National convention of TIB-inspired anti-corruption citizens’ groups begins
Dhaka, 1 June 2012: A two-day long national convention of TIB-inspired citizens group - the Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC) and Youth Engagement and Support (YES)- began at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre today. With the theme: ‘People’s engagement in the anti-corruption movement: achievement, challenge and possibilities’, today’s convention was joined by more than 700 CCC delegates from 45 locations of Bangladesh.
The day’s proceedings began with the national anthem and a choreography performance of TIB’s theme song. The convention was dedicated to the memory of two former Chairpersons of the TIB Trustee Board: noted businessperson Samson H Chowdhury and noted economist Professor Muzaffer Ahmad. They were posthumously honored for their valuable contributions in the movement to establish good governance in Bangladesh. Accepting the honour, Professor Rowshan Jahan, the widow of Professor Ahmad said that he would continue to live through his works and inspire the nation to build a corruption-free, well-governed, democratic and environment-friendly country. She also administered an anti-corruption oath for the audience.
A message from Dr. Hugutte Labelle, Chair, Transparency International, was also read out.
Advocate Sultana Kamal, Chair, Board of Trustees, and members of TIB Trustee Board M Hafizuddin Khan and Dr. ATM Shamsul Huda participated in a panel discussion, moderated by TIB’s Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman.
Urging the people to internalize the core message of the national anthem, the TIB Chair said we would attempt to resist corruption with the same spirit which helped us to secure independence by winning the liberation war. We would never allow undermining the image of the country and would reduce corruption through our combined efforts, she added.
M.Hafizuddin Khan urged to vote for honest and competent candidates in the next election while Dr. ATM Shamsul Huda said resisting corruption is only possible if honest and responsible representatives are elected during elections.
In the day-long deliberations, the CCC delegates emphasized on enhancing people’s engagement to intensify the anti-corruption movement. The challenges of anti-corruption movement at the grassroots were discussed and participants also suggested ways to strengthen anti-corruption capacity of the civil society.
TIB Trustee Board Member Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, TIB’s Secretary General Selina Hossein and Treasurer Mahfuz Anam will be the panel discussants during tomorrow’s YES convention where more than 2000 young volunteers from all over the country will be joining.
