If you are a Bangladeshi, whether you are sitting in a library in Toronto or stuck in your apartment in Dhaka - this write-up is for you. This year Bangladesh has celebrated its 50 years of independence. For a country it's not a long time, but we have successfully rewritten our story. Once described as a bottomless basket by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, currently Bangladesh is recognized as the new Asian Tiger. You may have heard that our government has signed a deal with CNN International for the promotion of "Made in Bangladesh '' products and branding Bangladesh. I know, I know- what a waste of money, right? What if I told you, it's not? What if I told you-telling the right story in the right way is worth spending money for? Why? Let me get to that in a minute.
Why do we need to change the global narrative?
Changing our global narrative should be one of our priorities right now. Perception matters and we can control how the world perceives us by changing our narrative. We need to be excellent at storytelling. Why? The most obvious reasons would be - economic. Think about it- aesthetic videos featuring our touristy spots will bring more tourists. Our startups giving high returns to global investors? That brings more investments. We talk about our skilled RMG workers and technology? That brings in more orders. Bangladesh having a strong brand that people view positively, increases our global appeal and acceptance. A positive country branding brings money and economic growth but it has other aspects to it. It makes our lives better. How many times were you looked down upon in the airport queue or had difficulty getting a visa only because you are a Bangladeshi? A good global narrative makes the lives of our NRBs and our students studying abroad a little bit easier. It makes every Bangladeshi a little more confident in being themselves.
Building the brand
The best way to combat the negatives is to build on the positives. And boy, do we have positive stories! Over the past five decades, Bangladesh has transformed itself from being an economic "basket case" to one of the fastest growing economies in the world. After independence in 1971, we were incredibly poor, devastated by floods and famine. But today we have graduated from the group of the least developed countries (LDCs) to a developing country. We have outpaced our giant neighbor India in many indices of economic or human development and even surpassed it in terms of per capita income. We have been demonstrating an incredible rate of economic growth over the last decade. A recent heroic tale would be that of the covid-19 issue -something that has impacted the whole world. Bangladesh has been more resilient than many countries to Covid-19 shocks. We are one of the few countries that were able to maintain growth in 2020. Bangladesh's deployment of the vaccine has been phenomenal. In fact, our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been named among the top three inspirational women leaders who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. These are the stories that need to go out there, not the poverty porn.
Showcasing our culture and talents
Let’s be honest- there is not a single kid that goes abroad for higher education that doesn't miss Bangladeshi Food. Our spicy Chotpoti and fuchka is unforgettable. Fakhruddin’s kachchi Biryani? Out of this world. Our Moslin-soft and Luxury itself, in a fabric form. We have a rich and beautiful culture- why not flaunt it? Let's take a moment to hype our girl Kishwar Chowdhury. Kishwar has taken our ‘Fuchka’ and ‘Pantaa Bhaat’ to Bangladeshi MasterChef Australia and even made it to the finals! Here is a piece of news that you might not have heard- Julia Roberts will star in a new Netflix film called ‘ Leave the World Behind’ which is based on an upcoming novel by Rumaan Alam, a Bangladeshi writer. And of course, we made it to the Cannes! For the first time our film ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’, directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad, screened at the 74th Cannes Film Festival's prestigious 'Un Certain Regard' section . And guess what? The film has received 'Standing Ovation' from the audiences. If South Korea can take over the world with BTS, there is no reason we cannot do that with our culture and talents. But of course, we have to showcase them in the right way.
For the startups, by the startups
Remember at the beginning I said how a new narrative can help our startups? On the flipside, our startups can help the narrative as well. We are only halfway through 2021, and already we have received over 36 million USD in funding. Though it is a good amount compared to what we have raised in the previous years, but looking at our regional peers-we can (and we must) do better.Which is exactly why we need to spread the positive stories. Currently our ecosystem has over 1,200+ active Startups and they have generated employment for 1.5 million+ people. And the best thing? This is just the beginning of an amazing era. Half of our population is aged under 30 and that means we have a huge pool of people ready to take risks and do new things. Social media can be a great place to talk, let us talk about our startups. Tell people how Pathao has provided employment to thousands of youth or how children living on hills of Bandarban can learn English and Science, thanks to Robi 10 Minute School. But of course, to take full advantage of the opportunities, we have to find really big problems and provide world class solutions. If we can do that-in the next 5-10 years, Bangladesh will be one of the best places to invest in. Who knows, maybe we can be the next Indonesia? Highly ambitious but not impossible.
Okay, enough of my rambling. Why did I blabble for so long? Because I believe, as individuals, you and I have responsibilities. We have responsibilities towards our younger brothers and sisters, toward our nephews and nieces. This is our time to be loud and get our stories heard. Let us tell a story that makes us and our next generation beam with pride and say, “I am Bangladeshi”.
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