English 20170808 Lord Ahmed meets EDGE girls (4) 1600x900

The UK Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations - Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon visited the British Council, Dhaka office and met with the club peer leaders of English and Digital for Girls’ Education (EDGE) programme on Tuesday, 1 August 2017. Lord Ahmad expressed his views with EDGE girls regarding women empowerment.

The EDGE project develops English, digital and social awareness skills to adolescent girls from underprivileged village communities from India, Bangladesh and Nepal, who meet in after school clubs, facilitated by peer leaders. The EDGE programme, which started in 2012 in Bangladesh and later in 2015 was regionalised in India and Nepal, focuses on enhancing girls' English proficiency, digital and 21st-century skills, awareness of social issues and improving their leadership skills. Since its inception, the programme has opened 364 after-school clubs in Bangladesh and trained 799 peer group leaders to facilitate these clubs for over 8973 participants. The programme has operated in nine districts – Manikganj, Tangail, Gaibandha, Bogra, Sylhet, Chittagong, Khulna, Narshingdi, and Mymensingh.