Leaders in Public Service: An evening at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

If one had walked into the conference room of the Meghna State Guest House on the evening of the August 17, one would be mistaken to think this was business as usual. The table was alive with discussion and debate. Words like ride-sharing, apps, social media virality and solar micro-grids bounced around. It was a session hosted by the Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and moderated by Ambassador Riaz Hamidullah that brought together the Global Shapers of the Dhaka Hub and the latest cadre of young officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Shapers of the Dhaka Hub come from a variety of backgrounds but the public sector is unfortunately underrepresented in our cohorts (we are actively trying to rectify this and this event is part of that effort). So this was a great opportunity for us to exchange views with our peers from the public sector. Likewise, it was also an opportunity for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which draws the brightest of our youth, to learn about the different initiatives the Hub and individual Shapers are working on.
The Hub shared the progress of our news aggregator portal BDunplugged.com which was launched in collaboration with the Bangladesh High Comission in SriLanka, under the mentorship of Ambassador Riaz Hamidullah, as way to collect positive news about our country to showcase to the world. We brainstormed ideas about to build more traction around the website and how it could be useful to the public sector.
The table spend some time discussing innovation in government, especially in light of the rapidly changing technology driven world we are in right now. On one hand, the the public sector is needed to provide structure and consistency for the private and non-profit sectors to thrive but on the other hand it is now also expected to be equally adept at rapid problem solving. This issue of exponential technology growth requiring a fundamentally new set of human capital skills is a big focus of the World Economic Forum’s thought leadership right now.
The evening concluded in high spirits with a hearty dinner and inspiring words of the Foreign Secretary who encouraged youth to be bold, innnovative and find passion in whatever we do whether in the pubic, private or non-profit sectors. The Dhaka Hub is really grateful for the hostpitality of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and looks forward to engaging further!
The Global Shapers Community is an initiative of the World Economic Forum and is “a network of dynamic, entrepreneurial and socially-engaged young leaders between the ages of 20 and 30 from across the world”. The Dhaka Hub was established in 2014 and currently has 29 active Shapers who are working to create a more inclusive Dhaka. Follow us on on Facebook and Twitter.
