NCTF Dhaka CRC Perticipate Alternative Report Sharing Workshop
NCTF Dhaka Committee Participated sharing workshop on recommendations of CRC alternative report with children. The workshop was held 7th May at ASK conference room Lalmatia Dhaka.
Journalism Training for the National Children’s Task Force by Bangladesh National Press Institute
“Good writing skill is not enough to become a good journalist. Besides, a journalist need to be committed in work” said Mr Abul kalam Azad, former press secretary of Honourable Prime Ministre and managing director and chief editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Songshth; as chief guest.
Bangladesh Press Institute organized two days child journalism training for NCTF members from 9-10 april, 2015 at Press Club Auditorium,Brahmanbaria. Around thirty children including NCTF journalists, the member of NCTF executive Committee were participated in the training. Md Shah Alamgir, Director, Bangladesh Press institute presided and Syed Mizanur Reza, Brahmanbaria Press club secretary also attended as special guest.
Aiming the capacity development, the training also focused on confidence and strategy to overcome challenge as journalist. As the NCTF already expressing their views through journalism, the learning would be added to strengthen their capacityon this. Besides, newsletter is a regular form practiced by the NCTF to present their voice on child right.NCTF also use digital media for expressing their situations and address their rights.
The chief guest advised the participants to capture the child rights situation and the good story on behalf of all the children as a journalist .He appreciated the NCTF as a children’ organization on leading the children’s voice and their initiatives on behalf of the children. In the training child journalist Maksuda Chowdhury poli presented NCTF activities and their achievements adding the NCTF overview of District volunteer Ajit Chandra Biswas. ” NCTF journalist used to get the journalism training previously but now the opportunity is for all the NCTF members” added Maksuda
On behalf of NCTF, the president of central committee Sayem Khondokar and the deputy speaker of child parliament Shanjida Lopa thanked to the Press Institute for this support. NCTF also requested for long term training for skill development as child journalist.
The event ended with the certificate giving ceremony among the participants. The training is a first time ever capacity building initiatives for the children by the National Press Institute;acknowledging the NCTF initiatives as Child led organization. Through the event, the children also forwarded to the linkage development with media for advocating for their rights.
Self-initiatives activities of National Children’s Task Force (NCTF) to support children
On the celebration of Bangali New Year, 1422 National Children’s Task Force (NCTF) Moulovi Bazar took a different initiative.
NCTF distributed education materials Including (exam board, pencil, scale, eraser) to the disadvantaged children aiming the continuation of their smooth study. As the education is a right of children but it is challenged by the different factors for the children. In addition, parents cannot afford required education material due to having very small income for their family. While interacting with the different children, NCTF decided to support the children.
Total thirty one students form three primary schools named Srinath Government Primary School, Bazar Government primary school, Shairpur Lokkibal Government primary school were selected for the support.
Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, district education officer Subodh Chorndro Chowdury,researcher Mahfujur Rahman, Vice President of Mercantile Bank Golam Maula, the President of Bangobondhu Cultural unit Shoiyad Salman Ali, Hasnat Kamal from Bangladesh Television, and the members of district NTF committee with their parents attended in this event.
Besides regular advocacy to government actors, NCTF also has some self-initiated activities for the children. Different small initiatives have been taken to support disadvantaged children, NCTF and Government and non-Government actors.
The Child Parliament Session on 21 December, 2014
The 12th Child Parliament session was held on 21 December, 2015. Total 300 persons were attended in the session. 84 (42 girls 42 boys) members of the child parliament were present. Among them 64 district members, 20 members from special groups and expansion areas attended in the session. Diverse range of Bangladeshi children including street children, working children, ethnic minorities, children with disabilities and other vulnerable and marginalised groups.
Mr. Md. Fazle Rabbi Miah, MP, the Honourable
Deputy Speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament attended as Chief Guest. The child parliamentarian raised the issue and Deputy Speaker of national parliament was questioned by the child parliamentarians, and their commitment sought to change the experience of children in Bangladesh in relation to health and education.
Members of the Child Parliament (CP) also put forward a series of questions related to child marriage and its consequences over child protection including the controversial suggestion of lowering marriage age.
Admitting the corrupt practices of a section of marriage registrars the Deputy Speaker urged the Ministry of Law to strengthen the monitoring mechanism as well as fill in the vacant positions of district registrars to improve the overall situation.
Responding to the allegation of the child parliamentarians that some of the Union Council Chairmen often temper with birth registration in collusion with girls’ parents, he urged the public representatives to follow laws and conscience and not the immediate gain of cheap popularity.
The session was followed by a well-attended press briefing at which the press received the Child Parliament set of recommendations. The child parliamentarians answered the queries of the media in relation to the impact of the Child Parliament, the process of representation within the Child Parliament and future plans of the Child Parliament amongst other issues.
Preparatory workshop:
A preparatory workshop was held which produced the working document to be used in the session based on the research of participants across the country. A 2 day preparatory meeting attended by children’s representatives from all 64 districts and 20 children from poor & marginalized groups held on 18-20 December 2015. Through group work based on the working paper, local issues were identified and incorporated into the national agenda. Child parliamentarians also participated in a mock parliamentary session.
Child Parliamentarians Research Findings:
The Child Researchers (NCTF members) conducted research round the year in all 64 districts. 256 child researchers and 80 child facilitators collected data on the child rights situation. To finalize the issue the core team prioritize the collected information and select the child parliament issue. Both the primary and secondary research findings showed that, the current emerging issue of child rights in Bangladesh is child marriage. NCTF had already online campaign on ‘Not sixteen’ and submit a letter to Prime Minister. Government of Bangladesh drafted the “Child Marriage Prevention Law 2013”. The objective of the advocacy was to remain the marriage for girl 18 years and boys 21 years and increase mass campaign against child marriage.
Achievement of Child Parliament:
The child parliament initiative is meant to provide children a platform to raise their voice on issues that have a bearing on their lives. It also creates opportunity for the children to reach out to decision makers at the national level. Since its inception in 2003 the CP’s advocacy has contributed to policy changes such as banning of physical punishment in the school, use of cell phone by teachers during class hours, and use of children in political rallies.
Commitment of Chief Guest:
Honourable Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament said and believes that the legally permissible marriage age would remain 18. “Bringing down marriage age to 16 would be counterproductive,”
Conclusion:
Like the previous Parliament sessions held during the last 12 years, the children have successfully raised their voices in front of the policy makers of the Government and NGOs, donors and civil society members. The issues that were discussed in the two day sessions are very close to their lives – health and education. One purpose of the parliament session was that the voices of the children are heard and that was achieved to its full extent. How far their concerns will be addressed by the duty bearers will depend on a persuasive dialogue between the children and the duty bearers.
News Coverage of Child Parliament 2014:
http://www.observerbd.com/cat.php?b=254 http://www.dailystar.com/
http://sobujbarta.com/2014/12/22/NewsID-96982061/
http://www.ittefaq.com.bd/capital/2014/12/21/9612.html
http://www.thedailystar.net/18-to-remain-marriageable-age-for-females-56507
http://www.24livenewspaper.com/site/index.php?url=www.priyo.com
http://bdnews24.com/media-en/2014/12/21/december-21-2014
NCTF School committees publishing wall magazine at Savar
Istiaque Ahmed Shawon: NCTF working at Savar in 30 secondary schools since January this year. As per their yearly action plan all the school committees are going to publish wall magazine at their school level in this month. Some of the schools are already published and some are prepare their magazine to publish. Via this wall magazine NCTF members trying to raise their voice on WASH situation of their school. They have published drawing and pictures on child rights situation in their community and school.
কুষ্টিয়ায় জেলা প্রশাসকের সহযোগিতায় ও এনসিটিএফ এর উদ্যেগে নিরাপদ হল অবজারভেশন রুম
সাজিদ হাসান (কুষ্টিয়া): গত ২৫ তারিখে এনসিটিএফ কুষ্টিয়া জেলার সভাপতি মুসাব্বির হোসেন কুষ্টিয়া জেলার ২৫০ শয্যা বিশিষ্ট সদর হাসপাতালের শিশু ওয়ার্ড এর অবজারভেশন রুমের সমস্যা নিয়ে কুষ্টিয়া জেলার সুযোগ্য জেলা প্রশাসক সৈয়দ বেলাল হোসেন মহোদয় কর্তৃক পরিচালিত জেলা প্রশাসন এর ফেসবুক পেজে একটি পোষ্ট প্রদান করলে জেলা প্রশাসন থেকে দ্রুত পদক্ষেপ নিয়ে সমস্যার সমাধান করা হয়।
এনসিটিএফ কুষ্টিয়ার স্বউদ্যোগী কাজের অংশ হিসেবে প্রতি মাসে সদর হাসপাতালের শিশু ওয়ার্ড পরিদর্শন করা হয়। শিশু ওয়ার্ডে জনবল সংকট থাকা সত্ত্বেও শিশু ওয়ার্ডে ডাক্তার এবং নার্সরা শিশুদের সুন্দরভাবে সেবা দিয়ে যচ্ছে। বেশীরভাগ মনিটরিং এ রোগীর স্বজনরা সেবাতে সন্তুষ্টি প্রকাশ করেছে। কিন্তু শিশু ওয়ার্ডে অবজারভেশন রুমে রোগীর স্বজনদের জুতা সেন্ডেল পড়ে ঢুকার বন্ধ করা যাচ্ছিল না।
তার পাশাপাশি অবজারভেশন রুমে জনসাধারণের প্রবেশ এ নিষেধাজ্ঞা থাকলেও রোগীর স্বজনরা সেখানে ভীড় করে থাকে। গত ২২ এপ্রিল এনসিটিএফ কুষ্টিয়া মনিটরিং এর সময় আবারো একই দৃশ্য প্রত্যক্ষ করে এবং এনসিটিএফ সদস্যরা এ বিষয়ে জেলা প্রশাসক মহোদয়কে অবগত করার জন্য ফেসবুক পেজ এ সমস্যা সংক্রান্ত পোস্ট প্রদান করা হয়। এবং কুষ্টিয়া জেলার সুযোগ্য জেলা প্রশাসক সৈয়দ বেলাল হোসেন এই পোষ্টের ভিতিতে আজ নিজে একটি নোটিশ জারি করেন। জেলা ম্যাজিস্ট্রেট সহ কুষ্টিযা জেলার ২৫০ শয্যা বিশিষ্ট সদর হাসপাতালের উপ-পচিালক মহোদয় এর উপস্থিতিতে শিশু ওয়ার্ড এর অভজারভেশন রুমের সামনে নোটিশটি লাগানো হয়। নোটিশে বলা হয় ভেতরে যদি কেও জুতা সেন্ডেল পরে প্রবেশ করে তাহলে তাকে মোবাইল কোর্টের আওতায় আনা হবে।
এ বিষয়ে এন.সি.টি.এফ. কুষ্টিয়ার প্রত্যেক সদস্য জেলা প্রশাসক মহোদয় সহ জেলা প্রশাসনের এ উদ্যোগের প্রতি কৃতজ্ঞতা জানান। তারা আরো বলেন এনসিটিএফ সদস্যদের চেষ্টা সার্থক হয়েছে এবং জেলা প্রশাসন থেকে পরবর্তীতে আরো সহযোগিতা পাবেন বলে তারা আশা প্রকাশ করেন এবং জেলা প্রশাসক সৈয়দ বেলার হোসেন মহোদয়ের এর সাহায্য পেলে কুষ্টিয়া জেলাকে একদিন শিশু বান্ধব জেলা হিসেবে গড়ে তুলবে এটা কুষ্টিয়া জেলার এন.সি.টি.এফ এর প্রত্যাশা বলেও জানান।
এনসিটিএফ:
এনসিটিএফ জাতীয় পর্যায়ের একমাত্র শিশু সংগঠন যা গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার কর্তৃক স্বীকৃত। এনসিটিএফ শিশুদের দ্বারাই গঠিত ও পরিচালিত। সংগঠনটি বাংলাদেশ শিশু একাডেমীর সাথে সারা বাংলাদেশের ৬৪টি জেলায় কাজ করে চলেছে। এনসিটিএফ এর লক্ষ্য ও উদ্দেশ্য হচ্ছে জাতিসংঘ শিশু অধিকার সনদের আলোকে বাংলাদেশের শিশুদের সকল অধিকার প্রতিষ্ঠা করা। ২০০৩ সাল থেকে শুরু করে এ পর্যন্ত এনসিটিএফ শিশুদের প্রতিনিধিত্বকারী একটি জাতীয় সংগঠন হিসেবে ব্যাপকভাবে পরিচিত ও স্বীকৃত। শিশু অধিকার বাস্তবায়নের লক্ষ্যে ইতিমধ্যে এন.সি.টি.এফ চাইল্ড পার্লামেন্টের ১২টি সেশন আয়োজন করতে সফল হয়েছে। যেখানে মন্ত্রীপরিষদের বিভিন্ন মাননীয় মন্ত্রী মহোদয়গণ উপস্থিত ছিলেন। গত ২১ এ ডিসেম্বর ২০১৪ জাতীয় সংসদের ডেপুটি স্পিকার জনাব ফজলে রাব্বী মিয়া প্রধান অতিথিত্বে চাইল্ড পার্লামেন্টের ১২ তম অধিবেশন সম্পন্ন হয়েছে। এছাড়া এনসিটিএফ এ প্রত্যেক জেলাতে চাইল্ড পার্লামেন্ট সদস্য, শিশু সাংবাদিক ও শিশু গবেষকবৃন্দ ও সদস্যদের নিবিড় কার্যক্রমের মাধ্যমে শিশু অধিকার সংরক্ষণ ও বাস্তবায়নে সংগঠনটি কাজ করে আসছে। বাংলাদেশে শিশু অধিকার কতটুকু বাস্তবায়িত হচ্ছে এবং তার অগ্রগতি কি তা (তৃণমূল, স্থানীয় ও জাতীয় পর্যায়ে) নিবিড়ভাবে পর্যবেক্ষণ ও পরিবীক্ষণ (মনিটরিং) করে থাকে সংগঠনটি। বাংলাদেশ সরকারের মহিলা ও শিশু বিষয়ক মন্ত্রণালয় ২০১২ সালের ২৭ ফেব্রুয়ারী এক প্রজ্ঞাপন জারির মাধ্যমে প্রতিটি জেলায় মাননীয় জেলা প্রশাসকের সভাপতিত্বে গঠিত জেলা শিশু অধিকার ফোরাম কমিটিতে একজন করে এনসিটিএফ সদস্যকে অন্তর্ভূক্ত করা হয়েছে।
আরো জানতে: www.nctfbd.org
Children use social media for Advocacy.
On 25 April, 2015 Deputy Commissioner of Kushtia Sayed Balal Hossain announced a notice and on that basis the Deputy Magistrate and the assistant Director of Khustia City hospital (250 Bed) put a written notice in front of the child ward that whoever will break the rules of hospital (enter into the child ward with shoe and make noise in child ward) he or she must bring under the punishment through mobile court.
Nation Children’s Task Force (NCTF) took another self-initiative activity to secure the safety of the child patient in 250 bed city hospital Khustia .parents and relatives who often come to visit the sick children in observation hour, they enter the ward with their shoe and not only that they also make the child ward noisy and crowded as well. Treatment is a basic right of children and proper environment of a hospital especially into the ward more precisely in child ward is an obligatory issue. NCTF as a self-initiative task use to visit the City hospital child ward monthly. As a part of their monthly activities on 22April, 2015 NCTF Khustia visit the City Hospital (250 Bed) in Khustia and their findings about the service of the hospital is up to the mark though there is a lack of manpower. Mostly In term of monitoring the parents and relative of the child patient are satisfied with service of doctor and nurse as well as the hospital. But fact is that at the time of observation the relatives of the patient enter into the child ward with their shoe which is highly risky and unhygienic for the child patient and it could be dangerous for the sick child. Not only that a hospital should be a quiet and calm place but the visitors often make the ward noisy and highly crowded. Though the entry of the visitor with shoe and make noise in the observation room is highly restricted but people often break the rules. The President of Khustia district NCTF Musabbir Hossain gave a post on the district Facebook page and mentioned the serious problem to draw the attention of authority (Deputy Commissioner). After see the face book post the Deputy Commissioner of Khustia took initial step towards solving the problem and gave order to put a written notice. The District Magistrate and the assistant Director of Khustia City hospital were put a notice in front of the child ward. On the notice they mention that enter into the ward with shoe and make noise into the ward is a malpractice which is prohibited. If anyone further disobeys the rules he or she must be accountable for breaking the rules and would be bring under the mobile court for punishment.
NCTF members express cordial gratitude to the Deputy Commissioner and District Administration of Khustia for their initial and faster step. The Deputy Commissioner appreciates and encourages NCTF to carry one such kind of self-initiatives activities. He also added that if needed he is always ready to help NCTF and he has a long term goal that he wants to build Khustia as a child friendly district. This kind of self-initiatives activities of NCTF is obviously a huge achievement which will develop a required environment in hospital and also ensure better treatment for children.