DHAKA, June 12th, 2023 – On June 12th SAJIDA Foundation and the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) organised the inception workshop of "ENGAGE: Eliciting Needs-based Grassroots Action through Cross-Group Engagement” at Hotel Renaissance Dhaka. The main objective of the event was to explore avenues of how disaster risk reduction in the Sundarbans delta can be achieved through a set of wide-spectrum adaptive mechanisms, and how social resilience can be enhanced through sharing of multi-disciplinary knowledge and implementation strategies. The event started with welcome remarks from Mr. Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh and Mr. Muhymin Chowdhury, Director, Impact Partners, Partnerships and Communications, SAJIDA Foundation. The event was graced with the presence of researchers, representatives from various NGOs, Government officials and relevant stakeholders.

Speaking on the occasion our Special guest Ms. Corinne Henchoz Pignani, Deputy Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh said, “I believe the coordination among the different stakeholders in the Sundarbans and the authorities of the communities, and of the development partners on how to have a coherent, consistent and meaningful action together now is very significant.”

ENGAGE is a 3-year action research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The action research will be conducted by University of Lausanne, Switzerland, in collaboration with SAJIDA Foundation, ULAB, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and the Sundarban Jana Shramajibi Manch (SJSM), India. Our researchers for this project include Professor Réne Véron, Jenia Mukherjee, Dr. Samiya Selim, Tapas Mandal and Nurul Islam Biplob.

A website named -"ENGAGE 4 Sundarbans" has been launched at the end of the event.

The University of Lausanne, established in 1890, is a higher teaching and research institution which fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and promotes a culture of sustainability, dedicated to addressing global challenges.

SAJIDA Foundation is a value driven non-profit organization established in 1993 with a focus on upholding values of equity and serving marginalised and disadvantaged communities through its comprehensive development programmes, such as microfinance, health services, urban poverty alleviation, and climate change.

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) is a private liberal arts-based university in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 2002, ULAB incorporates the values of Liberal Arts and sustainability into its curricula, through its General Education Department and its Center for Sustainable Development.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) located in Kharagpur has been ranked 57th globally among higher education institutes for its research in areas related to the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Sundarbans Jana Shramajibi Manch (SJSM) is a pioneering NGO that has been working since 2006 on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, India 2006. Collaborating with like-minded NGOs across the country, SJSM aims to secure the rights and improve the livelihoods of the forest-dependent communities in the Sundarbans region.