Executive
Summary of UNIC
2001
Established in 1981, UNIC Dhaka is a part of the
worldwide network of UN information centres.
Despite its limited staff, the Centre has already made its mark in
Bangladesh by disseminating information and creating awareness on issues of UN
concern.
The herald of the new millennium was particularly
eventful for both the United Nations and Bangladesh. Embodying the hopes and aspirations of mankind, the
Organization not only pursued its manifold tasks with renewed commitment and
vigor but also took two major successful strides in the middle of the year –
holding of a Special Session of the UNGA on AIDS and a World Conference against
Racism in South Africa. However,
the later part of the year witnessed a critical situation.
The event of September 11 upset some of the major UN programmes, but
about the same time, the UN and its SG were jointly crowned with the glory of
the Noble Peace Prize.
Changes swept through Bangladesh too. Following
October 2001 general elections a new government came to power and along with
that a new Foreign Minister and a new Permanent Representative at the UN.
Bangladesh’s commitment to the UN, however, remained unimpaired as it
continued to be the second largest contributor of UN peace-keeping forces, in
addition to its two-year term in the Security Council, beginning in 2000.
It was indeed a rare event for the UN family in
general and UNIC in particular, when in March the Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
accompanied by Madam Annan, paid a three-day official visit to Bangladesh. The
Secretary-General had a hectic schedule which included exchange of views with
national leaders and UN staff, witnessing of peace-keeping training exercise and
presentation of a highly insightful paper on “Sustainable Development: the
Challenge for the New Century.” Admittedly,
the itinerary was prepared in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
but the Centre staff, under the dynamic leadership of the UN Resident
Coordinator, did their best to make the visit a resounding success.
During the year the Centre activities were tailored
on two tracks – to propagate the ideals of UN and to make aware the people of
Bangladesh about the impending challenges of the 21st century. In doing so, the
Centre chalked out a number of strategies and programmes focusing primarily on
HIV/AIDS and Racial Discrimination. These
included seminars, symposium, workshops, street dramas and feature articles to
national dailies. To add to this, the Centre also organized an essay competition
for college and university students and a signature campaign among school
children.
As in the past, UNIC Dhaka, jointly with the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and UN Association of Bangladesh took
active role in observing some UN Days and the Year for Dialogue in
accordance with the directive of the UN. These
included Women’s Day, International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination, World Environment Day, International Day of Tolerance,
Solidarity Day with the Palestinian People, UN Day and Human Rights Day. The
Centre IO read out Secretary-General’s message (together with its translation)
and spoke on almost all the occasions. This time, for obvious reason,
international terrorism and Afghan crisis figured prominently in the
deliberations on some of the Days. Close to the end of the year the Center
organized, in collaboration with the UNA of Bangladesh, a seminar on Dialogue
among Civilizations.
The year also saw an extension
of Centre’s activities beyond the capital city.
A street drama on
Tolerance and Equality was shown at
Rajshahi and an exhibition of Centre’s publications was
held in
Chittagong – both divisional headquarters. The bi-lingual Website, launched
early this year,
drew appreciation from large number of users. During the
third quarter, the Centre assisted UNDP
in
monitoring the general elections of the country.
Centre’s contacts and interactions with youths
(especially university students), NGOs and the media increased substantially.
Number of publications (including
Bangla translations) grew while its multi-colour monthly news bulletin continued
to receive appreciation. Reference
library drew more visitors and the demand for its publications and videos
increased significantly. Cooperation with other UN agencies was also further
cemented. Centre’s staff played a prominent role in various functions
organized by UN family in Dhaka.
Last but not the least, the Centre maintained regular
contact with its headquarters by sending activity reports on monthly and
quarterly basis.
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* Annual Report of UNIC Dhaka, Bangladesh, for 2001