BRAC Development Institute (BDI), BRAC University, organized a two day international conference in Dhaka, titled “Transcending Binaries: Islam and Politics in South Asia”, on the 18th and 19th of December, 2010. The BDI conference critically reflected on the institutional and non-institutional ways in which Islam increasingly presents itself in the public space in South Asia. It aimed to understand the ideas through which Islamic appeal is generated, and through which Islam stakes its claims on modern nation states and their citizens. The conference had two objectives. The first, to understand people’s engagement with Islam and second, to expand the concepts and analyses that can assist in developing a democratic and progressive strategy of engagement. Dr Mashiur Rahman, Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister on Economic Affairs inaugurated the conference. Professor Saba Mahmood, University of California at Berkeley was the keynote speaker at the inaugural session. Tariq Ali gave a speech via videoconference live from London, on the Clash of Fundamentalisms. Professor Gowher Rizvi, Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister on International Affairs gave the closing presentation.

From May 2009, BRAC Development Institute and the Department of Architecture, BRAC University, are offering an intensive three-month postgraduate certificate course on Management of Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (MLARR). First of its kind in Bangladesh and among a very few worldwide, the course introduces concepts of land management, sustainable development and involuntary resettlement as well as tools and techniques for social impact assessments and resettlement planning. The course is offered to professionals, graduate and postgraduate students from various academic backgrounds including urban planning, engineering, environment science, social sciences and overall project management. For more information on certification course, please visit the MLARR course page.