CIRDAP – Enabling Rural Communities

Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP)

An Intergovernmental & Autonomous Organization; Established in 1979, Mandated for Promoting & Strengthening Integrated Rural Development Systems for 15 Asia-Pacific Countries; Namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, IR Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand & Vietnam.

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Geo-informatics & Modern Survey Techniques for Planning Management

CIRDAP in collaboration with NIRD&PR is organizing an international Training Programme on “Geo-informatics & Modern Survey Techniques for Planning Management” to be held on 20-29 November 2019 in Hyderabad, India. Geo- Informatics and Modern Survey Techniques applications for rural resource development and capacity building have been found to play a potential role in promoting natural resource productivity for sustainable development for good governance and service delivery to the poor. In the recent past in Asian-pacific countries, Geo- Informatics and Modern Survey Techniques has emerged as an effective tool in designing rural development programmes, with focus on sustainable poverty reduction and environmental conservation. Through this training, CIRDAP is aiming to enhance capacity of rural development practitioners of CIRDAP Member Countries (CMCs) to assist Asia-Pacific countries in moving towards convergence of Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System and Modern Survey techniques for better managing the natural resources and the environment for achieving economic and social goals. Applicants Eligibility Criteria and Other Details are given in Training Brief. Kindly read the brief carefully before applying Programme DetailsDuration: 20 – 29 November 2019 (10 days excluding arrival and departure)Venue: Hyderabad, IndiaParticipants: 24Country Coverage: CIRDAP Member Countries (CMCs)Application Deadline: 05 October 2019 Role of the CIRCAP Link Ministry: Nominations must be submitted to training@cirdap.org in the prescribe nomination form along with official letter by 5th October 2019. You are requested to compile all nominations from relevant organizations and select according to criteria. Role of other Organization of the CMC: Nominations have to send to CIRDAP Focal Point by 1st October 2019 keeping training@cirdap.org in CC Role of Participants: After being nominated from the organization, Participants have to upload the following documents in CIRDAP Application Link.  Official Nomination Letter – PDF  Filled in CIRDAP’s Prescribed Nomination Form – PDF  Valid Passport Copy – PDF Instructions

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Int. Training on Management of Rural Employment & Poverty Eradication

According to International Labour Organization (ILO) about 172 million people worldwide were unemployed, which corresponds to an unemployment rate of 5.0 per cent (2018). Apart from the unemployed, a further 140 million people were in the “potential labour force” as well. Management of these huge labour force for employment in rural areas became a challenge. Significant training gaps are noted among the professionals, who are involving in employment project management in CIRDAP Member Countries. In this context, CIRDAP in collaboration with NIRDPR of India, APERDRI and OEF of Iran is organizing an international training programme on “Management of Rural Employment Projects and Poverty Alleviation” to share innovative, smart and best approaches to manage rural employment projects in CIRDAP Member Countries in Tehran, Iran. Programme Details Duration: 19 – 28 November 2019 (10 days, excluding arrival and departure)Venue: Tehran, IranParticipants: 30Country Coverage: CIRDAP Member Countries (CMCs)Application Deadline: 05 October 2019 Applicants Eligibility Criteria and Other Details are given in Training Brief Kindly read the brief carefully before applying Role of the CIRCAP Link Ministry: Nominations must be submitted to training@cirdap.org in the prescribe nomination form along with official letter by 5th October 2019. You are requested to compile all nominations from relevant organizations and select according to criteria. Role of other Organization of the CMC: Nominations have to send to CIRDAP Focal Point by 1st October 2019 keeping training@cirdap.org in CC Role of Participants: After being nominated from the organization, Participants have to upload the following documents in CIRDAP Application Link. Instructions

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Int. Training on Participatory Rural Development

Development can be sustainable when people actively participate in its planning and development process. It has been recorded that a good number of developing countries are using the participatory development tools and techniques for planning and management of Rural Development projects that build the sense of responsibility and social acceptance of the projects. In this context, CIRDAP in collaboration with NIRDPR is organizing an international training programme on “Participatory Rural Development” to share smart and best approaches of participatory planning for the rural development projects in CIRDAP Member Countries. Programme Details Duration: 14 – 23 October 2019 (10 days excluding arrival and departure day) Venue: Hyderabad, India Participants: 24 Country Coverage: CIRDAP Member Countries (CMCs) Application Deadline: 15 September 2019 Applicants Eligibility Criteria and Other Details are given in Training Brief . Kindly read the brief carefully before applying Role of the CIRDAP Link Ministry: Nominations must be submitted to training@cirdap.org in the prescribe nomination form along with official letter by 15th September 2019. You are requested to compile all nominations from relevant organizations and select according to criteria. Role of other Organization of the CMC: Nominations have to send to CIRDAP Focal Point by 10th September 2019 keeping training@cirdap.org in CC Role of Participants: After being nominated from the organization, Participants have to upload the following documents through online application form linked bellow: Instructions

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Int. Policy Dialogue on Inclusive Innovations for Development Impacts

CIRDAP in collaboration with Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of Government of the Philippines (GOP) are organizing the International Policy Dialogue on Inclusive Innovations for Development Impacts with the theme “Defining Opportunities and Pathways for   Regional Collaborative Partnership on Integrated Rural Development”, on 24-26 September 2019 at Manila, Philippines. The CIRDAP Secretariat and DAR are going to organize the forum in Manila to provide a groundbreaking initiative for experience sharing among the CMCs, where the issue will be addressed that what role the government, private sector, research and academe community, and the primary stakeholders/beneficiaries can play in adopting and scaling up innovations that can contribute towards promotion of sustainable IRD.   Through this productive discussion, the CIRDAP Secretariat and DAR hopes that strategic partnership between and among the CMCs can likewise be explored and pursued as a regional collaboration to pursue initiatives that promotes inclusive innovation in ARRD.    The Policy expected to create a robust regional convergence and knowledge network that will facilitate experience sharing and pursue collaborative undertaking of strategic partnership between and among CMCs on innovative and sustainable rural development policies and program initiatives.  Specifically, the forum will enable the participants to:  Gain appreciation and shared understanding of the various programs, projects and initiatives in CMCs that have introduced and adopted inclusive innovations that have impacted on agrarian, agriculture and rural development;  Identify and discuss opportunities and challenges on inclusive innovations to further support sustainable development and achieve development impacts in the Agrarian, Agriculture and Natural Resources (AARN) sector in Asia and the Pacific region;  Define shared vision, pathways, priorities and development themes which may serve as focus or reference for potential regional and across country strategic partnership; and Express support in pursuing regional collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding among CMCs The event will be capped with two relevant activities, namely: (1) the signing of Pledge or statement of commitment by all CMCs to express their interest and support in pursuing joint/collaborative programs; and (2) field visit to select ARBO projects in Nueva Ecija and/or Pampanga that showcase the support provided by the Philippine Government in partnership with the private sector and local government units in promoting innovation in farmers’ participation in agri-value chain.  There will be plenary sessions to identify and take stock of actions of the CMCs on what and how inclusive innovations have contributed in promoting, supporting and achieving sustainable development. Nominations are expected from senior officials (Secretary to Director Level) from relevant Ministries, Development partners and NGOs dealing with the theme. Official nominations should be come with an official letter along with the passport copy and contact details of the nominees and sent to CIRDAP Focal Point of the respective countries and CC to training@cirdap.org by 14 September 2019.

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Call for CIRDAP IRD Expert

Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) is calling for Expression of Interest (EOI) from Rural Development Experts from CIRDAP Member Countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam) for the position of CIRDAP IRD Expert. The guidelines and application process are as follows: Criteria Roles and Responsibilities Benefits The incumbent will be paid honorarium in recognition of a special service provided under his/her roles and responsibilities. Tenure The incumbent is appointed for a term of two years, and subject to extension for another term. Application Process Deadline for Application/Nomination: 31 August 2019.

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Training for Librarians organised

CIRDAP in collaboration with BALID has organized two-days long training on “Institutional Repository Software DSpace” from 26th – 27th July 2019 at CIRDAP headquarters in Dhaka. The DSpace is an open source repository software package used for creating open access repositories for scholarly and/or published digital content.  It is free and easy to maintain since it can be customized to fit the requirements of any organizations. DSpace preserves and enables easy and open access to all types of digital content including text, images, moving images, mpegs and data sets. The objective of the program was to train the librarian and information professional in using modern application and software’s in libraries across Bangladesh. The librarians of different govt. institutions, students of Information Science & Library Management and IT personnel were trained through the programme. The training was amazing and I believe the learning from the programme will help us in managing digital libraries Dr. S. M. Mohammad Ali Librarian, Rural Development Academy, Bogra Bangladesh The course is uniquely designed by technical experts in collaboration with Bangladesh Association of Librarians, Information Scientists and Documentalists (BALID) to ensure the meaningful skill development which enables the Participants to gain insight on application of D-Space. The training was conducted in the state-of-the-art IT Laboratory of CIRDAP situated at CIRDAP headquarter. At the end of the training, the participants were awarded with certificates.  “The training was excellent and within a short time we gathered much more knowledge about DSpace and digital information management.” Ms. Sharmin Shahria, Assistant Director, Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development

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CIRDAP to work with PIDF for resilient Pacific

CIRDAP will strengthen its partnership with Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF) to promote rural development through regional cooperation among the Asia-Pacific Countries. Director General of CIRADP Mr. Tevita G. Boseiwaqa Taginavulau, expressed CIRDAP’s commitment to work with regional organisations including PIDF in the mutual areas of interest during the First PIDF Conference held in Nadi, Fiji on 29 July, 2019. The conference with a theme of “Strengthening South-South Cooperation for a Resilient Pacific” has explored the ways of leveraging the opportunities provided by South-South cooperation to build horizontal and inclusive relationships that add complementary value to the development agenda in the Pacific. The Conference, which was organised by Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), has been attended by leaders from the Pacific countries, Representatives of private sector, NGOs, multilateral agencies, international and regional organizations. DG CIRDAP also moderated a plenary Session on ‘South-South Cooperation for the blue and green economy – Implementation and Financing’. Discussants of the session discussed about the public and private engagement strategies that can be harnessed to derive maximum benefits from the blue/green economy, while supporting community resilience. CIRDAP is trying to reach out other Pacific countries to join CIRDAP in its effort for inclusive and sustainable rural development in the Asia-pacific region.

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Int. Workshop on Sufficiency Economy Philosophy and One Tambon One Product (OTOP)

The Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) is Thailand’s homegrown approach; introduce in 1974 by His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. This concept aligns with many sustainable development goals and targets like poverty eradication, food security, sustainable economic growth, sustainable industrialization, sustainable consumption and production, etc. Another Thai base entrepreneurship stimulus program, OTOP, aims to support the unique locally made and marketed products (e.g. handicrafts, cotton and silk garments, pottery, fashion accessories, household items, foods, etc.) of each Thai tambon (meaning sub-district) nationally and internationally for rural development, income generation and poverty alleviation. Both the programmes are successfully practicing in Thailand. Hence as a gesture of regional cooperation, this workshop is offering by CIRDAP in collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to develop capacity to implement these programmes in CMCs. Program Details Duration                                  5th – 8th August 2019 (4 days, excluding arrival and departure)Venue                                      ThailandParticipants                             14Application Deadline              16 July 2019 Eligibility Criteria   Current position: The participants should either in the mid or senior level management and working under rural entrepreneurship development, small and medium industries, rural development and poverty alleviation, and other relevant departments of national and local government agencies. Work experience: At least five (5) years of experience in the position described above. Education: University degree or equivalent qualification from recognized University/ Institution. Language: The workshop will conduct in English, and participants are frequently required to make oral and written presentations. They must be proficient in spoken and written English. Health: Participants to complete a number of individual and group activities, and strenuous fieldwork. It is therefore, recommended to the member countries, not to nominate candidates who are likely to suffer from physical and mental stress. Application Procedure   Ministry Role: Nominations must be submittedto training@cirdap.orgin the prescribenomination form (attached as Nomination Form) including the email address ofnominees by 16th July 2019. Ministry is requested to collectall nominations and select according to criteria.   Participant’s Role: Participants will fill-in the profile form, and upload required documents in CIRDAP website. Documents to be filled up and uploaded   After making ready all supporting documents mentioned bellow, Click Apply; Filled-in the form; Click Add File and upload the following supporting documents in PDF format: sl Type of Documents Rename as 1. Official Nomination from organizational head’s signature and seal Applicant’s first name_nomination (e.g. bbx_nomination) 2. Passport copy (passport must be valid for at least next 6 month from the training date) Applicant’s first name_passport (e.g. bbx_passport   After adding all documents, click Submit; A notification box will appear forEdit, if needed after submission; The closing date for application submission is 16 July 2019, after deadline, the submission portal will not be accessible. APPLY NOW Please note, the total file size of these supporting documents should not exceed 10 MB. Before apply for the workshop, please read the Program Brief carefully. Deadline for Submission All applicants should submit online application along with supporting documents to CIRDAP Application Portal within 16 June 2019. Instructions   Applications received after the deadline and self-nomination will not be accepted; Failure to submit the incomplete information and required documents will not be considered; Upon successful submission of application, selected candidates will be notified of their status prior to two weeks of the programme;  Please note that nomination of a candidate does not necessarily guarantee that s/he will be selected. Selection is the discretion of the CIRDAP Secretariat; Relevant Documents Nomination-FormDownload Programme-DetailsDownload Program-BriefDownload

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Rural Development Forum 2019 held

The Rural Development Forum 2019 titled “Enabling Rural Environment for Enhancing the Quality of Life” was held on 7-8 July 2019 at CIRDAP International Conference Centre (CICC), Dhaka. The two-day long Forum has been organised by the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) marking its 40th Anniversary. The Forum was inaugurated by Honourable Minister, Mr. Tazul Islam, MP, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development & Cooperatives, Government of Bangladesh as the Chief Guest. As a special Guests, Mr. Md. Kamal Uddin Talukder, Secretary (RDCD), Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was present along with His Excellency Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo, the Philippine Ambassador to Bangladesh who represented the Chairpersons of Governing Council and Executive Committee of CIRDAP. Mr. Tevita G. Boseiwaqa Taginavulau, Director General of CIRDAP presided over the meeting. The meeting was attended by diplomats and dignitaries from CIRDAP member countries, development Practitioners from international development organisations, Scholars, students, and Researchers. Highlighting the different initiatives of the Government of Bangladesh, the LGRD&C Minister Mr. Tazul Islam, MP hoped that the forum will come up with new ideas to accelerate integrated rural development in Bangladesh and other CIRDAP member countries. Noting the differences and commonalities in different countries of Asia-pacific, Mr. Tevita, DG CIRDAP, highlighted the importance of collaboration among countries. The Forum is consists of four technical Sessions as follows: The first session titled “Enabling Rural Environment for Enhancing the Quality of Life: Farm Perspective” was moderated by Dr. M. Zainul Abedin, International Consultant, JICA. The Keynote Address was presented by Dr. Imanun Nabi Khan, Coordinator, Missing Middle Initiative, and Mr. Anil Kumar Das, National Consultant (Programme), FAO-Bangladesh. Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon, Director General of Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of Sri Lanka; Mr. S.M. Mahmuduzzaman, Team Leader, Swiss Contact; Dr. Nasreen Sultana, Senior Program Specialist, SAC; and Dr. Shahpar Selim, Programme Coordinator, NRP, UNDP were present as the Panellists. In the first session the keynote presenter mentioned that, “Smallholders constitutes more than 80 percent of the farming community worldwide and provide over 80 percent of the food consumed in a large part of the developing world. The Asia and the Pacific (AP) region is home to 74 percent of the world’s smallholder farmers of the estimated 570 million farms worldwide (Lowder et al. 2016). Among the top five countries with the most extreme poor in the world, India and Bangladesh ranked first and fifth respectively and constitutes more than 25 percent of the world’s extreme poor whose daily income is less than 1.90 US dollars (WB 2018) . Within the region, South Asia is the worlds hungriest region with  a Global Hunger Index score of 30.5 . The dispersion of this poorer segment is higher in rural areas and among smallholdings of farming community’. Although it is recognized that food security largely depends on smallholders family farming but they have the least access to the basic services such as credit, agricultural extension services and natural resources. To mitigate challenges of access of smallholders, the discussant suggested – Mobilizing smallholders into farmers’ organizations (FO), Making farming attractive to youth, Ensuring Access to Market, access to Finance and technology, Institutional capacity on climate change adaptation and resilience etc. In the keynote address, Dr. Imanun Nabi Khan, Coordinator, Missing Middle Initiative, and Mr. Anil Kumar Das, National Consultant (Programme), FAO-Bangladesh also suggested that, “A regional climate resilient framework for livelihoods and land use practices should be established especially in the climate change hotspots of the countries and necessary mechanism for scaling up to initiate a transformational change across the climate vulnerable landscape”. The second session titled Enabling Rural Environment for Enhancing the Quality of Life: Non-Farm Perspective was moderated by Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Director General, BARD while Mr. William Allan Cristensen, Founder of Poverty Eradication Program (PEP), Bangladesh gave the Keynote address. The Panellists were Dr. Kazi Anowarul Hoque, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dr. Zaki Uz Zaman, UNIDO Country Representative, Bangladesh Ms. Shahanaz Begum, Consultant, ADB, and Mr. M.H. Kawsar Rudro, Communication Officer, CIRDAP. In the second session, the keynote presenter Mr. William Allan Cristensen mentioned that, “Poverty in CIRDAP countries is still widespread and the poor people are mostly concentrated in locations which are away from roads, markets, schools, health facilities and other social institutions. The economic, social, political and other forms of exclusion are pervasive for women and girls at both national community levels and within households. Unexpected events like natural and manmade disasters, global economic crises, and health shocks have pervasive effects on the lives of the poor with little avenues to move upwards”. He recommended that, “the CIRDAP member countries including Bangladesh need to take all possible measures for  (i) mobilizing domestic resources including tax and non-tax revenues; (ii) creating strong, diversified and stable financial sector; (iii) developing domestic institutional investors; and (iv) providing incentives to the private sector to increasingly participate in development activities. The CMCs also need to work together to attract more external resources, access knowledge base and build development capacities”. The third session titled ‘Enabling Rural Environment for Enhancing the Quality of Life: Rural Women Perspective’ was  moderated by Mr. Aminul Islam, Director General, Rural Development Academy (RDA) Bangladesh while the Keynote address was given by Mrs. Ferdousi Sultana Begum, Consultant, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, UNDP and UNWOMEN. The panellists included Ms. Shahana Begum, Gender Specialist, USAID-Bangladesh, Ms. Sharmin Islam, Gender Advisor and Women’s Economic Empowerment Specialist, UNDP, Ms. Bidowra Tahmin Khan, Team Leader, Support Market Systems and Social Inclusion, ACDI/VOCA and  Dr. Usharani Boruah, Librarian, CIRDAP. The last session titled “Enabling Rural Environment for Enhancing the Quality of Life: Rural Youth Perspective” was moderated by Mr. Quazi M. Ahmed, Lead Consultant and CEO, Future Leaders and Keynote Address was presented by Mr. Ataur Rahman Miton, Country Director, Hunger Free World Bangladesh, and Former Professor, North South University. The panelists were

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