In an attempt to bring together the individual efforts of the Change Makers all over Bangladesh and make them feel as part of the larger national ‘We Can’ campaign, around 1,000 Change Makers were invited to take part in a Sign Up event at the Engineers Institute, Dhaka, on 12 June 2005. The day was crowded with an eclectic array of events.

The event provided the Change Makers with a wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with one another, express their views, learn from each others’ experiences, reinforce their solidarity with the campaign, and see themselves as people who make a real contribution to social change. Significantly, it also served to link community level initiatives with the national level campaign.

Change Makers: Sharing thoughts and experiences at the Engineers Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The inaugural session opened with a formal introduction to the campaign by Ranjan Karmakar, Chief Executive of Steps Towards Development, Fawzia Khandakar Eva, Consultant to a EU-funded government project, and Professor MuzaffarAhmed who was the chief guest.

Other speakers included eminent people like Professor Abdullah Abu Saeed, Selina Hossain, Meher Afroz Chumki, Mita Haq, Mahmuduzzaman, Babu, Fahmida Nabi, Lucky Arkhand and Mehreen Rahmat Ullah. M B Akhter, Convenor of the National Alliance To End Domestic Violence, and Fauzia Khondar Eva, member of the ‘We Can’ alliance, gave an overview of the campaign objectives and activities.

Renowned singers Mahmuduszzaman Babu and Mita Huq sang songs on the issue of domestic violence.

The alliance members and Change Makers gained insights by discussing their individual experiences and programmes. The event saw activists, members of the non-government organisations, medical practioneers, community leaders, teachers, social workers, students, politicians and members of the business community rub shoulders with each other.

The event was rounded off with a cultural programme that revolved around the issue of the campaign. There were songs and a magic show by the group Nari Maitree (Dhaka); a musical performance by Abdul Jalil and SDS Cultural Group (Barisal); a puppet show by OWDEB Cultural Group (Chittagong); and dramas by SHARP cultural group, Pathirikit Natya Shangstha, Polli Sree, Dinajpur and Bhawaiya Academy Daripur and some other groups.

To intensify ‘We Can’ campaign efforts, a host of activities have been spread over a month between 21 June and 20 July 2005. Over this period, campaign allies plan to:

• Identify 20,000 more Change Makers to reach the campaign goal of mobilising ordinary men and women in the community to act to end violence against women.
• Involve students actively in challenging and changing rigidly held social perceptions in the communities.
• Pull in a number of public and private institutions to widen the outreach of information and advocacy measures on violence against women.
• Keep the issues of the campaign in the public domain through sustained information flow in the mass media (especially television) and calling on people to wear the specially designed ‘We Can’ campaign badge to underline that they condemn violence against women and to say they will work to end it.

The districts of Dinajpur, Pabna, Sirajgonj, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal, Dhaka, Gaibandha and Chittagong have planned mass mobilisation activities around the theme of the campaign.

Activities in Dinajpur include seminars addressed by Change Makers, mass rallies, mobile campaigns (posters on vans, buses, trucks and tempos), press conferences, quiz and game competitions on the theme of the campaign, airing of campaign messages through the local television cable networks, plays, and football tournaments.

In Pabna, the allies plan to hold rallies, marches, public gatherings, cultural festivals, air campaign messages through local cable television networks and slides in cinema halls and publicise the campaign messages in newspapers and through specially designed leaflets.

Mass gatherings, cultural fiestas, debates on the theme of the campaign, press conferences and airing of campaign messages through the local television cable networks and slides in cinema halls will be part of campaign activities in Sirajgonj.

Change Makers will make door-to-door visits in Khulna to urge people to end violence against women. Mass gatherings, rallies, seminars, essay competitions on the theme of the campaign, and press conferences will also be held.

Sylhet will see the formation of human chains, community signature campaigns and cultural melas; in Barisal the events will be silent marches, rallies, folk theatre and drama festivals, and publicity of campaign messages through cable television channels and slides in cinema halls.

Dhaka will see some out-of-the-ordinary activities like a grand opening ceremony, couple fairs, open meetings with the Nari Nirjaton Protirodh Cell of the Department of Women Affairs, giant paintings on billboards across the city and on the backs of richshaws and huge banners and festoons with campaign messages.

In Gaibandha, motor cycle rallies by Change Makers, folk song and drama festivals, art competitions on the theme of the campaign, debates on the theme of the campaign, publication of campaign update bulletins, publications for children and publicity of campaign messages through cable television channels and slides in cinema halls will be the predominant activities.

Domestic violence make homes unhappy:
Ilustrated panels behind rickshaws carry this message to thousands of people

Domestic violence:
The issue is out-in-the-open with billboards in Pabna provoking dilaogue and debate.