Central

In observation of International Migrants’ Day 2009, IOM Dhaka closely collaborated with the Government of Bangladesh to participate in various events and initiatives at the central level in the capital Dhaka. IOM was part of the main preparatory committee led by the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) that included other international organisations, NGOs and migrant associations working on migrants’ rights and issues.

In the morning of18 December, the Government and co-organisers joined a rally on Dhaka streets together with about 1,000 migrants. The rally was followed by a State level discussion programme where the Chief Guest was the President of Bangladesh, Mr. Zillur Rahman. Minister and the Secretary of the MoEWOE, Finance Minister and Post and Tele Communication Minister also spoke on the occasion. In the second half of the programme, the co-organisers including IOM participated in a short discussion on the relevance of the day and the importance of ensuring the rights of migrants.

In the evening, IOM joined the MoEWOE for an event at the Dhaka international airport to welcome a group of returning migrants and wish bon voyage to a group of departing migrants with flowers, T shirts and information booklets. The Director General and other staff of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), the Secretary and other staff of the MoEWOE, Regional Representative of IOM were also present at the event.

Local

Apart from the participation in Dhaka, IOM was also involved in the celebrations in 22 districts of the country, where IOM, the Government and 11 partner NGOs are implementing a counter trafficking project. Thousands of people including representatives of the local government, political parties, civil society, Parliament, returnee migrants, survivors of trafficking, NGOs and the general public participated in street rallies followed by discussion programmes. In some places street theatre and public screenings of short films and docudramas on counter trafficking were organised as well.

Media and visibility

On 17 December, IOM participated in the joint press conference organised by the MoEWOE, along with the representatives of BMET, civil society, NGOs and migrant associations. The local and global IOM press release was shared with the media prior to and at the press conference. The most circulated English daily newspaper The Daily Star and the most popular online news media BD News mentioned IOM in the headline and quoted IOM press release on 18 December. One of the prominent Bengali newspapers brought out a special supplement in observance of the day which featured an interview of IOM Regional Representative Ms. Rabab Fatima. MRF Dhaka media focal point was interviewed on Bengali service of BBC Radio.

MRF Dhaka also provided T-shirts, posters and banners at the morning rally, State function and at the airport. IOM was prominently visible in the coverage of the events in the electronic media, both from Dhaka and the districts.

For more information please contact at IOM Dhaka. Email: , Tel. +880.2.988.9765