The Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), as a part of its microfinance and other development activities, has been organising Development Fairs on regular basis. As a consequence to that effort and also on the occasion of completing 23 years of its establishment, PKSF organised the Development Fair 2013 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) during 12-16 May 2013.
A total of 76 organisations (including PKSF and InM) participated at the Development Fair. The participants were mostly the Partner Organisations (POs) of PKSF working in the microfinance sector along with other organisations from various fields. The fair was open to all from 10:00 am to 08:30 pm each day. People from all sectors like researchers, microfinance experts, development professionals, policymakers, sociologists and practitioners visited the 5-day long Fair. It also became colourful as the POs of PKSF displayed different products produced by the beneficiaries at the Fair.
Earlier, on 13 February 2013, H. E. Sheikh Hasina, Hon’ble Prime Minister, GoB, inaugurated PKSF’s Development Fair 2013 in the Grand Ball Room of Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka through a grand gala inaugural ceremony.
The first day of the fair was initiated with a seminar titled: “Inspiring Innovative Activities” from 10:30 AM to 01:00 PM and the Fair formally started after that. Apart from the regular discussions on microcredit, 06 (six) seminars were conducted on significant national, social, economic and development issues and there were regular cultural programmes in the evening which made the Fair more colourful and vibrant. Eminent researchers, scholars, and development practitioners were present as keynote speakers at the seminars. Honourable ministers from related ministries of the Government, Members of the Parliament (MPs), and other related high officials were present as Chief Guest and Special Guests at the event. Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Chairman, PKSF and InM and other Board Members of PKSF and InM also present at the 5-day long event.
The main interest of InM for participating at the Fair was to use this platform to have a proper exposure and let people know about InM’s research, training, capacity building and knowledge management activities. InM displayed all of its publications and media programmes, and also distributed leaflets describing its activities such as its various research studies on poverty reduction and social development, customised training programmes and intellectual properties . As an act of branding, this helped InM to familiarise its name to the mass people who visited the Fair.
The Chairman, InM, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, and the Board Members and high officials of InM along with the new MD of PKSF Mr. Md. Abdul Karim, and immediate past Managing Directors of PKSF Dr. Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, along with other PKSF senior officials visited InM stall and praised its effort for disseminating its activities for mass people.
InM showcased its knowledge products at the Fair. The publications displayed at the stall created immense interests among people for its diversified topics.
The audio visual clips (“Rupantar”, “Tritio Matra” and “Environmental Development and Poverty Reduction") from different TV programmes developed and sponsored by InM, and different InM seminar footages were displayed at the backdrop of the stall also created interest among people about InM’s media relations and advocacy activities.