee South narrated her experience from Philippines, and Sayed Aminul Haque of EquityBD gave analysis on Bangladesh situation in this regard. The meeting was moderated by Rashed Al Titumir of Unnayan Onneshan, while Md. Shamsuddoha of EquityBD, Faruque Ahmed from MFTD and Farjana Akther of VOICE spoke on the occasion.

[VOICE, Dhaka, 31 May 2010]

VOICE expresses its serious concern over
 the infringement of freedom of expression and the government’s control on the access to information through blocking the social networking site,
 Facebook.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) blocked access to Facebook last Saturday, 29 May 2010. Facebook is 
increasingly becoming a popular online medium among the youth to stay connected with important opportunities and contacts and perform their socio-cultural, family or livelihood- related activities. Close to one million users in Bangladesh now log on to Facebook on a regular basis.

While we condemn the posting of anti-Islamic elements on Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (SM), porn links or uploading satiric images of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition- for which the Government has allegedly banned Facebook, we believe such banning would not help to stop the causes. It only blocks the ‘Freedom of Expression’ rights, Right to Information ACT enacted last year and will only tarnish the image of the country abroad. Such banning is also contrary to the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ declaration of the present Governent, that has got many young people to vote for them.

We are proud to announce the launch of VOICE's brand new website!

With a completely redesigned look and a more user-friendly interface, we hope this new website will go even further than the last one. New drop-down menus and and improved archive section makes it easier than ever to access information on our site. An improved custom search engine will allow you to quickly find the article you need. The new design, besides bringing a more modern, updated look, improves readability by a simpler colour selection, slimmer body and uncluttered header space. 

We hope you enjoy our new site and we sincerely apologize for the long delay.

We invite your comments and suggestions to improve our site! Leave a comment by clicking on the link below. 

VOICE continues its work fighting against unjust economic, political and environmental practices and continues to act as a voice for the unheard. Solidarity!

PRESS RELEASE

[Dhaka, May 3, 2010] VOICE, rights-based research and advocacy organization based in Dhaka called for solidarity to observe the Asian Day of Action against Privatization of Essential Services. The Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) and the Campaign Network on the Right to Essential Services and Natural Resources (RTRS) declared May 4 as the Asian Day of Action Against Privatization of Essential Services while VOICE being its members called for strengthening civil society voices against blanket privatization of essential services including heath and education. The day of action coincides with the 43rd Annual Governors Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Taskent, Uzbekistan. The observation of the day aims at standing against the ADB’s role in privatizing water, power, and other essential services in the region.

Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE urges all sects of society to resist and oppose the imposition and financing of privatization of water and power and other essential services. He said that due to privatization process in Bangladesh, people have already been affected and the poor became the worst sufferers. He further added to stop financing private sector monopolization of
water, power, health and education sectors in Bangladesh.

Download the People's Protocol on Climate Change in Bangla here.

Dear all,

Greetings! VOICE and Bank Information Centre (BIC). This is to invite you/your representative to a training workshop. Please find information below and also details in attached files.

Subject : Unpacking the World Bank Group operations in Bangladesh in the Context of Climate Change and Development

When: 2-4 March 2010

Where: The Catholic Bishops Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB), 24/C, Asad Avenue, Mohammadpur, Dhaka- 1207

Who to contact: Farjana Akter, Programme Coordinator, VOICE, <farjanakter@gmail.com>

RSVP: 8158688, 01712-990078

As the number of participants are limited for better outcome, please confirm your participation soonest as possible.  We are only accepting participation through confirmation.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Best regards,

Ahmed Swapan

Some 21 civil society organizations staged a protest rally on Tuesday to denounce the role of the development partners and their allied ‘elite class’ and bureaucrats in development process, saying they were responsible for misusing foreign aid.

They [the development partners in Bangladesh, the ‘elite class’ and the bureaucrats] have made the country increasingly indebted since liberation, the protesters from rights based organizations told the rally.

Bangladesh government on Monday began a two-day dialogue in Dhaka with multilateral lenders and donor countries seeking approval of the poverty reduction strategy, a lender-driven development document.

Parallel to the ongoing BDF meeting, the rights organizations — Arpan, AMKS, Eso, Bangladesh Krishak Federation, CSRL, EquityBD, Kishani Sohva, Lead Trust, On line knowledge centre, Protikrit, Karmajibi Nari, La via campesina, MFTD, Prantik, Purbasha, RCSV, Swadhin Bangla Garments Sramik Federation, Solidarity Workshop, Sirajganj Flood Forum, Uddipan, Voice, and World Development Movement, UK—organised the rally in front of National Press Club in the city.

The organizers demanded sovereign, democratic and responsible financing to ensure that the benefits of aid and loans reach the poor through a transparent and accountable manner.

Speakers at a press conference yesterday said loans and grants of the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international financial institutions are destructive for Bangladesh as the donor agencies take away more kickbacks than what they have provided as aid or loans.

Only 25 percent of the foreign aid and loans provided to the country go to the target group while the rest of them are attained for the auxiliary and support services, they added.

The speakers said this at the press conference organised by VOICE, a rights-based research group, and Aid Accountability Group, a civil society alliance, at the National Press Club in the city.

They called on the government to reject destructive aid and formulate an independent economic policy instead of PRSP and to make all loan agreements public ensuring transparency and accountability.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=126405