ICF National Forum hosts a five-day thematic workshop in Bangladesh

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Last Updated (Tuesday, 02 July 2024 17:45)

ICF National Forum hosts a five-day thematic workshop in Bangladesh

 

The ICF National Forum of Bangladesh hosted a five-day thematic workshop on “Analyzing the Role of Human Activity Leading to Climate Change and Unpeace” from June 7-11, 2024 at the YMCA Training Center & Guest House, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 19 young people from different religious, cultural, and social backgrounds attended this workshop. Among the participants, 7 were male and 12 were female. Nine (9) participants were Christians, four (4) were Muslims, two (2) were Hindus, two (2) were Buddhists and two (2) were from the Baha’i faith. The ICF staff Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro, ICF Coordinator, and Baidido Saganding, ICF Program Officer were also present during the workshop. The workshop aimed to inspire a new generation of environmentally conscious leaders committed to mitigating climate change and promoting a peaceful environment in Bangladesh. It also provided the participants to understand how human actions contribute to climate and peace issues and engage in sessions related to human action, climate crisis, and peacebuilding.

 

On the first day (7th of June), the workshop started in the afternoon with an opening interfaith prayer. After this, the ICF National Forum Bangladesh greeted the participants and the guests including Mr. Nipun Sangma, the National General Secretary of the National Councils of YMCAs of Bangladesh, and ICF staff. Then the introductory session was conducted by the ICF National Forum Bangladesh team, where the participants, organizers, and ICF staff got to know each other. Baidido Saganding, ICF Program Officer introduced what is ICF and its programs to the participants.


On the second day (8th of June), the workshop was divided into three different sessions. The first session, led by Rinkhu Mankhin, focused on Environmental Peace and its Importance. Participants were divided into small groups to discuss their perspectives on environmental peace and its importance. Based on their group outcomes, they were tasked with creating posters. The second session, led by Md. Asaduzzaman and Anindita Sejuti, members of the ICF National Forum Bangladesh enabled the participants to be aware of the vulnerable situations of Bangladesh due to climate effects. In this session, participants were divided into small groups and given two tasks: creating artwork and acting out different climate-related scenarios. The group highlighted issues such as floods, deforestation, and environmental pollution caused by industrial activities. The last session of the day was facilitated by ICF Coordinator Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro. She discussed the impact of human actions on the earth and environment from sacred texts of different faiths. Participants shared sacred texts related to nature from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Baha’i. Additionally, the facilitator gave an orientation on how to make a proper video for advocacy. Following this, participants were assigned into four groups to produce videos related to the workshop topic.  


On the third day (9th of June), Mr. Gregory Vanderbilt, the Country Representative of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Dhaka office joined as a resource person for the first session. Mr. Gregory discussed climate change-related conflicts, interconnected challenges, and opportunities from an interfaith perspective. He also shed light on how the participants could learn and act for peace and religion, and how they could contribute to interfaith peacebuilding and climate action. Following this, Baidido Saganding facilitates the second session, helping participants identify their actions or daily habits that are harmful to the environment. After this, the participants committed at least 10 things to do daily to minimize the negative impact on the environment. The last session for the day was facilitated by ICF Coordinator Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro. She discussed conflict analysis and peacebuilding focusing on human beings vs. nature conflicts. Dr. Muriel also talked about environmental peace emphasizing the connection between the environment, climate change, and peacebuilding.

 

The fourth day (10th of June) of the in-person thematic workshop was the exposure day. The group visited the community in Madhupur, Tangail; which is approximately 123 km away from Savar, Dhaka. In the morning, the community visit was held at Edilpur local YMCA. Mr. Bapu Mree, General Secretary of Edilpur YMCA gave a brief overview of the local YMCA and its activities. After that, the participants visited the YMCA Campsite in Edilpur. Mr. Assaduzzaman led a tree-hugging session with the participants at the campsite allowing the participants to connect with nature. Following this, Rinku Mankhin facilitated a reflection session where the participants shared their thoughts and feelings about the tree-hugging experience. They also had the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and learn about local communities and cultures. In the afternoon, the team visited Taize Brothers House in Thanarbaid, Madhupur, and Tangail. The Taize brother’s community has been working on interfaith peacebuilding in Bangladesh since 1974. They shared their peacebuilding experience with the participants.

 

On the last day (11th of June), the session was divided into three parts. In the first part Mr. Palash Sarker, Coordinator of Resilience Building under the Climate Change Program, CCDB joined as a resource person. He discussed the engagement of communities in peacebuilding approaches to mitigate climate change and reduce climate crisis-related conflict. Mr. Palash also shared his working experience at the community level. The second session of the last day was an evaluation facilitated by Ms. Psyche Mankhin. The participants, hosts, and ICF staff gave their feedback on the thematic workshop.


After the evaluation session, the closing ceremony was held. The honorable president of NCY of Bangladesh, Mrs. Marshia Mili Gomes, the National General Secretary of NCY of Bangladesh, Mr. Nipun Sangma, and other staff joined the closing ceremony. In the end, the guests and participants enjoyed a cultural night, where the participants celebrated their different cultures and God’s gifts.

 

Overall, the In-person Thematic Workshop was a great opportunity for the participants to experience different cultures, and faiths in a room. At the same time, it was a great platform for the young leaders to collaborate to work for a better future.

 

Written by-

Psyche Mankhin

Alumni of ICF Peace Institute (TOT), 2022.


 


 

ICF National Forum hosts a five-day thematic workshop in Bangladesh

 

The ICF National Forum of Bangladesh hosted a five-day thematic workshop on “Analyzing the Role of Human Activity Leading to Climate Change and Unpeace” from June 7-11, 2024.  The workshop was held at the YMCA Training Center & Guest House, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. There were 19 young people from different religious, cultural, and social backgrounds attended this workshop. Among the participants, 7 were male and 12 were female. Nine participants were Christians, four were Muslims, two were Hindus, two were Buddhists, and another two were from the Baha’i faith. The workshop aimed to inspire a new generation of environmentally conscious leaders committed to mitigating climate change and promoting a peaceful environment in Bangladesh. It also provided the participants to understand how human actions contribute to climate and peace issues and engage in sessions related to human action, climate crisis, and peacebuilding.

 

On the afternoon of June 7, the workshop started with an opening ceremony that included an interfaith prayer, and greetings and words of welcome from the Bangladesh ICF National Forum, the National General Secretary of Bangladesh YMCAs, and ICF Coordinator, Dr.  Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro. The ICF National Forum Bangladesh hosting team conducted an acquaintance activity, followed by ICF Program Officer Ms. Baidido Saganding’s introduction to ICF and its programs. 

 

There were three workshop sessions on the second day. The first session, led by Mr. Rinkhu Mankhin, focused on Environmental Peace and its Importance. Participants formed small groups to discuss their perspectives on environmental peace and its importance. Based on their group outcomes, the groups gave their reports written on broad sheets of paper. Mr. Md. Asaduzzaman Rubel and Ms. Anindita Sejuti, of the Bangladesh ICF National Forum led the participants to work in groups and identify the vulnerable situations of Bangladesh due to climate effects. In that session, the participants had two outputs: an artwork and a tableau or vignette on the different climate-related scenarios. The group highlighted the issues of floods, deforestation, and environmental pollution caused by industrial activities. The ICF Coordinator, Dr. Orevillo-Montenegro, facilitated the third session of the day. She discussed the impact of human actions on the earth and environment and asked the participants to draw out lessons from their religions from sacred texts.  They explored the sacred texts of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Baha’i. Then, they shared what the sacred texts say about nature and caring for the Earth. Additionally, she gave an orientation on how to make a proper video for advocacy. Following this, participants formed four groups and worked on the template for their video production in relation to the workshop topic.  

 

Mr. Gregory Vanderbilt, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)’s Country Representative in  Dhaka served as a resource person for the first session of the day. Mr. Vanderbilt discussed climate change-related conflicts, interconnected challenges, and opportunities from an interfaith perspective. He also shed light on how the participants could learn and act for peace and religion and contribute to interfaith peacebuilding and climate action. Following this, Ms.  Saganding facilitated the second session, helping participants identify their actions or daily habits that are harmful to the environment. The participants shared their commitment to do at least 10 things to minimize the negative impact on the environment. Dr.  Orevillo-Montenegro facilitated the third workshop of the day. She discussed conflict analysis and peacebuilding, focusing on human beings vs. nature conflicts. She also talked about environmental peace, emphasizing the connection between the environment, climate change, and peacebuilding.

For community exposure, the group traveled 123 kilometers to visit Edilpur YMCA. Its General Secretary, Mr. Bapu Mree, General gave a brief overview of the local YMCA and its activities. The group walked to the area of the future YMCA Campsite, where Mr. Assaduzzaman led a tree-hugging session with the participants, allowing the participants to connect with nature. This was followed by the sharing of feelings and thoughts about the tree-hugging experience that Mr.  Mankhin facilitated. From there, the group visited a church-related school in Madhupur, Tangail. Later in the afternoon, the group visited the Taize Brothers House in Thanarbaid, Madhupur. They listened to the Taize brothers’ sharing of their interfaith work in Bangladesh since 1974.

 

On the last day, Mr. Palash Sarker, Coordinator of Resilience Building under the Climate Change Program, of the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) facilitated the discussion on the engagement of communities in peacebuilding and approaches to mitigate climate change, as well as the reduction of climate crisis-related conflict. Mr. Sarker also shared his working experience at the community level. In the afternoon, Ms. Psyche Manchin facilitated the evaluation session, where everyone gave feedback. The participants, hosts, and ICF staff gave feedback on the thematic workshop.

 

The closing ceremony cum cultural night followed the evaluation. was held. The honorable president of NCY of Bangladesh, Mrs. Marshia Mili Gomes, graced the activity along with the National General Secretary of NCY of Bangladesh, Mr. Nipun Sangma. The other YMCA  staff joined the closing ceremony. Everyone present that night enjoyed the last event.  Overall, the thematic workshop achieved the objectives and most expected outputs. It was a great platform for the young leaders to collaborate to work for a better future.

 

 

By Psyche Mankhin

Alumni of ICF Peace Institute (ToT), 2022.