The Anglican Alliance working with MY World to empower grassroots communities in Bangladesh.

The Church of Bangladesh (COB), inspired by the Anglican Alliance, has taken the United Nations MY World survey to local villagers in Bangladesh, translated into Bangla, to give these remote communities the opportunity to have their say in decisions for the post-2015 development agenda.

Villagers have filled out the survey with great enthusiasm, and the opportunity to speak out has particularly engaged local women, who are honoured to have the opportunity to voice their needs and concerns to the United Nations and the global high-level panel, hearing that the results of the survey will also be shared with the Secretary-General of the UN as well as other global leaders.

The Church of Bangladesh has taken votes from local village people for the world they want in a survey undertaken through a joint initiative between the UN and Civil Society, where ordinary citizens are participating in the high-level panel discussions on the post-2015 development plan.

The survey format has been translated into Bangla and distributed to the villagers as paper ballots, as they have no access to the internet. They are first briefed on the objectives of MY World and the process of filling out the form in local yard meetings, with the votes then being collected and posted on to the MY World website through the Anglican Alliance partner link.

This effort has been taken in appreciation of every citizen’s voice, giving grassroots communities the channel through which they can have their say in the global future development plan for the poor.  That the beneficiaries of the development agenda have the opportunity to influence decision-making at such a high level is a testimony to how far development has come since the first Millennium Development Goals were established in 2000.  It has been a great privilege to translate the MY World survey and make it available in paper form to those in remote communities who do not have access to internet facilities and do not read English.

By March 2013, more than 500 women had filled out the ballot and taken their vote, and the initiative will be continued throughout the year to reach as many people as possible in the grassroots communities of Bangladesh.