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SWISS TALK

Issue 27

Newsletter of the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh

Message from the Ambassador

Welcome you to the 27th issue of Swiss Talk. In Dhaka, we recently hosted the regional seminar of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Our colleagues from head office, other Swiss embassies in the region and cooperation offices joined the seminar. You will find more information about the seminar in this newsletter. Skills development is a strong pillar of the Swiss development cooperation in Bangladesh. Last year, Switzerland committed CHF 9 million for a period of 5 years to support Sudokkho, a Bengali term which refers to someone who has achieved skills and competence, to train the poor, specially women and disadvantageous people, in the apparel and construction sectors in Bangladesh. The startup scene is developing fast in Bangladesh. In this newsletter, you will find information about a startup competition which was recently organized by a Switzerland based organization. I strongly believe that more such initiatives will tremendously help the young innovators and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh to hone their business and innovation skills in order to compete at global arena. Few weeks ago we bid adieu to year 2015. Keeping in mind the global and local developments, we can say that there were many challenges facing us in 2015. 2016 brings fresh hopes and optimism. Hope we can seize many of the opportunities this year that were earlier missed. I would like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2016! Thank you very much. Christian Fotsch Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh

Happy New Year 2016!

The entire team of the Embassy wishes everyone a very happy New Year 2016.

Regional Seminar 2015: SDC South Asia Division

The regional seminar (2015) of the South Asia Division of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) was held in Dhaka on November 9-12, 2015. The staff of the Swiss Embassies and Swiss Cooperation Offices in South Asia as well as the head office staff of the Swiss Foreign Ministry and SDC attended the seminar. The seminar provided an excellent opportunity for inputs, exchanges and peer learning aimed at enhancing the collective know-how. The first day of the four day seminar was dedicated to the discussion of the political economy of Bangladesh. A study conducted on this topic with Swiss support was presented in the seminar. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion. On the second day, the participants discussed the priority themes of the Swiss Federal dispatch for 2017-2020, which will define how Switzerland implements the agenda 2030 on international level. The focus of the third day of the seminar was on the South Asian context monitoring.

Skills and employment programme for RMG and construction sectors

Sudokkho is a skills and employment programme in Bangladesh jointly funded by DFID and SDC. This programme encourages and engages private-sector to provide training to the poor, particularly women and disadvantaged populations, to ensure decent employment in apparel and construction sectors. The programme primarily adopts a three pronged approach. It supports the private training providers to

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provide affordable quality training for enhanced employability. To scale up and to make it sustainable, Sudokkho also supports private sector to develop and operate industry-led training funds. At strategic level, it will support policy environment and development of standard training curriculum.

The five year programme will support up to 70 different training initiatives that will train at least 110,000 men and women; of whom 65% will be employed and increase their income for a total cumulated value of three times the programme costs, i.e. approx. CHF 92 million. The total Swiss commitment for the programme through 2019 stands at CHF 9 million. Sudokkho is implemented under the Ministry of Education by Palladium, in consortium with Swisscontact and the British Council.

Swiss startup competition in Bangladesh Seedstars World, a Switzerland based start-up competition focused on emerging markets, held its first competition in Dhaka in November 2015. Around 70 local start-ups applied for their participation, which indicates that the start-up scene in Dhaka is becoming vibrant. The winner (http://www.Humaclab.com) of the competition will go to Switzerland and represent Bangladesh during Seedstars World’s final event in Lausanne this year with possibility to receive up to USD 500'000 in equity investment. The winning team also won a trip to Silicon Valley. Another local startup company, the Tech Cafe (http://thetech.cafe/), received the Swiss Embassy Award for its potentials to make a social impact. This competition is another example of the strong Swiss commitment towards entrepreneurship, skills development and innovation. In the Global Innovation index of 2015 Switzerland was ranked as the most innovative country for the fifth year in a row.

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Annual General Meeting of the Swiss Bangladesh Chamber

The 6th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Switzerland Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SBCCI) was held on December 06, 2015 at a hotel in Dhaka. Ambassador Fotsch attended the meeting as the Chief Guest. The new executive committee of SBCCI was unveiled in the AGM for the 2016-2017.

European Film Festival 2015 The European Film Festival 2015 was held at the Star Cineplex of Bashundhara City shopping mall in Dhaka. As many as fifteen films from fourteen European countries were screened at the festival. The Cultural Affairs Minister of Bangladesh H.E. Mr. Asaduzzaman Noor inaugurated the festival. The Swiss feature film "Win Win" was screened in the festival. It was the third edition of the European Film Festival in Bangladesh. The main objective of the festival is to present European films in Bangladesh.

International Children's Film Festival The 9th edition of the International Children's Film Festival is being held in Dhaka on 23-29 January 2016. A number of Swiss feature and short films will be screened in the festival. More information about the festival can be found here: http://www.cfsbangladesh.org/. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh

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