Celebration of women innovators held at IBA
UN Women, in affiliation with Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka, hosted the Celebration of Women Innovators on April 1, 2019, at the IBA auditorium. The event was supported by Global Affairs Canada was organised as a pathway to announce the competition- Innovators against Gender Based Violence.
Three pioneer women of Bangladesh- Sharmin Kabir, Founder of Wreetu; Zaiba Tahyya, Founder of Female Empowerment Movement; and Tasnim Afroze Tora, CEO of Safe Space and CFO of Decent Wastepreneurs – all working in various social enterprises and involved in promoting women's empowerment and eliminating violence against women –were present to motivate the students and the public with their inspirational stories. The event was also graced by the presence of Shoko Ishikawa, Country Representative, UN Women, Dr Syed Ferhat Anwar, Director, IBA-DU, and Trina Oviedo, First Secretary, Global Affairs Canada in Bangladesh.
The event started with the video screening of UN Women and followed onto Dr Syed Ferhat Anwar, Director, IBA-DU's speech. "It is not just about making things look good, we need to be practical and go in-depth so that no women are hurt or further hurt, economically or socially, at all stages of life," he said.
This enlightening speech proceeded to the First Secretary, Global Affairs Canada in Bangladesh, Trina Oviedo's speech. She said, "For our assistance to have the greatest possible impact on the ground, we must be determined, but also creative, flexible and rigorous in our approach," she said. We must be innovative and foster innovation in how we work—through our funding mechanisms and by forming new partnerships. We, therefore, further support UN Women's Innovators against Gender Based Violence."
This session was followed by Sharmin Kabir, Zaiba Tahyya and Tasnim Afroze Tora's session where each of them shared their own stories and how they came about to work for gender equality.
Finally, addressing the students, especially the male students, in the audience, UN women's Country Representative, Shoko Ishikawa said, "As future business executives- you will go to places- you will work at high positions withthe authorityand power to make decision with confidence; at that moment, think how you can make the talented female students have equal opportunity as the males to bring out gender equilibrium. And this stresses on the point of contextual innovation."
She further stressed how UN women hopes that this competition will find female-led innovative solutions to advance gender equality and women's empowerment by ensuring women and girls are free from violence.
The objective of the event was to reach the youth, especially young women, with motivational stories of how Bangladeshi women are creating innovative solutions to improve the lives of women. The competition, 'Innovators against Gender Based Violence' will be an opportunity to engage with young aspiring female innovators in Bangladesh. The winners of this competition will be awarded with incubation support, including $5000, to develop the prototype of their innovation to combat violence against women and promote gender equality.