Feature

Harvard Conference
on Ideas and Innovations

Professor Abdul Mannan

IT was one of the rare occasions when scholars, researchers, diplomats, development workers, politicians, advisors to the previous Care Taker Government, media personalities and academics met at the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University on October 9th. and 10th, to discuss on 'Ideas and Innovations for the Development of Bangladesh: The Next Decade.' Organized jointly by the Bangladesh Development Initiative (BDI), Democracy and Development in Bangladesh Forum (DDBF), and the Harvard Kennedy School, Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation it was an unique opportunity for such a diversified group of people from Bangladesh and United States to meet in a prestigious institution in a distant land and discuss critical issues like education, energy and environment, governance, human infrastructure, investment and resource mobilization, media and culture.

When I was leaving for US to attend the conference my friend Alam asked why go to such a distant place to discuss issues related to Bangladesh? A very logical question. A logical answer was just because it was convenient to assemble all these people in one place more easily and with less effort and cost. About 45 participants from Bangladesh and 150 from United States attended. If it was the other way round the cost and inconvenience would be staggering. The organizers, all of them non resident Bangladeshi academicians residing in US and led by Dr. Syed Saad Andaleeb, President of Bangladesh Development Initiative and Professor and Program Chair, Pennsylvania State University, Erie did an impeccable job organizing this conference overseeing the minutest details from accommodation to logistics at the conference venue. It was due to their personal initiative and the team effort that it was possible to assemble this extraordinary array of intellect and authority that has the potential to influence change in Bangladesh.

Since its inception in 1971 Bangladesh, its people have faced many challenges: civil unrest, assassinations, corruption, incompetence, strong egos, external pressures, economic downturns, depilated institutions, weak infrastructure, widespread poverty and related adversities. Yet the country has made remarkable progress that has remained below the radar and gone almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. For at least a decade the country's economic growth kept on growing at a rate of about 6%, in spite of the fact the natural calamity became a regular phenomena. The discussants dwelt on these issues and acknowledged the hard work and sacrifices made by the common people of the country, especially the rural folks. The speakers from the international agencies, US Department of State and Diplomats congratulated the people of Bangladesh on its many success. They mentioned disaster management, child literacy, women education and empowerment, poverty alleviation, food production, rise of new entrepreneurial class and population control. Many of these success stories have become models for many developing countries of the region. Bangladesh's role in UN peace keeping mission and its emergence as a leading exporting country of manpower, pharmaceutical products, ceramic ware, frozen food and its appearance as a shipbuilding nation was mentioned by the researchers and scholars.

Dr. Saad Andaleeb in his introductory remark said for more development of Bangladesh the much needed energy and innovative impetus at the moment must come from both within and outside the country. He mentioned the outstanding success of some Bangladesh Diaspora in different fields, such as research, medicine, technology, services, corporate leadership , and entrepreneurship. When their strengths are combined with those within Bangladesh, the results can be far-reaching and transformative. Such an exercise has worked wonders in India and China. Bangladesh should not be an exception he said.

There were also moments of dismay at the conference. Many participants lamented the lack of leadership qualities amongst many of our political leaders and some expressed frustration at the failure of our political leaders and parties in reaching a common understanding on many of our national issues and problems. On the side note many participants were critical of opposition parties making the National Parliament ineffective by continuously boycotting its session. For continued strengthening and progress of democracy in a country like Bangladesh constructive role of political parties is imperative.

The two day conference ended with a hope that in future the organizers will continue you to keep the platform alive and make it more useful.

(Professor Abdul Mannan is a former Vice-chancellor, Chittagong. Currently he teaches at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh )