Recently, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) urged senior students and young professionals from across the country not only to improve their understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also to take an active role in their implementation on the ground. He urged them to be critical thinkers, change-makers, innovators, communicators and leaders – pushing forward Bangladesh towards a new frontier.
Speaking at the National Youth Assembly 2017 in Cox’s Bazar organised by Jaago Foundation on 1 February 2017, Dr Debapriya stressed how youth unemployment in the country is higher than overall unemployment. Addressing youth leaders from the grassroots, he drew attention towards an unusual phenomenon in the employment market, where higher educated youth are seen to have a higher rate of unemployment compared to their less educated peers.
Dr Debapriya also spoke at the National Youth Congress 2017 – Leadership for achieving SDGs in Dhaka, organised by the Universal Health Hub on 18 February 2017. During the session, he connected with students from various public and private universities of the country. He reminded his listeners, that migrant workers and household domestic workers who are often forgotten – are largely part of the youth population of Bangladesh.
Dr Debapriya is the Convener of the Citizen’s Platform for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an initiative that brings together more than 40 organisations across Bangladesh, engaged in developmental activities. He also chairs Southern Voice on Post-MDGs, a global network of 49 think tanks dedicated to leveraging and embedding quality research from the South in the global discourse on the SDGs.
