With the support from our partners and well-wishers we have completed another productive year. The end of a year is always a good time to regroup, reexamine and revisit your strategies and tactics—both from the business and operational perspective, especially when the global and national priorities are changing. We have also finalized our Strategic Plan 2016-2020, which sets our future direction and establishes priorities and goals for BCCP over the next four years. It also defines some of our expectations in the coming years. This will help all the stakeholders, partners as well as the employees to better utilize BCCP’s strength, experience and expertise to advance Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) to improve life. BCCP has also newly designed its website so that different stakeholders can get more information about our long journey in Strategic Communication.

 

For our stakeholders one of our New Year gift has been the ‘22nd Advances in Strategic Communication Workshop.’  We successfully completed this 2-week workshop on March 09, 2017. Since 1994, we have been offering this workshop to promote more effective, comprehensive and audience-centered SBCC programs via enhancing the capacity of the relevant program planners, designers, and implementers. The content and design of this workshop is being updated every year with the state-of-the –art tools and techniques. 

As a New Year resolution, we express our commitment to continue our Strategic Communication efforts in the future as well. We believe that our partners and well-wishers will be with us as in the past to support and encourage our endeavors. 

 

Wish you all a happy and productive new year! 

Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) is continuing the activities under the social awareness campaign and communication component (SACC) of Public Procurement Reform Project-II (2nd revised).

 

As an important part of this component a forum titled ‘Government and Contractors Forum’ comprising members from the Contractor community and Government procuring entities, has been formed in all 64 districts in Bangladesh. The objective of this activity is to initiate dialogues among the bidding community and Government procuring entities at the local level to remove any confusion through the discussion about public procurement issues e-GP system and also to exchange their views, ideas and experiences. 

 

Under SACC, another important activity e-GP awareness workshop has also been conducted in 64 districts with the participants from Procuring Entities, Tenders, Media, Civil Society and Bankers with the objective to strengthen awareness about public procurement and electronic government procurement (e-GP) system. Both the activities have been completed successfully in every district level by March 2017.

To observe the programs at the district level, the former secretaries Mr. Shahid Ullah Khandaker, Mr. Farid Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury and, present Secretary Mr. Mofizul Islam of IMED of the Ministry of Planning, Director General of CPTU Md. Faruque Hossain, Lead Procurement Specialist of World Bank Dr. Zafrul Islam, with other representatives have visited a number of these programs and had engaged in in-depth dialogues and interaction with the participants.

BCCP joined an event titled “Festival of Learning” organized by BBC Media Action, Bangladesh on Tuesday 14 March, 2017, held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), Dhaka. Different organizations shared their knowledge, experiences and learning around SBCC. BCCP Springboard team made an introductory presentation on Bangladesh Springboard in a session themed - SBCC experience and SBCC global networks. Springboard souvenirs were also distributed to the participants and visitors. BCCP’s experience in promoting SBCC best practices in Bangladesh HPN sector in a share fair mode branded as Safollo Gatha (Success Stories) – a maiden event of the kind - was also highlighted. BCCP also ran a short workshop on Strategic Communication Outlines to the participants. In a panel of discussion held in another chamber of the Festival of Learning, Director and CEO of BCCP made a presentation themed on How to make SBCC Effective.

 

IEM Unit(DGFP), JHU, BHE(DGHS), DFID, EKN, DSK, SNV Netherlands, Brac University, TDH, IPHN(DGHS), Save, Care, Lighthouse and SBCC Experts made presentations and took part in panel discussions. BCCP, UNICEF and UNFPA provided technical assistance on the occasion.

Springboard is a global online platform for health communication practitioners and professionals that is continuing efforts to engage its members to connect; share knowledge, experiences & activities and learn together to improve the practice of health communication. 

For promoting Springboard platform in the community, Google plus community page (https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/108354434497919814839), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bangladeshspringboard/) and twitter page (https://twitter.com/BdSpringboard) have been launched. Springboard’s activities are shared through these social media so that more people can come to know about Springboard site.

 

Sangjog readers community are invited to register on the Bangladesh Health Communication Springboard home page to associate themselves in a broader health practitioners’ community and engage in discussions and posting news and events, share experiences and learn to enhance SBCC professional growth. Sangjog readers/practitioners of SBCC are requested to kindly visit and register their membership on https://healthcomspringboard.org/register-for-springboard/  and press ‘Join the Group’ button on the link  https://healthcomspringboard.org/groups/bangladesh-health-communication-springboard/ to complete their membership.

 

Sangjog readers are welcome to inform the Springboard through email at springboardbangladesh@gmail.com  about any event/part of their daily activities related to SBCC program or more general issues on health, population, nutrition and social development of Bangladesh and the region. Members may also contact Springboard team through this email address in case of any difficulty faced in handling their accounts on Springboard site.

Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) is continuing the activities under the social awareness campaign and communication component (SACC) of Public Procurement Reform Project-II (2nd revised).

 

A theme with a specific call to action was developed under the project. Based on the specific theme, the production of theme song and theme song based music video was completed. Theme song based music video was aired in BTV, Channel-I, Somoy TV, Boishakhi TV and in Desh TV. The song broadcasted in Bangladesh Betar, Radio ABC, Radio Amar and Radio Shadhin.

 

A Commercial for TV and Radio was produced under this project. It focused on e-GP related campaign and highlighted the information on “e-GP: Simple Speedy Secure” in public procurement. TVC aired in BTV, Ekushay TV, RTV, Deepto TV, Somoy TV, Bangla Vision, Independent TV, Channel 24 and in DBC News. The RDC was broadcasted in Bangladesh Betar, Radio Amar, Dhaka FM, Radio ABC and Radio Today.

Production of a series of the Talk Show (total 8 episodes) has been completed and aired on Channel 24 & Ekushay TV. Objectives of the Talk Shows were to create awareness, share different information with target audience & popularize e-GP for public procurement. To promote the TV Talk Shows, newspaper advertisements were published in different national dailies like Prothom Alo, Samakal and Bangladesh Protidin.

A set of 5 different SMS were sent to 25,000 target audiences through Grameen Phone Operator. 

 

Besides, a set of 5 different key messages have been sent to around 30,000 target audiences through e-mail marketing which included govt. procure entity, contractors, journalist, civil society, media and others.

 

The NGO Health Service Delivery Project (NHSDP), with the technical assistance (TA) from Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP), had innovated and implemented a model concept on ‘Surjer Hashi (SH) Health Fair’ under one of the SH clinic of its 25 network NGO in 2016 jointly participated by the community people, stakeholders and GO/NGO level heath and developmental organization. The objectives of this Health Fair were;

 

• Marketing the image of the SH clinic and its service providers with available health delivery services

• Creating a community dialogue on health issues and about SH clinics

• Establishing a linkage between community and facility.

 

Following this approach of the model conduction of Health Fairs, NGOs have been planning and conducting Health Fairs with their own planning and financing at the clinic level. During the period of January-March, 2017 NGOs have organized a total of 31 Health Fairs held in the clinics and those were attended by over 62,000 spectators/visitors. Local GO/NGO level heath and developmental organization took part and displayed their activities in these Health Fairs. The Health Fair program includes; cultural program, drama, poem recitation, extempore speech, sports program, magic show, film show and health issue related discussion meeting. The Health Fairs could have established effective and sustainable linkage between community and service facilities and many clinics reported that the number of customers has increased after the health fair. The fair also opened a window of opportunity to mobilize social capital and collect CSR from the local community. 

The End-line Evaluation of the Behavior Change Communication and Marketing (BCCM) component of Urban Primary Health Care Services Delivery Project (UPHCSDP) suggests a significant increase in client flow in Rangdhanu clinics after the BCCM component is being implemented, and more people are now aware of the services provided by these clinics. The preliminary findings of this evaluation were shared on 27 March, 2017 in CIRDAP auditorium, Dhaka. The BCCM component is being implemented by Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP). 

On behalf of the research agency Nelson Bangladesh Ltd Dr. Yasim Siddiqua, Director (Research) presented the research findings along with several recommendations. 

 

Mr. A S M Mahbubul Alam, Director General (MIE), Local Government & Cooperatives Division of Local Government; Rural Development & Co-operatives Ministry graced the event as the Chief Guest. Mr. Dhiraj Kumar Nath, Staff Consultant (Urban Health), ADB; Brg. Gen. Dr. Shaikh Salauddin, Chief Health Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation, Mr. Md. Sabirul Islam, Deputy Project Director  of UPHCSDP and Mr. Mohammad Shahjahan, Director & CEO of BCCP  attended  the program as the  Special Guests while UPHCSDP Project Director Mr. Md. Abdul Hakim Mazumder ndc, Chaired the event. Other officials from the project, representatives from donor agencies and BCCP were also present during the sharing.

Media and journalists have a potential role to enhance wider community engagement and ensure the reach of services to the unprivileged and poor people. Considering this role NHSDP, with TA support of Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP), is organizing half-day long national and regional Media Dialogue on Journalism in Essential Health Care Services. In line with this plan, the Khulna divisional Media Dialogue was held at a local conference center of Khulna on March 20, 2017. The purpose of this event was to have an open dialogue with the media people, as a potential force for changing people's behavior, on the essential health services provided by Surjer Hashi network and disseminating the issues among mass people especially the poor and underprivileged groups who can attain better primary health services to bring positive changes in their lives. 

 

The regional media dialogue was planned to bring community voice in interactions and dialogue with the journalists so that journalist gets a sense of community ownership of SH clinic and its service deliveries. Under this plan, a Community Service Provider (CSP) and a Surjer Hashi Community Support Group (SHCSG) leader attended this event to share their roles, involvements, and experiences with SH clinic and take part in the discussion. In addition, Chief of Party NHSDP also spoke at the event to describe her organization and services being offered by the Surjer Hashi clinic. In the dialogue, a total of 34 regional level journalists represent national and regional print and electronic media of Khulna division were present to share their opinion and experiences. The President of Khulna Press Club presided over the dialogue event. He emphasized the influential role of media that could be played in promoting essential healthcare services available to all Bangladeshis, especially in underserved communities. The journalists suggested several recommendations and these are: a) Capacitate the regional level journalists on health issues through workshop and training, b) NHSDP should increase the number of clinics in the Khulna as there are not too many compare to other divisions, and c) Form a media team to visit clinics and have series of reporting on the public health issues in unstructured forms of reporting.  

 

It is expected that this event will make community participation in the services of SH clinics and also promote health messages to less advantaged people.   

Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) in collaboration with the Institute for Global Tobacco Control based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), Baltimore, USA and Bangladesh Tobacco Control Research Network (BTCRN) organized the Research Findings Dissemination Conference on Tobacco Control in Bangladesh. The conference was held on January 23, 2017 in Dhaka.  

The findings of the ten research projects of previous year were presented in the conference through three scientific sessions. Among the 10 research projects, five were undertaken by five student researchers of different public and private universities and institutions while the other five were undertaken by five experienced researchers of different public and private universities and organizations. 

National Professor Dr. Brig. (Rtd.) Abdul Malik, President, National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh chaired the inaugural program while Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP and President, Inter-Parliamentary Union was present as the Chief Guest. Moreover, Ms. Roxana Quader, Additional Secretary (PH and WH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; WHO Representative to Bangladesh; and Mr. Stephen A. Tamplin, Associate Scientist, Institute for Global Tobacco Control attended as Guests of Honor. 

 

In the closing session, Mr. Mohammad Shahjahan, Director and CEO, BCCP was present as Chairperson. In addition, Mr. Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Joint Secretary and Coordinator, National Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. AFM Mafizul Islam, Advisor, Southeast University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Mr. Stephen A. Tamplin, Associate Scientist, Institute for Global Tobacco Control; attended as Guests of Honor in closing session. Dr. Shahida Haque, Senior Deputy Director (Research), BCCP delivered vote of thanks.

BCCP’s 22nd Advances in Strategic Communication Workshop was held from 26 February to 09 March 2017. Nineteen communication professionals from different NGOs and private organizations participated in this two-week long workshop.

 

The workshop was commenced with Dr. David Mould, Professor Emeritus of Media Arts and Studies at Ohio University, USA as the Keynote Speaker. Professor Mould, who is also a former Director of Ohio’s Communication and Development Studies post-graduate program, conducted an interactive session explaining the Socio-ecological model of communication. The closing session was enlightened with the speech of Professor Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus-Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research, BRAC University, and Prof. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, Ph.D., Vice-Chancellor, Green University of Bangladesh. Both the opening and the closing session was chaired by Mohammad Shahjahan, Director & CEO, BCCP.

 

BCCP organizes this workshop every year to promote more effective and state-of-the-art communication programs via enhancing the capacity of the program planners, designers, and implementers. The workshop is designed for senior to mid-level program managers and concerned professionals.

 

The workshop is modeled after the annual Leadership in Strategic Health Communication Workshop, which is conducted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), Baltimore, USA. It explores the essential elements of successful communication in the context of social development programs. The workshop has proven critically important in making a positive change in the communication behavior of professionals concerned with implementation, management, and supervision of BCC activities. Advances workshop is an exclusive opportunity for professionals in Bangladesh to receive comprehensive training on SBCC.

 

The highly participatory approach of the workshop helps participants to develop effective advocacy, social mobilization, and program communication strategies while strengthening their ability to implement dynamic communication programs.

Staff capacity development is an ongoing activity of BCCP. BCCP is carrying out its activities in a systematic and planned manner to enhance the leadership of Middle Management in projects and activities. Staff capacity is being enhanced via formal and informal training, workshop, orientations, and hands-on mentoring and coaching. As a part of this continuous development process, BCCP management has nominated Mr. Mohammad Khairul Abedin, Senior Program Officer and Mr. Md. Shahabuddin, Program Coordinator to participate and present their Abstracts at the International Conferences in Malaysia and Sri Lanka respectively.  

 

Participation in 19th International Conference on Education, Teaching and E-learning

 

The 19th International Conference on Education, Teaching, and E-learning was held on February 12-13, 2017 at Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. The World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology (WASET), an internationally renowned organization, organized the Conference. The objective of the Conference was to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Education, Teaching, and E-learning. Mr. Mohammad Khairul Abedin presented a research paper in the Conference. The little of this paper was “E-learning: An Effective Approach for Enhancing Social and Behavior Change Communication Capacity in Bangladesh”.

BKMI (Bangladesh Knowledge Management Initiative), a project of BCCP, has developed two eLearning courses (bdsbcc.org) for Program Managers and Planners. These two courses are, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Message & Material Development (MMD). These two online courses were evaluated after one year of their launching. Abedin presented evaluation findings in the Conference. In the question-answer session participants showed interest and asked different questions about the courses and their evaluation findings. 

 

Sixty participants from 15 countries attended in the two-day long Conference. More than 50 papers were presented in the Conference. At the end of the Conference certificates were handed over to the participants.

 

Participation in the International Conference on Climate Change 2017

 

The International Conference on Climate Change 2017, held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from February 16th to 17th, 2017. The Conference was organized by The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM). The objective of this Conference was to explore a platform to exchange ideas on Climate Change, discover new opportunities, reacquaint with colleagues, meet new friends, and broaden their knowledge. Chemists, Physicists, Biologists, Material Scientists, Biomedical Researchers, Engineers, Environmentalists, Social Workers and other Researchers who are active at the frontiers of this diverse and multidisciplinary field are encouraged to spread knowledge through the ICCC-2017, which will act as a global platform. Mr. Shahabuddin the Program Coordinator of BCCP participated in this conference and presented a paper titled, “Strategic communication program to raise awareness about the importance of participatory afforestation and reforestation activities to mitigate climate change risks in Bangladesh” and he also displayed a Video Documentary on Climate Resilient Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation Project (CRPARP). Seventy five participants from 21 countries attended this two-day Conference. 32 Presentations and 8 Poster Sessions were presented in the Conference. Certificates were handed over to the participants at the end of the Conference.