Chief Executive,  BNNRC
House 13/1. Road 2, Shyamoli, Dhaka 1207

Member – Moderators Council
Equity and Justice Working Group Bangladesh
Mobile : +8801711881647
Mail: ceo@bnnrc.net
Web: www.bnnrc.net

AHM Bazlur Rahman-S21BR is the Chief Executive Officer of Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC). BNNRC is a national networking body working for building a democratic society based on the principles of free flow of information, equitable & affordable access to Information, Communication Technology (ICT) for remote & marginalized population.

BNNRC registered with Ministry of Law, Parliamentary and Justice Affairs as a trust and NGO Affairs Bureau, Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Bangladesh according to the foreign donation (Voluntary Activities) regulation ordinance 1978 as an organization on Information, Communication and Technology for Development (ICT4D) and established in 2000 as per Article 19 charter of UN bill of rights.

With 19 years of diversified experience in Development Communication Planning; he started his career in 1988 as a communication planner with Bangladesh Development Society (BDS) before moving to Action Aid- Bangladesh/ COAST Trust in 1996 as a Coordinator-Advocacy.

The core areas of his professional interests include Communication Rights, ICT4D, Community Broadcasting, IPR, Policy Advocacy, Participatory Training, Airwaves, Election Planning, Communication for Development, Good Governance, Community Broadcasting, Alternative Communication and Radio Communication.

Academically, he has done his post graduation in Social Science with a disciplinary concentration in Government and Politics from Asian University.

He is a member of Bangladesh Working Group on UN World Summit on the information Society (UN WSIS) headed by Bangladesh Government. He also acts as a member of Strategy Council of United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID).

Director, RUPANTOR
14/1 Farazipara Lane

Khulna 9100, Bangladesh,
Member – Moderators Council, Equity and Justice Working Group
International mobile : +8801715018463
Email : rafiq@rupantar.org, khokanrafiq@yahoo.com
Web:

Rafiqul Islam Khokan, is a development worker has been engaged in diverse development sectors on social, political, cultural and environmental since 1984. He has been devoted to development through his involvement not only as direct activist but also as a Popular Writer on different issues pertaining to social need of the communities and the nation.

Now he is working with Rupantar (in English transformation) as Director .Rafiqul Islam Khokan and Swapan Guha (Chief Executive of Rupantar) jointly started Rupantar’s innovative activities since 1995.  During the last 12 years Rupantar successfully created impact in locally, nationally as well as internationally with its different activities of Folk Cultural Media.

Rafiqul Islam Khokan is also the joint innovator of new form of historically famous POT SONG of Bengal and the other associates are Swapan Guha and Elias Fakir. They developed Rupantar Institute of Folk Theatre (RIFT), the largest theatre organization of South Asia having 110 folk performers working on regular basis.

Apart from Rupantar, Rafiqul Islam Khokan has experience on Local Government and Disaster Management. As a Grameen Trust Research Fellow, he has done research on fate healers (Ozha-Kabiraj).

Rafiqul Islam Khokan hails from Village Ronobijoypur under Bagerhat district. After having completed his schooling he had involved himself in Marxists politics and later started working with Developmental Organization, CARITAS. Since his association with development organization, he had been thinking of an organization with an alternative approach and finally initiated the development of Rupantar.

He is also involved with various national and local level NGOs and socio-cultural organizations as adviser and member of Executive Board. He was founder Treasurer of SUPRO and also founder Secretary General of Citizen Fourm, Khulna.

He has completed Graduation course from Duke University NC; USA on fiscal decentralization and financial management of local management, and training on NGO Management from State Departement of USA; Logical Frame Analysis course from Swedish ITI / Sida, Stockholm; Disaster Management, AIT Bangkok; People’s Participatory Process from SPAR India and Development Communication from Academy of Development Science; Gender In Development from Women Studies Department of Dhaka University.

For professional reasons he has visited India, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, UK, USA, Denmark, Sweden, France, Srilanka, Thailand.

He is one of the author to write Training manual for Bangladeshi local government institutions especially municipality and Union Parishad ( rural unit  local government tier)

Director – Administration & SR, COAST Foundation
Principal Office, House # 13  Road # 2,
Shaymoli, Dhaka – 1217, Phone # (+88 02) 58150082, 9120358, 9118435, 9126131, Fax # (+88 02) 58152555,

Member – Moderators Council
Equity and Justice Working Group Bangladesh
Mobile: +8801711455591
E mail: kamal@coastbd.net
Web: www.coastbd.net

Professional Skills and Expertise

He has around 15 years of experience in grassroots mobilization, training, forming of poor peoples’ institutions and implementation of good governance programs, and policy advocacy.

At present in COAST Trust he is responsible for Organizing training, development of peoples’ organization, implementation of good governance activities, advocacy for pro-poor policy formulation, networking, fair election monitoring etc.

Before his joining with COAST Trust he worked with BRAC as a front line manager responsible for program implementation and staff management and with NGO Forum as a Regional Coordinator, responsible for coordination, planning and monitoring.

For his professional development, he has received a number of national and international trainings

Executive Director – COAST Foundation
Principal Office, House # 13  Road # 2,
Shaymoli, Dhaka – 1217, Phone # (+88 02) 58150082, 58152821, 58152790,

Chief moderator – Moderators Council
Equity and Justice Working Group Bangladesh
Mobile :  +88001711529792,
Mail: reza@coastbd.net
Web: www.coastbd.net

Major Area of Experiences

Management System and Planning for Learning and Change, Human Resource Development, Sustainable Micro Finance, Advocacy and Policy Influencing, Policy Research, Networking and Campaign, Participatory appraisal and evaluation, Building People Organization, Disaster Management, Coastal Issues and Amateur Radio Operation, Appropriate technology in coastal belt.

Employment History

Jul ’99 to date Executive Director, Coastal Association for Social Transformation (COAST Trust, www.coastbd.org), a nationalized NGO from ActionAid Bhola Project.

Dec. ’94 – Jun. ’99 Project Director, ActionAid Bangladesh Bhola Project

Oct. ’94 – Nov. ’94 Anthropologist/Sociologist, ICDDR, B, Dhaka

Apr. ’92 – Sept. ’94 Training and Communication Advisor, RRRDP, a EC and GoB Project,

Jun. ’89 – Mar. ’92 Sr. Consultant on Training and Communication, NRDP, a GoB and DANIDA Project, Noakhali

Jan. ’87 – May ’89 Project Training Coordinator, NRDP, Noakhali

Apr. ’83 – Dec. ’86 With various capacity, especially on field operation and functional education in Mass Education Programme, a component of NRDP in Chagalnayia, Laxshmipur and Maijdee of Noakhali

Jun. ’82 – Mar. ’83 Research Assistant of various Ph. D research projects, Department of Sociology, University of Chittagong.

Networking

Focal person of food sovereignty group in Bangladesh from SAAPE (South Asian Association for Poverty Eradication) since 2004.

Founder General Secretary, National Committee, Sushasoner Jonny Procharavizan – SUPRO (In English Campaign for Good Governance, www.supro.org) a network of local NGOs in Bangladesh and Vice Chairperson, Bangladesh Coastal NGO Network for Radio and Communication (BCNNRC).

Major Training Received

• Micro Finance Management – CDF, Dhaka, May 2000
• Emergency Capacity Building, ESCA – ActionAid Africa Region, Uganda, March 1998
• Introductory Program on Capacities for Managers, Save the Children (UK) and London
• School of Economics, Katmandu, March 1996
• ZOPP Basic Course, GTZ Dhaka, June 1995
• Advocacy Capacity Building, Advocacy Institute and Action Aid Asia, Delhi, July 1995
• Management Leadership, IRRI and UPLB, Philippines, June 1991
• Management and Planning, DANIDA, Denmark, Aug – Nov 1988
• Project Management, BRAC & BARD, 1984

Short Term Co-Work

• Appraisal Team Member of LGSP (Local Govt. Support Project) of DANIDA, February 1990
• Evaluation of RDRS’s Char Development Project on behalf of Stromme Memorial Foundation – Norway, September 1996
• Act as team member with INTREEC (a UK based NGO) for Participatory Action Learning Study of DfID assistance in Bangladesh, June 1997
• Evaluation of VARD, YMCA, AUS and CDP project on behalf Stromme Memorial Foundation-Norway, March – May 2000.

Presentation Given at

• University of London,
• World Literacy Conference – Philadelphia,
• World Bank and IMF group
• USAID – Washington,
• United States Congress Committees
• European Union Parliament Committees
• ActionAid – UK Office,
• BBC World – London, TV 2 France, IPS TerraViva
• SAARC People Conference – Nepal and Delhi,
• Community Radio Conference by UNESCO- Srilanka,
• Conference on Micro Finance Policy and Governance – ESCAP, Bangkok.

Country visited

United States of America, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Keniya, Uganda, Thailand, China, India, Nepal, Srilanka, Singapore, Indonesia, Phillipines, and Pakistan