Rajshahi City Corporation and SERAC-Bangladesh jointly organized a project orientation meeting in an auditorium of Rajshahi City Corporation on 5th June 2022 for the formation of the Urban Youth Council.
Bangladesh’s national development policies have clearly indicated skill building, employment generation, and meaningful participation of youths which is accelerating their local level engagement process. To support them receive basic services equitably, empowering young people is key. SERAC-Bangladesh with the support from UN Democracy Fund and UN-Habitat is initiating urban youth councils at four city corporations of the country, namely Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Narayanganj under the “Advancing Engagement by Setting Up Urban Youth Councils” in Bangladesh project.
In this meeting, this joint meeting with the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) was moderated by SERAC-Bangladesh’s Assistant Director (Program) Md. Salim Miah, while the event was presided by Panel Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation -03 Most: Tahera Khatun, RCC ward councilor-05 Md. Kamruzzaman, Reserved seats-2 Most. Ayesha Khatun, Executive Magistrate Md. Samsul Hoque, SM Shaikat, Executive Director of SERAC-Bangladesh, RCC ward councilor-08 Md. Nuruzzaman, RCC ward councilor-03 Md. Kamal Hossain, Chief Clean Officer Sheikh Md. Mamun and journalists all are present as a guest.
Through the project orientation meeting, the official journey of the interim task force team has started up under the initiative.
SM Shaikat, Executive Director of SERAC-Bangladesh, said that this project will enhance the capacity of civic engagement among the youths of this city, and engage them with a participatory democratic and electoral process, where they will nominate and elect their own representatives to take their issues to the city corporation and formal spaces. The city youth council will also advise the mayor regarding meaningful youth presence in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of development activities in the city. Which will support the government achieve SDGs 11, and 16 at the local level.
Through this project, they also stated some of the key activities under this project will include, youth council guideline preparation, formation of the urban youth council, voter list preparation, and electing 20 youth councilors from the registered youth voters of the age of 18-35 in the city. The proposed urban youth council will connect with the Bangladesh Urban Youth Councils Network, and the World Urban Youth Councils Network and build a partnership to improve the capacity of the local youths.
On behalf of Rajshahi City Corporation, all the officials present on the occasion applauded the project and assured all possible cooperation. Also present in the program were Associate Program Officer Md. Nahidur Rahman, Associate Program Officer Md Shofiullah, Md. Shahadat Hossain Shahin, Program Associate of SERAC-Bangladesh, Rajshahi Divisional Coordinator Md.Mahmudul Hasan Shishir and members of the Task Force.
