Speech
of H.E. Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Hon'ble
Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Expatriate
Welfare & Overseas Employment and the CHT Affairs
How
NRBs can help Bangladeshi children
Shimul
- Hotel Sheraton,
28 December 2007, 09:30 hrs
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I
am extremely delighted to be here this morning. My
heartfelt congratulations go to Scholars Bangladesh
for organizing the first ever Conference of non-resident
Bangladeshis. This is indeed a very laudable initiative.
The Conference has attracted hundreds of non-resident
Bangladeshis and Europeans and Americans of Bangladeshi
origin. We have amongst us professionals, academic,
entrepreneurs and activists who have been extremely
successful in their host countries. I am confident
that they would share their experience and success
to support the development of their country of origin.
We
live in a globalized world. Globalization has facilitated
not only the free movement of goods and services,
but also of people. Although the movement of people
still faces high barriers to entry, it has not deterred
Bangladeshis to find livelihood in Europe, Middle
East, North America and Australia. Bangladeshis are
indeed very enterprising and courageous. Wherever
they went and settled down, they earned the reputation
of being committed, industrious and innovative. Bangladeshis
also assimilate very well in their host environment.
But at the same time, they maintain their strong ties
to their motherland. Bangladeshis seldom forget where
they came from. Their ethnic identity, cultural heritage
and language remain unadulterated. Bangladeshis are
proud to be Bangladeshis, no matter where they are.
In that respect, we are akin to the Greeks or the
Italians.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
How
can Bangladeshi Diaspora - first, second or third
generation - can help their country of origin. More
specifically, how can they help the children in their
home country? There are number of channels open to
NRBs to help the Bangladeshi children. I will only
discuss a few. The most important help can come in
education. Non-resident Bangladeshis are often privileged
to have the highest level of education. They also
have the exposure to cultures where education is an
end in itself, not a means to a job. The true value
of education is intrinsic. It is about learning, about
understanding the complexities of life. In our society,
education has become merely a vehicle to collect certificates
and diplomas. Because of this, our children are losing
their analytical abilities. Their cognitive skills
are being stunted. NRBs can help revamp our education
system. All of you can contribute to enrich our learning
culture and help our children to have an analytical
mind. Our children can benefit from your learning
experience. We must find a mechanism to encourage
NRBs to contribute to our education system.
Our
education system is in dire need of qualified teachers.
Mathematics and English are two fields where shortages
are most acute. In this globalized era, much of the
success in life depends on communication skills, especially
on one's ability to communicate in English. English
has become the default language for international
communication. Our children cannot compete in global
market place without a strong command over the English
language. This is an absolute must. NRBs and their
children can volunteer to help train our teachers,
especially to teach English. I hope the Scholars Bangladesh
will consider setting up volunteer's program to attract
NRBs and their educated children. Such programs can
be designed to re-train our instructors in English
language and mathematics.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In
the 1990s, United Nations Development Programme had
introduced an initiative called TOKTEN - the Transfer
of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals. The idea
was to bring back expatriates, albeit temporarily,
to their countries of origin. The expatriate nationals
- in our case NRBs - were expected to facilitate transfer
of knowledge and skills. TOKTEN had a mixed success
- in some countries it produced the intended results,
where in others there was hardly any impact. We should
consider starting our own TOKTEN type program to formalize
knowledge-support from Bangladeshi expatriates living
abroad.
Non-resident
Bangladeshis can play a pivotal role in the transfer
of technology, especially in the IT sector. Computer
literacy and IT education should begin with children.
But our children - the vast majority of them - have
no access to computers. Internet is still out of reach
for millions of our children. The digital divide is
growing. We must reverse the trend. NRBs can make
a huge impact in reducing the digital divide. Many
of you present here are involved in the IT sector.
Some of you have your own IT firms. I would urge you
and the larger NRB community to invest in our IT sector.
It does not need to be a philanthropic activity. Investment
in children to develop their IT skills will reap long-term
dividends. Many of them will grow up to become programmers,
database managers, network administrators and so on.
You would be able to tap into these human resources
in five or ten year's time. Our children receiving
IT education today will become a huge asset for all
you.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Children
need proper healthcare to become our productive citizens
tomorrow. In this area too, NRBs can play an important
role. There is huge potential for investment in our
pharmaceutical sector to make essential drugs, vitamins
and immunization affordable for our children. There
is another positive externality to investment in the
pharmaceutical sector. As we know, pharmaceutical
industry is relatively skill intensive. It is also
labor intensive. Investment in the pharmaceutical
sector will increase economy-wide demand for skills,
which, in turn, increase demand for education. I will
urge the NRB community to consider investment in our
pharmaceutical sector to transform our economy from
low-skilled, low-value added to high-skill, high value
added equilibrium. Our children will greatly benefit
from this transformation as their education and skill
will meet the demand of a growing pharmaceutical sectors.
Finally,
NRBs can also be a conduit for opportunities of higher
learning for our children. Bangladeshi young adults
are often misled by unscrupulous education agencies
when they seek to go abroad for higher education.
Many of you present here are in the academia. You
are in a position to help young Bangladeshis find
suitable educational opportunities in North America,
Europe and Australia. There should be forums, or interactive
WebPages, where our young adults can receive good
academic advice from their compatriots teaching or
studying in various universities. I am optimistic
Scholars Bangladesh would take a lead in connecting
prospective Bangladeshi students with their prospective
NRB mentors in the Western countries. This would be
a very useful service for hundreds and thousands of
Bangladeshis seeking to study abroad.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Non-resident
Bangladeshis are attached to their motherland through
an umbilical cord. The connection is strong. But it
needs nurturing. We must work hard to keep the NRBs
engaged in our development efforts, in helping our
children, in building our future. The NRB Conference
is indeed a bold step to strengthen the connection.
But it should not be a one-time event. It should be
a process. We must sustain the momentum and goodwill
generated at this first ever conference of the non-resident
Bangladeshis. I hope Scholars Bangladesh will continue
to lead this process. There should also be good follow-ups
on the decisions and ideas of this Conference. Future
conferences should be planned well in advance to ensure
broad participation from all NRBs. We should also
take the lessons learnt at this Conference to make
future meetings more effective.
Thank
you
