In the initiative supported by the Nagorikata: Civic Engagement Fund (CEF) Programme, SURGE Bangladesh is a local partner in the implementing consortium. The consortium will carry out training and research activities involving the youth from the 11 districts to study the status quo and establish mechanisms for long-term peacebuilding in the said areas.
Within a short span of time, the programme has already brought together young people from various life experiences in a shared effort to foster peace, understanding/empathy, inclusion, and build unity among the social fabric of the community they live in.

As part of the core curriculum, participants are studying topics including pluralism, diversity, identity, social dynamics, human rights, interfaith cooperation, ethical leadership, community resilience, and meaning, as well as the foundational concepts for establishing peace.

Training is being delivered to participants in both normative ways and through opportunities for hands-on learning using practical tools, including stakeholder mapping for creating Community Action Project(s), facilitating Focus Group Discussions, and Participatory Research.

What no policy alone can build is the ability of ordinary people to live and work across their differences. It grows in dialogue, shared experience, and the deliberate choice to stay in a relationship with someone who does not share your background or belief—for a common, collective good. This is the work that CPJ has strived to accomplish since its inception. Undoubtedly, the value of this work today is greater than ever in Bangladesh.

* Faisal Al Islam, Junior Research Associate, CPJ, BRAC University
* Md Mahbub-Ul-Haque, Junior Research Associate, CPJ, BRAC University
* Prama Dewan, Programme Assistant, CPJ, BRAC University