With the vision to promote young changemakers, diversity and inclusion, Edward M Kennedy (EMK) Center for Public Service and Arts celebrated their seventh founding anniversary on Monday. The event was held at their premises in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

The programme began with a speech by Vashkar Bhattacharjee, Head of DAISY Bangladesh and Program Manager of Young Power in Social Action (YPSA). A visually impaired person himself, he talked about the accessible e-books his team developed with the support of Access to Information and funding from EMK Center for Public Service and Arts. These audio e-books range from textbooks to books on sexual and reproductive health.

Azwa Nayeem runs Alokito Hridoy, an organisation that works towards quality education. In order to create a learning environment which thrives on resilience and empathy, Alokito Hridoy tested different methods throughout the years in government schools. These include game-based and problem solving learning, among others. All the methods involve both teachers and students. With the support of EMK Center for Public Service and Arts, the organisation was able to train teachers from private schools.

“We dream of a Bangladesh that is home to the best teachers in the world. The current youth unemployment rate is at 4.4 million. We hope to train the youths as skilled leaders of the 21st century,” said Nayeem. 

Khalid Hussain, Vice President of Statelessness Network Asia Pacific (SNAP) spoke about their ‘Empowering the Marginalized Community Through Technology Programme’, which was supported by EMK Center for Public Service and Arts. Hussain belongs to the Bihari community.

Earl R Miller, the ambassador of the USA to Bangladesh, was the chief guest of the programme.“EMK Center for Public Service and Arts is one of the most significant US outreach platforms across the world,’’ Miller said. “Since its opening in 2012, nearly 400,000 people have visited the place.”  

Advocates of human rights, disability rights and minority rights, along with entrepreneurs and artists, were present at the event. Professor Imran Rahman, Dean of the School of Business of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) and Special Advisor to the ULAB Board of Trustees, and Asif Uddin Ahmed, Acting Director of EMK Center for Public Service and Arts, were also in attendance.  

Asif Uddin Ahmed stated that by 2020, EMK Center will have its own VR Studio and YouTube station, among other things.

“We need more organisations like EMK Center for Public Service and Arts all over Bangladesh, which are promoted and financed by corporates because the work that they do is on par with international universities,’’ said Imran Rahman. ULAB has been associated with EMK Center for Public Service and Arts as their management partner since March 2018.

EMK Center was founded on September 30, 2012, through a partnership between the Liberation War Museum and the American Center of US Embassy, Dhaka. It is named after Senator Edward M Kennedy, one of the many leaders who had supported Bangladesh during the Liberation War. EMK Center for Public Service and Arts is dedicated to inspiring, engaging and empowering citizens of all ages to uplift themselves and their communities.