All

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.

[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.

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.

For more information on any of these titles or to order a copy, please contact us.

People's Movement for Livelihood (Bangla)

MONGA: The Art of Politics of Dying (On Food, Trade and Globalization) by Ahmed Swapan Mahmud

Manual: Corporate Globalization, Agriculture and Trade (Bangla)

Jiboner Golpo (Bangla)

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

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

BDF won’t accommodate people’s voices or representatives: VOICE

Rights group VOICE, complaining that people’s voices will not be heard nor their representatives accommodated in the upcoming dialogue between the government and global lenders, has demanded that that conditions imposed for, and the expenditure pattern of, foreign aid-funded development projects must be made public.

Referring to the meeting of the Bangladesh Development Forum scheduled to be held in Dhaka on February 15-16, VOICE has called for a debate on the relevance of external loans, which should involve politicians, professional groups, businesspeople, civil society dignitaries, and representatives of local government and community organisations.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the BDF meeting which will be attended by representatives of the Local Consultative Group, a forum of lending agencies and donor countries, and those of the newly emerging economic superpowers.
‘People from all strata of life do not have any access to the Forum although it demands greater participation of stakeholders,’ Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, noted in a position paper titled ‘Destructive Aid and Bangladesh Development forum 2010’.

Speakers in a discussion meeting yesterday stressed the need for ensuring transparency among NGOs to make effective use of the foreign aid which they felt was necessary for equity based development.
They also suggested for the disclosure of NGOs activities including amount of aids they received and the mode of expenditures.
They were addressing the discussion 'Role of the Civil Society on Aid Effectiveness' jointly organised by Voice (Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment) and Aid Accountability Group at National Press Club in the city.

The European Union ambassador in Dhaka, Stefan Frowein, has urged the civil society members to find a way to work together to elaborate common positions and lobby effectively to contribute in development and progress to make aid more effective.
   ‘This is especially true in Bangladesh… where civil society plays a crucial role as partner of the government improving the living conditions of thousands and thousands of people,’ he said while addressing a discussion at the National Press Club Tuesday morning.
   Voice (Voices for Interactive Choice and Empowerment) and Aid Accountability Group jointly organised the discussion titled ‘Role of the Civil Society on Aid Effectiveness’.

[16 December 2009, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, writes from Copenhagen] There was snow, cold and wind in Copenhagen. But the warmth of Reclaiming People’s Power lead a few thousand activists from around the world to gather in different blocks and rally towards the Bella Centre where world leaders are in mock climate negotiations. 

The activists called for climate justice, democracy and people’s sovereign power to end the false solutions to climate change proposed by leaders of rich countries.

We had the warm hearts of creative and imaginative leaders and activists from the South and the North demanding justice, surrounded by hundreds of police. But the police used brutal action on the activists.

Can it be a democratic regime where people’s voices are not heard and considered? How can we trust those in power when people are blocked, beaten, tear-gassed, arrested and abused? It was unjustified intolerance to democracy. The Danish police action resembles the inhuman and undemocratic behaviour of the Danish government in the climate negotiations.

Pinaki Roy, from Copenhagen

While parties were struggling to reach an agreement at the Bella Centre in central Copenhagen before the high-level segment of climate talks, environmental activists from across the globe staged demonstrations yesterday with a call for 'Climate Justice'.

The environmental activists were demanding a 350ppm limit on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and no more than a 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures for the sake of survival of the most vulnerable countries like Bangladesh, small islanders and African nations.

Meanwhile, global civil society groups demanded a legal and institutional framework for protecting and rehabilitating 'climate refugees' who are being displaced due to climate change.

They launched an International Campaign on Climate Refugees' Rights (ICCR) on Friday afternoon at Klimaforum, the people's climate summit, in downtown Copenhagen.

The social movement groups from Asia, Africa and Latin/Central America joined hands together to demand the rights of millions of climate refugees.

Sun, 13/12/2009 - 09:18

The International Campaign on Climate Refugees’ Rights

[Copenhagen, Friday 11 December 2009] While the countries split wide open on combating climate change, the civil soiceity groups have launched `International Campaign on Climate Refugees’ Rights’ (ICCR) at Copenhagen. The social movement groups from Asia, Africa and Latin/Central America joined hands together to demand the rights of millions of people being displaced by the climate change.

Opening the launching of the campaign, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, convenor of the ICCR said, "global civil society groups should come forward to build a wider constituency to claim the justice and rights of the climate induced refugees". 

Mr Ahmed also demanded "a legal safeguard protocol should be in place to ensure the political, social, cultural and economic rights of the climate refugees by the international community presently meeting under the Conference of Parties (COP-15) here in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A collage of distinguished speakers spoke about the climate change and the human rights and justice during the launching of the international campaign with a strong audiences in the venue of Klimaforum.

[VOICE Release, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 16 November 2009]

 Civil society organizations, human rights activists, researchers, academicians gathered in the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt strongly criticized UN for removal of a poster during the meeting of Open Net Initiative (ONI) held on the first day of the UN IGF on 15 December 2009. The poster mentioned internet censorship and China's Great Firewall.

We call for a new legal framework for climate refugees to realize their social, political, cultural and economic rights.   Many developing countries of the global south are facing serious catastrophe due to climate change. Hundreds and thousands of people from these developing nations have already been displaced and millions more will be displaced if appropriate measures are not taken today. The current rate of climate change is rapidly increasing due to the onslaught of global warming caused by excessive carbon emissions, and more frequent and extreme draught, flooding, cyclones and sea level rise are the life-threatening results.

Friday, October 23. 2009
Writing history’s longest suicide note
The UN office in Ratchadamnoen Ave., Bangkok, where the intersessional global climate negotiations was recently held with glacial speed. 

The morning after.

When the plane finally touched asphalt I could call home.

Kamuning in the heart and also beneath my feet.

Content canine Emil is sleeping on my left, at peace with the slow day in the corner where he fought and defeated the ugly things that once attempted to impose their space in our house.

In front of us, the bougainvillea planted years ago in the street.

The plant is stretching out, with multiple trunks stemming from a single base, thorned stems shooting upwards, towards the sun, merging with the crown of the old chesa.

From above, the woody vine cascades with a different shade of green and shy bracts of magenta flowers, enjoying, on occasion, the company of the deep-yellow fruit of the evergreen tree spelled tiessa or called canistel elsewhere.

A breeze strums the air and momentarily parts the leaves, allowing connection briefly with the sky.

Global media activists criticized control over media and proposed alternatives

 A three day Medifes was held in Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Japan from 20-22 September 2009 organized by OurPlanet-TV, a network of media activists based in Tokyo. The conference was attended by a large number of stakeholders from Japan and international civil society organizations.

Tokyo Medifes 2009 is an annual event of alternative media, community media and citizen media held in Japan. Participants of the conference shared and discussed the experience on media and proposed alternatives while media in a global corporate control.

Hajime Shiraishi, the Representative of OurPlanet-TV told the conference to uphold the alternative media and citizen broadcasting realizing the diversity and publicity of wide range of stakeholders to really make media benefit for the people.
 

NEW! Troubled Waters: Water Sector Transparency and Accountability.

Initiated by VOICE in July 2008, this documentary focuses on the
inherent corruption in the water management systems and the problems of
the water services in the Mymensingh municipality. Not only does it
bring to light the inadequacies of the water system and their effects
on the people, but also the role of the administrative system.

The film also highlights how people struggle to have their needs met
and recognized by policy makers and water service providers, further
encouraging the development of more accountable and transparent
practices. It relates the consumers opinions and suggestions on the
feasibility of overcoming the water sector corruption problems. It also
shows the necessity of public awareness of water sector issues so that
people know their basic rights, as well as promotes the building of an
accountable relationship between water service providers and the
citizens.

See the complete water sector documentary on Youtube here.

Read more details about our videos on our Audio/Video page.

A meeting will be held at VOICE meeting room ( House 67, Block-Ka, Pisciculture housing society, Shyamoli, Dhaka) from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. on August 24, 2009. The meeting will jointly be organized with Washington based civil society organization The Bank Information Centre (BIC- www.bicusa.org).

The areas where BIC is focussing on for its advocacy, campaigning and research are transparency, climate change / energy and extractive industries.

The meeting aims at discussing with different civil society organisations to understand their engagement on these issues and to identify areas for mutual cooperation and joint work.

BIC Asia Manager Jelson Garcia and Joe Athialy will attend the meeting. As an organisation engaged on these issues, and/or issues of IFIs, we cordially invite you to attend the meeting.

If you need any information please contact Farjana Akter, email farjanakter@gmail.com

Despite strong pressure from communities and NGOs, the ADB continues to support destructive carbon-intensive development projects such as coal-fired power stations, large dams and private sector-biased highways, thereby accelerating the adverse impacts of increasing global temperatures. Farjana Akter of VOICE, an active Forum member, talks about the consequences of such reckless programs and direct impact of climate change in Bangladesh.

Most of the rural people of Bangladesh think that the changing climate, as well as the frequent natural disasters, happened by God's hand. These are natural disasters. They also think that because of our sins God gives us these troubles. These simple and vulnerable people are quite far removed from global politics and injustice order. They do not know that they are victims of climate change.

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jul/16/home.html

Most of the dwellers in the Mymensingh municipality are out of water supply coverage and those who are under the supply network never get water round the clock, a study showed.

Only 22 per cent of the dwellers have access to the municipality water supply while the rest 78 per cent collect water from other sources, revealed the study of VOICE, a research group.
 The study showed that a large number of dwellers are pilfering water through illegal connections as corruption and mismanagement in water supply go rampant in the municipality.

‘The municipality supplies water only for four hours a day, leaving the dwellers in serious problems,’ Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, said revealing the findings of study. He said the study was carried out recently to assess the current state of people’s access to safe drinking water in Mymensingh municipality.

Around 25 per cent respondents said, they fell victims to fake bills while 90 per cent of them complained about irregular supply of water. Most of them also had complaints about safety of the supplied water.

Sharing Meeting on Findings of the Research on Water Sector Transparency and Accountability

Venue: Meeting room, COAST Trust, Shyamoli, Dhaka-1207

Time: 3:00pm

Date: 15th July 2009

VOICE will present the findings of a research on water sector transparency and accountability, a case of Mymensingh municipality. It will also screen a documentary titled Troubled Waters.

[Dhaka, 5 July 2009] Speakers in a seminar spoke about how neoliberal policy doctrines have failed to reduce poverty or ensure social protection for the poor. Neoliberalism has not only had devastating consequences in developing countries like Bangladesh, it has also shaken the northern economy.

The seminar titled `Neoliberalism, Poverty and Social Protection Policies’ was held in the city’s national press club today. It was organized by VOICE, a research and public education organization and moderated by its executive director Ahmed Swapan Mahmud. The panel included Monower Mustafa, a researcher and development activist; Mohsin Ali, Coordinator of Governance Advocacy Forum; and Saiful Haq, Genral Secretary of Biplobi Workers Party. Ahmed Swapan Mahmud also presented Voice’s keynote paper at the seminar.

 “Neoliberal policies have been proved ineffective and have failed to offer any better solution for society.” said Ahmed Swapan Mahmud. “Rather, they create marginalization, deprivation, economic injustice, insecurity and poverty at large.” Mentioning existing Social Safety Net Programms (SSNPs) he told the seminar that these ad-hoc measures are merely neoliberal tools, while the programmes do not play any real role reducing poverty.

Being homeless, losing livelihood, starvation, poverty etc. are just some everyday realities for many people, even for communities, in developing countries. People are constantly struggling for claiming their rights and sovereignty over food, environment and natural resources. Unfortunately, people are not only deprived of their rights, but their livelihood is threatened by market forces and controlled by market-led economy. Though late, but now it is recognized that multinational companies are mainly making profit and controlling world’s natural resources in the name of creating employment opportunity.

Speakers at a roundtable on Thursday said no government should impose surveillance and censorship on internet access and block any websites considering people's right to know and free flow ofinformation.

Criticising all forms of surveillance and censorship on internet access, they urged the government to protect right to privacy and freedom of expression with an end to all sorts of surveillance and censorship on internet.

With a call for a democratic access to information and data protection, VOICE, an NGO, organised the roundtable on `Access to information: Internet surveillance and censorship versus protection of people's rights' at the National Press Club in the
city.

Taking part in the roundtable, Syed Margub Morshed, former chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission,said it would be a futile exercise if anybody wants to block any website to censor or hide any information.

“Surveillance and censorship is fundamentally unethicaland national security cannot be protected through imposing surveillance and censorship,” he added.

Criticising the government move on mobile re-registration, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, in his keynote paper asked, “How can we be ensured that the information or data given to a prescribed form will not be leaked our or used for other purpose?”

By Farjana Akter

This is immensely great initiative by NGO Forum on ADB to bring new leadership under the light of ‘Incentives Internship Program on ADB issues’. I cannot define it in a single word or in a paragraph how it is. Though I must say it’s a gigantic learning scope for a young activist and practitioner. The learning program is only for 15 days but it has already given me different views to think about, look at things in a critical point of view in the recent development paradigm.

Well I am not going to say that I am now an expert on ADB advocacy, but everyday I am gaining very important things that are giving me spirit to work more strongly about ADB issues. Though I have experienced to work about international financial institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The World Bank does not provide any information on its projects in Bangladesh, obstructing stakeholders’ access to information in areas such as project agreement, implementation and monitoring, said participants in a consultation meeting.
They demanded public disclosure of all information related to WB projects as well as its funding procedures.

The meeting, held at the Dhaka Reporter’s Unity on Wednesday, was organised by research and advocacy organisation Voice and the Bank Information Centre. Former Appellate Division Judge Golam Rabbani presided over the meeting.
In his keynote speech, the Voice executive director, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, said according to the WB’s Inspection Panel Annual Report, there were allegations of lack of transparency, even violations, of its disclosure policy, he added.
He cited violations of the disclosure policy in a significant number of cases.

BRAC University professor Dr Piash Karim said the World Bank was losing its legitimacy worldwide because of imposition of neo-liberal conditions on the states.
Accusing the World Bank of taking advantage of the global financial crisis, he said it was eager to expand its lending base. He demanded that the World Bank’s lending policy and the project agreements should be made public so that people could voice their opinions on the project documents.

VOICE is going to organize a Consultation meeting on ‘World Bank’s Information Disclosure Policy: People’s Voice and Propose Greater Transperency and Accountability’.

Date: 20 May 2009
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Venue: VIP lounge of Dhaka Reporters Unity, (8/4-A Topkhana Road, Segunbagicha)

The objectives of the consultation are to raise critical awareness among citizenry and also to prepare a set of recommendations for further improvement of the Disclosure policy to ensure greater transparency and accountability to its constituencies.
Noted that World Bank is going to revise its Disclosure policy and it has already posted an Approach Paper titled Toward Greater Transparency: Rethinking the World Bank’s Disclosure Policy in its external website.

Please contact us for more information! (email: ahmed.swapan@gmail.com, Mobile: 01711-881919)

3 May Bali: During ADB`s 42nd Annual General meeting taking place in Bali, Indonesia from May 2-5, 2009, civil society and NGOs from around the world meet together and demonstrate against the project and policies of Asian Development Bank. As a part of programmes, a two days long Asia Pacific People`s Tribunal is being held in Udayana University, Bali while witnesses testify how ADB has violates the rights of the people of the region.

The international tribunal was organized by Indonesian civil society network INFID, Indies, Asia Pacific Research Network, IBON Foundation, Philippines associated with more than thirty organizations from the region including VOICE, Bangladesh.

The multilateral lender has been charged with gross violations of economic, social, and cultural rights of the Asia- Pacific region; civil and political rights; and peoples’ national sovereignty and right to self-determination.

28 April, Bali – The NGO Forum on ADB officially opened its Forum annual meeting (FAM) today at the Palm Beach Hotel & Resort in Bali, Indonesia.
Over 70 participants representing different organizations from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, the United States, Australia, and the Netherlands attended the first day.

The first session dealt with big picture issues. Pieter Jansen of BothENDS talked about the ongoing financial crisis from the European perspective.   He compared the situation before the financial crisis and after the crash. He further said that the removal of controls over the financial sector has made the financial institutions masters of economy instead as its servants.
Stephanie Fried of the Environmental Defense Fund delved on private equity funds (PEF) which promotes secrecy in the middle of the global financial crisis. Though there is an international push for the re-regulation of financial architecture and an increase in transparency measures due to the global financial crisis, she said the ADB has proposed the further deregulation of risky investments and weakening of its Safeguards Policy. She said that PEFs are a key component of the ADB’s private sector development strategy.

Speakers at a discussion meeting on Wednesday strongly criticised the Asian Development Bank’s policies and projects for their ‘negative impacts’ on people’s lives and livelihoods.

They also lamented the Asian Development Bank’s Long Term Strategic Framework (LTSF) for 2008-2020 for its ‘anti-poor’ stand and demanded strong resistance against ADB’s policies that are biased toward private sector-led development.
The discussion was jointly organised by ‘Voice’, a research organisation, and NGO Forum on ADB in the WVA auditorium.
Civil society organisations’ members, trade unionists, farmers’ organisations’ representatives, NGOs, students, activist groups and civil society actors attended the seminar, moderated by Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of the Voice.
Towhid Ibne Farid, coordinator of ActionAid Bangladesh, said that in the face of the global financial crisis and climate change, civil society actors should come together to fight the dominant role played by the international financial institutes including the ADB.
Highlighting the Southwest Integrated Water Resource Management Project, he alleged that ADB had not complied with its safeguard policies and thus violated the people’s right to development. He also demanded redesigning of the project in consultation with the affected communities.

(Originally published on the UN Climate Change Conference Blog. Read the original post here)

The adverse impacts of climate change are already threatening communities around the world. Over the last century the level of carbon dioxide has increased by 25 per cent. Developed countries are mainly liable for the climate crisis. And this problem is devastating environment and biodiversity, damaging people’s life and livelihoods around the globe. Climate change victims are increasing in number every day. It is alarming that there is no obligation for states to recognize the international and external displacement of people due to climate change and other environmental issues.

A study shows that 95 per cent of deaths from natural disasters in the last 25 years occurred in developing countries. And $100 billion has been lost every year due to these natural disasters. The communities of the developing countries are trying to cope with disasters. And the governments of developing countries are generating money for adaptation and mitigation programmes within their countries.

In the last two days, i.e. 7 and 8 December, the official negotiation was closed but there are still so many side events that have continuously been happening here in Poznan. Indigenous peoples community, business and industry sector, trade union, women, youth, environmental group and other network and civil society organizations organized many events to raise everyone's awareness on climate change and unite everybody’s voice to make a fair commitment in a common ground.

CSOs from northern countries stand side by side with groups from southern countries -- developing countries -- to make their voice meaningful and to make an immediate action from the climate change agenda. Delegates from a youth network from Europe, America and Southeast Asia, and from the rest of the globe, ask climate justice from the UNFCCC.

Speakers at a discussion on Monday said the government should immediately start working on developing a legal framework to protect the secrecy of the data about citizens, which were submitted to either the government or the commercial organizations.
The discussion styled ‘privacy and the protection of the citizens, consumers and economy’ was organised by a local non-governmental organization, VOICE at the National Press Club auditorium in the capital.
Ahmed Shawpan Mahmud, the executive director of VOICE, said that personal and family information of the Bangladeshi citizens were stored with the Election Commission and different telecom operators.
‘The data carry potentials for being commercially traded. So the sales or transfers of such data should be legally prevented,’ he suggested.
It is the responsibility of the government to assure the citizens that the secrecy of their information will be guarded by the government and the companies, before calling them to submit information about them, he pointed out.
VOICE has partners like the London School of Economics and Political Science and the UK-based Privacy International in this campaign.

The Tide of Talks
Farjana Akter, VOICE

DECEMBER 4

When I heard that I am going to join COP 14 it was amazing to me. I have never been to such a gigantic and important event. However, I am preparing for this climate meeting in Poland.

In Bangladesh there is no visa consulate of the Poland. I had to go to New Delhi for picking up my visa. Though there were many difficulties but the spirit inside me enabled to pass through these hassles and finally, I collected my visa.

I passed long way and arrived the capital of Poland, Warsaw in the morning 10.35 am. From Warsaw, I took a train to the venue, Poznan. In the rail station when I was just looking around suddenly a TV crew surfaced and asked me tell something about Global Warming. I was so surprised that my first speech about Climate Change when I just arrived in Poland!

After 3 hours train journey I arrived Poznan. Some volunteers from COP 14 were there and they help me to get a taxi to join my team at the hotel.

The COP 14 started on 1 December 2008. I joined on 4 December that means 3 days have been passed and the complex negotiations. While I arrived at the venue I saw many colourful banners with picture where showing the danger of climate change.

Speakers at a discussion yesterday said that international capitalist mode of productions, speculative capital, unjust and ndemocratic role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and multinational corporations are the major causes of recent financial crisis. The discussion titled `IFIs are the Major Barriers to Development Effectiveness: Linking Financial Crisis to Food, Debt and Climate Change' has been held at the Cirdap auditorium, Dhaka on 16 October. The discussion was moderated by Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE while eminent economist and also a teacher of Dhaka University Prof. Abu Ahmed, eminent leader of Workers Party of Bangladesh Haider Akber Khan Rono, economist, leading economist Dr. Piash Karim, renowned leader general secretary of Biplabi Workers Party Saiful Haq spoke as panel discussants.

Staff Correspondent/ http://www.newagebd.com/2008/oct/17/busi.html

 Economists, politicians and rights campaigners have stressed that Bangladesh needs to have its own independent policies to protect its economy from the dangers of global turmoil caused by thoughtless expansion of capitalism.

They blamed international capitalist mode of productions, speculative investment, unjust and undemocratic role of international financial institutions and multinationals for the latest global financial crisis, worst since the Great Depression of 1930.

Thursday 16 October 2008

VOICE is going to organize a discussion meeting on `IFIs are the Major Barriers to Development Effectiveness: Linking Financial Crisis to Food, Debt and Climate Change'.

The objective of the workshop is to critically examine the neo-liberal perspective-- the policies and projects of international financial
institutions (IFIs), and its relation with food, debt and climate crisis. Also the discussion will highlight how the corporate globalization, the IFIs and transnational corporations make the world economic order worsen and create recent global financial crisis which puts negative impact over national economy and affects people's life and livelihood.

Time: 9:00am-1:00pm
Location: CIRDAP Conference Hall , Dhaka

This will involve a wide range of civil society including activists, researchers, academicians, journalists, women groups, farmer's associations,local and national NGOs and members of professional bodies. Eminent economists, experts and representatives of NGOs and CSOs among others will be present as key discussants.

Please contact us for more information! (email: exchange.voice@gmail.com, Mobile: 01712-990078)

Please join the Bangladesh Week of Action (12-18 October 2008) against Poverty, Hunger and Unjust Development Paradigm. VOICE along with other NGOs, CSOs will launch a week long campaign against illegitimate debt and IFIs. It includes press conference, public programme, cultural show, seminar, workshop, rally and demonstration, poster  and documentary show, capacity building training etc. A culmination programme under the banner of Bangladesh Social Forum will be held on 18th October.

Please extend your solidarity. More soon.