City officials from ten cities affirmed to mentor other cities for safely managed sanitation in the country in a workshop organized by ITN-BUET. The city representatives presented their success cases and service-related data on CWIS and consented to utilize these experiences in motivating their peers.
The workshop was held on 27 November 2022 at the ITN-BUET with the participation of city representatives and CWIS partners. The objective of the workshop was to motivate the ten cities to become CWIS mentors. These cities will scale up their actions and become learning grounds for other cities across South and Southeast Asia to mainstream the CWIS approach.
Earlier, ITN-BUET, CWIS-FSM support cell, DPHE, and sector partners developed an indicator-based data sheet and collected information from these cities. ITN-BUET analyzed responses from these cities to assess their CWIS potentiality. In continuation of the effort, ITN-BUET gathered the cities to share the analysis of the responses received from the cities and validate the evidence related to the information.
The event was inaugurated by the Director of ITN-BUET, Prof. Dr. Tanvir Ahmed. Prof. Ahmed said that participating cities have a long experience and diverse knowledge of safety-managed sanitation and FSM services and have the potential to come forward and guide other cities in this perspective. He expressed his confidence in the capability of these cities to become CWIS mentors and assured that ITN-BUET would give full support in this regard. Mr. Alauddin Ahmed, Project Manager of ITN-BUET, shared the welcome note of the event.
Ms. Makfie Farah and Mr. Alauddin of ITN-BUET shared the assessment findings and scope for the cities to contribute effectively. Mr. Monzur Morshed and Ms. Rifat Binte Zia of CWIS-FSM Support Cell, DPHE, presented actions needed to showcase other aspects of CWIS, like gender, business model, and IMIS.
The city officials presented key achievements from the cities on sanitation. Their achievements were discussed against the service outcomes and system functions of the CWIS service framework. The cities also participated in various group work and drafted tour packages highlighting equity, safety, sustainability, responsibility, accountability, and resource planning and management.
A small gallery show was organized in the venue at the end of the workshop, highlighting the outcome of group work sessions. The participants were encouraged by the work of other cities and showed a strong will to do the needful to achieve the status of CWIS mentor cities.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Sanjoy Mukherjee, Social Development Expert of CWIS-FSM Support Cell, DPHE, thanked the participants for their contribution and active involvement and expressed that the joint effort by all will be meaningful in mainstreaming CWIS in the country.
The city focal persons and Paurashava officials from Faridpur, Lakshmipur, Meherpur, Saidpur, Shakhipur, Kushtia, Jhenaidah, Jamalpur, Teknaf, and Tarabo Paurashava participated in the workshop. Representatives from CWIS-FSM Support Cell, DPHE, Practical Action, WaterAid Bangladesh, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, BRAC, and Municipal Association of Bangladesh (MAB) were also present at the event.
