Overview

The aim of the AAB Communications is to help deliver consistent tools and service support across every operation of AAB while inhibiting the values of our brand. We believe that consistent use of our visual identity will create a stronger brand and increase visibility & recognisability. It is essential that every stakeholders involved with ActionAid Bangladesh understands our brand and adopts it in their thinking and work. AAB Communications offers all respective programs a wealth of practical assistance and advice for any kind of communication purpose.

What comm does


The following are the key activities that AAB Communications Team carried out in 2018 :

(1) In 2018, ActionAid Bangladesh commissioned a study, titled ‘Sexual Harassment at Educational Institutions and Workplaces: Implementation Status of the 2009 Supreme Court Guideline.’ The findings of the report grabbed the media attention and a total of 47 organizations expressed their solidarity including UN and relevant ministries to enact a new law. As a consequence, a number of CSOs, UNs, and ministries are now prioritizing the issue for the enactment of a separate law on Sexual Harassment. On the other side, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took the lead to facilitate the coordination process and formed a national stirring committee to review the drafts by CSOs. ActionAid Bangladesh is representing CSOs to the stirring committee.

(2) With the effort of ActionAid Bangladesh and its partner organization Muktinari including community young & adolescent leaders, Pragpur Union and Ramkrishnapur Union at Kushtia District declared themselves as Child Marriage Free Union. ActionAid Bangladesh played a key role of nationwide movement building and amendment of Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017.

(3) ActionAid Bangladesh drafted the Anti Sexual Harassment Policy. It was handed over to the Deputy Speaker of the parliament with the intent to influence the enactment of the legislation.

(4) AAB was closely involved with the review of Child Marriage Restrain Action 2017

(5) The Secretary of Ministry of Disaster Management has made a commitment to continue the technical partnership with AAB on Loss and Damage

(6) ActionAid Bangladesh hosted an international conference titled ‘River: A Living Being’ to emphasize the recognition of the river as a living entity in 2018. This was the fourth international conferment on Water and River focusing on different themes such as the right to water and defending commons, water democracy, water roots innovation with the intent to create space for sharing ideas and innovations, encourage dialogues, fostering trans-border activism and building alliance. The High Court of Bangladesh then gave an order to give some legal rights to all the rivers in Bangladesh in 2018 which have given the river a status of “legal person” to save it from encroachment.

Brand


A brand essentially summarizes how we work, what we think, and how we achieve results. Most importantly, it shows what makes us different from other organizations.

Power in People is the brand essence of ActionAid. We need to reinforce the consistency of how we apply our brand and visual identity in our daily communications. Everybody in the organisation can play an active part in making this happen.

Our brand is more about who we are and how others resonate with us than just our logo. All AAB stakeholders must stay compatible with our visual images, whether on social media, online or on community brochures.

Power-in-People.pdf

Digital

Press Release

Rafah, Gaza: Urgent statement from Chief Executives of humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations

We are appalled by the harrowing developments in Rafah, Gaza’s most populated area where 1.5 million people are sheltering as their last resort - over half a million of them children. If Israel launches its proposed ground offensive, thousands more civilians will be killed and the current trickle of humanitarian aid risks coming to a complete halt. If this military plan is not stopped immediately, the consequences will be catastrophic. With significant damage to over 70 per cent of civilian infrastructure, many areas in Gaza have been reduced to rubble and are uninhabitable. Most hospitals are non-functional or only partially operational and are completely overwhelmed. There is little food, clean water, shelter, or sanitation. People are living in the most inhumane conditions, many of them out in the open. It defies belief that the Israeli military has forcibly displaced the majority of the population from their homes into Rafah - with six times as many people than before now squeezed into the area - and then announced plans to attack it. The Israeli government's strategy of systematic and repeated forcible transfer of the civilian population has led to the forced displacement of more than three quarters of the population, many of whom left without adequate shelter or homes to return to. Collectively punishing civilians by denying them adequate shelter, food, clean water and other essentials needed for their survival and obstructing humanitarian relief consignments destined to alleviate starvation may amount to grave breaches of the obligations of an occupying power under International Humanitarian Law, constituting war crimes. Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, mandated Israel to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Not only has this not happened, the situation on the ground has deteriorated further. Israel’s airstrikes in Rafah killed at least 100 Palestinians in a single day, defying both international calls for moderation and potentially the ICJ order. Over 1.5 million people trapped in Rafah have nowhere safe to go, and many have already been displaced multiple times. All of the Israeli supposed-safe spaces have been compromised, without exception, further proof that there was never truly anywhere safe in Gaza. Our call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire is more urgent than ever as Israel’s relentless bombardment and siege have decimated Gaza and left the Palestinian civilian population starving, facing famine, and with diseases rife while obstructing attempts to alleviate their suffering. The Israeli military offensive has made it virtually impossible for our collective agencies to meaningfully and effectively deliver humanitarian work, compromising not only safety but also the very principles guiding our humanitarian efforts. Rafah has been the primary entry point for aid and bombardment will then prevent any assistance from getting through. The silence, and at times material support of Israel’s military by powerful nations, signals distressing complicity in Gaza’s deepening crisis. Whether through the transfer of weapons, diplomatic obstruction of resolutions, or silence, such actions have effectively granted Israel impunity. The harrowing situation in Gaza underscores the urgent need for governments worldwide to stop the supply of arms and ammunition used in these atrocities. We also call for a permanent ceasefire to protect civilian lives and release of hostages and unlawfully detained Palestinians, and full, unhindered access for humanitarian aid and workers. States bear legal and moral responsibilities to protect civilians, prevent war crimes and uphold international law. We urge all States to consider that their inaction or continued support not only deepens the tragedy but also implicates them. We call upon them to do everything in their power to prevent further military offensives and forge a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza. Signatories: Ana Alcalde Acting Secretary General, ActionAid International Dr Agnès Callamard Secretary General, Amnesty International Charlotte Slente Secretary General, Danish Refugee Council Manuel Patrouillard CEO, Handicap International-Humanity & Inclusion Amitabh Behar Executive Director, Oxfam International Rob Williams CEO, War Child Alliance
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