The Annual Report is but a glimpse into the life of ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB). While it is not possible to do justice to the entire gamut of our activities in one report, we invite the reader to a brief tour of our world through these pages. Here you will find highlights of AAB engagements with women, adolescent girls, young people, marginalised communities and grassroots organizations.

The tradition of weaving cloth by hand is one of the richest aspects of Bangladesh culture and heritage. Handloom weaving is an important non-agricultural source of livelihood in Bangladesh, and it is the second largest source of rural employment after agriculture.

The ready-made garments (RMG) and the leather sectors are two key contributors in Bangladesh economy in terms of employment generation, production, export and foreign exchange earnings. The RMG sector is the first and the leather sector is the fifth major export earning source in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is now the second largest exporter in the global apparel market.

The economy of Bangladesh has steadily grown over the last two decades. However, utilising the potentials of youth population remains a big challenge. The country, being at the middle of the period of demographic transition, is yet to reap the benefits of its demographic profile.

The first ever ‘Water Museum’ in Asia is located in Bangladesh’s coastal district Patuakhali. ‘Water Museum’ may sound too futuristic for 2014. Has water become so scarce that we have to preserve it in a museum? Let’s find out.

This Civil Society Response to the Climate Budget Report is a co-production of ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB), the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Action on Climate Today (ACT) and a wide range of civil society participants who attended a series of climate budget workshops. ActionAid is a global justice federation working to achieve social justice, gender equality and poverty eradication with over 15 million people in 45 countries across the globe. ActionAid started its operations in Bangladesh in 1983. As a member of the Federation, AAB works to achieve its mission and vision in four major areas: women’s rights and gender equity; resilience and climate justice; democratic governance; and young people.

The chair opened the session with a question for the audience regarding the connection between fashion industry and sustainable consumption and production. With many opinions centered around pollution, toxic effluent, waste management from the audience, the chair concluded that the Fashion Industry can play a critical role in attaining the Sustainable Development Goal 12. A presentation at the session by the keynote speaker revealed that Fashion Industry is contributing to global water waste by 20%, while apparel industry emits 10% of global carbon emission. With more than 4500+ garment factories currently operating in Bangladesh, Dhaka’s tanneries alone discharge nearly 22,000 cubic liters of toxic effluent daily into the Buriganga River.