The Centre for Gender and Social Transformation (CGST) at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University has carried out the Bangladesh launching of the ‘Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE)’ Project on August 24, 2016 at the GDLN Centre, BRAC University. The project is supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) in partnership with Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK. In Bangladesh, the GAGE research work is being managed and conducted by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), the James P. Grant School of Public Health of BRAC University, Research and Evaluation Division (RED) of BRAC and Innovations for Poverty Action. It is a nine-year mixed methods longitudinal research and evaluation programme that will generate and share evidence on good-practice programmes and policies to help adolescent girls in the Global South reach their full potential. GAGE is undertaking an in-depth, mixed-methods programme of longitudinal research and impact evaluation work in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nepal and Bangladesh with a focus on girls across the course of adolescence, along with complementary participatory action research with older adolescent girls in additional conflict-affected countries in the Middle East and North Africa and West Africa.
Simeen Mahmud Lead Researcher and Coordinator, Centre for Gender and Social Transformation, BIGD BRAC University welcomed the participants who were comprised of representatives from donors and development partners including UNICEF, UNFPA, USAID, DFID, SDC, DFAT Australia, Global Affairs Canada and programme staff from projects funded by EKN. Dr. Sohela Nazneen, Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex and Thematic Lead, Policy and Legal Analysis, GAGE elaborated the key components of GAGE through a presentation. Maheen Sultan, Visiting Fellow, BIGD facilitated the workshop and Sahil Tandon, Senior Technical Associate, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) thanked the participants at the closing ceremony. Nuzhat Sharmeen, Research Associate, BIGD and Mousumi Ansari, Research Assistant, BIGD were also present at the workshop. The participants shared their views on the key issues that need to be addressed concerning the state of adolescence in Bangladesh, major blockages in bringing about change and on the extent to which knowledge and evidence is necessary for policy making and programming in Bangladesh. They also shared their experiences of working with adolescents in the country and identified interventions that brought about change in areas such as prevention of child marriage, social norms on marriage, psychosocial counseling and knowledge on reproductive health rights.