Project Name: Building Bridges through Leadership Training (BBLT) and Building Bridges through Leadership Training Junior (BBLTJ) Phase 1
Duration: 3 years
Funded by: The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Summary: BYLC became the first organization in Bangladesh, through the BBLT and BBLTJ programs, to work at the intersection of the three different mediums of education, namely Bengali medium, English medium, and Madrasah. The programs helped students build their ability to understand and appreciate others with differing viewpoints and values, and thus, expanded their capacity to practice values of tolerance and pluralism. The programs were divided into two phases. The first phase was in-class training where students built their leadership capacity, explored the different theories of leadership researched by world-renowned experts, used diagnostic tools to analyze challenges, and found ways to mobilize others to make progress on them. BYLC used the classroom as a laboratory and experiential teaching methods to reinforce the theoretical framework of adaptive leadership. The programs also used a combination of large class discussions and small group peer consultations to teach students how to effectively diagnose problems and design interventions that stretched their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. BYLC believed that to transform a person, classroom training in and of itself might not be good enough to create change; action was important. Hence, in the second phase, BYLC assisted the students in designing and executing service projects for disadvantaged groups in local communities to translate their learning into action and promote active citizenship. The participants learned firsthand how to conduct a field survey, prepare a project plan, fundraise, implement a project, and organize documentation. The students also developed empathy and gained experience of working on the ground as a team.
The BBLT and BBLTJ programs focused on different facets of public leadership, and the programs were aimed at youth between the ages of 13 to 22. BYLC also maintained equal gender representation, as well as equal educational medium representation from the English medium, Bangla medium, and Madrasah educational backgrounds.
