As we look back on the first LSE-UC Berkeley Bangladesh summit, we select our top articles relating to the summit panels on minority and gender rights, civil society and the ‘idea of Bangladesh’, including two from LSE speakers, Professors Naila Kabeer and David Lewis. Covering a plethora of issues ranging from technology to the Rohingya refugee crisis, we hope you enjoy these articles and can join the discussion.

How a2i is using empathy to foster innovation in Bangladesh

Developing countries are often notorious for their inefficient public service delivery. However, the Bangladeshi government is seeking to vastly improve the citizen experience of government services through empathy-led innovation, write Anir Chowdhury and Nick Beresford. This involves arranging for civil servants to act as secret shoppers to identify weaknesses and come up with solutions, often using new technologies.

The Bangladesh Paradox: In what ways has social progress been achieved despite poor governance and high corruption?

Gender indicators in Bangladesh show significant improvement despite other development indices not displaying similar success. Juli Qermezi Huang recently spoke at an event hosted by the South Asia Centre, the LSE Gender Institute, and the Eva Colorni Memorial Trust entitled Tales of the Unexpected: Gender Equality and Social Progress in Bangladesh exploring this paradox, and here discusses the progress made on gender equality and the unexpected features of this change.

The view from Cox’s Bazar: assessing the impact of the Rohingya crisis on Bangladesh

Whilst the people and the government of Bangladesh have set a shining example for the world in terms of offering sanctuary to the Rohingya, David Lewis assesses the potential repercussions on the immediate area and beyond for this act of generosity.

 

Understanding the Effectiveness of Union Parishad Standing Committee: A Perspective on Bangladesh

As per the Local Government Act 2009, committees act as an important apparatus safeguarding transparency and accountability of the Union Parishad. Regrettably, Union Parishad committees are not perceived and envisioned well by those shouldering the responsibility to take this committee forward. Mohammad Tarikul Islam evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the committee system of local government in Bangladesh.

“If women’s productive activities were better understood, policy could be designed to support rather than invisiblise their contributions” – Naila Kabeer

In June, the South Asia Centre held an event entitled “Tales of the Unexpected: gender equality and social progress in Bangladesh”. Sonali Campion spoke to panellist Naila Kabeer in greater detail about her research on the rapidly changing status of women in Bangladesh, the challenge of measuring women’s economic activities and how to design inclusive policy.

For the full summit schedule and panellists see here. To register for your free place at the summit, click here.