People who set up i this organization basically came from part of those people and groups who were behind the formation of SUPRO Bangladesh (www.supro.org). Since 2001 the group worked hard and put all sincere efforts to set up SUPRO as an advocacy platform to carry out public awareness campaign on policy issues having bearing on public life and especially on the livelihood of the poor both at local and national levels. At the beginning the microfinance organization COAST lent all supports with both financial resource and management guidance to SUPRO to come into being as it finally made the debut in 2003.
SUPRO carried out various campaign programmes on democratization of political parties, people’s participation in PRSP process, annual budget discourse and peoples ownership on public expenditure projects, campaign against neo-liberal development paradigm, WTO summits in Cancun and Hong Kong. We also fielded a very strong advocacy campaign to set up an independent anti corruption commission, review of MDG targets on the eve of UN + 5 summit and quality of public expenditure in mid-term budget review in July 2007 etc. From Supro platform, we brought out two training manuals (Integration of right based approach and political economy of globalization) and held training courses down to districts to train new activists and create public awareness on critical issues.
From October 2006 to August 2007 many of us came to face several limitations in taking up programmes and launch field level activism, mainly due to ideological differences with some other committee members within SUPRO. After 11 months of impasse we then decided to to leave SUPRO and form the EJWG. This group set in course new strategies and started to work with a new vision learning from previous experiences and analytical results from our contacts with various socio-political and civil society gropus to help promote new ideas and values and bring dynamism in service delivery at the receiving end. We set our goals with a renewed commitment to work for the people on a distinct and separate identity.
1. Name: Rezaul Karim Chowdhury
Position: Chief Moderator, Moderator Council, EquityBD
E-mail: reza@coastbd.org
Mobile : +880 01711529792
Responsibility: This position is basically responsible to coordinate the activities of the national council, especially organizing periodical meeting of national moderation council and give leadership to policy formulation and planning of activities at various levels. He also remains responsible to promulgate and aligning EquityBD activities with different national and international campaign and advocacy organizations, CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) and such other bodies working on the same targets, values and ideals.
2. Name: Syed Aminul Hoque
Position: Secretariat Coordinator
E-mail: aminul@coastbd.org
Mobile : +880 01713328815
Responsibility: This position is responsible to coordinate the daily secretariat activities. He will conduct regular meeting, prepare yearly short and long term plans for EquityBD. Moreover, as Secretariat Coordinator he remains actively involve with policy research activities on national budget and other utility essential services.
3. Name: Mostafa Kamal Akand
Position: Coordinator – Networking and Mobilization
E-mail: kamal@coastbd.org
Mobile : +880 01711455591
Responsibility: This position is responsible to establish contact and carry forward of EquityBD network from national level down to the grass roots NGOs, CSOs, media professionals, besides bringing closer like minded individuas and activists groups who are working with propoor development agenda at different levels on different issues. He also remains responsible to mobilize EquityBD media outreach and especially to work closely with the print and electronic media.
4. Name: Md. Ahsanul Karim
Position: Coordinator- Tax Justice Network
E-mail: babor@coastbd.org
Mobile : +880 01713328800
Responsibility: This position is mainly responsible for Tax Justice related research and campaign.
5. Name: Md Mujibul Haque Munir
Position: Coordinator- Policy Research
E-mail: munir@coastbd.org
Mobile : +880 01713-367438
Responsibility: This position is mainly responsible for policy research and campaign designing mainly on food sovereignty, GMO, farmers’ right, promoting local seeds, climate adaptation.
6. Name: Md Abarul Islam
Position: Coordinator- e Campaign
E-mail: abir@coastbd.org
Mobile : +880 01713-144166
Responsibility: This position is mainly responsible for regular updating EquityBd’s website to highlight on its various action programmes at home and abroad. He will be working to promote e-campaign of the group by way of expanding the network contacts with e-groups of like minded NGOS and CSOs working with pro-poor causes at national level to rural grass roots.
