Play store
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Bangladesh Office organised the KOICA-NGO Partnership Enhancement Workshop 2026, bringing together representatives of partner organisations to promote peer learning, knowledge exchange and community-led approaches to sustainable development.
Representatives from ADRA, Global Care, Heart to Heart Foundation, Oxfam, Save the Children and Concern Worldwide, along with KOICA’s local partner Jagrata Juba Shanga (JJS), participated in the workshop. BRAC joined the event as a guest organisation.
The workshop provided a platform for participating organisations to share experiences and lessons from their respective projects and field-level interventions, with a particular focus on locally led solutions and stronger community ownership.
The event also marked the conclusion of a peer-learning process in which participating organisations visited one another’s projects and field interventions. During the workshop, they shared key lessons from the visits, as well as insights from their own programmes, ground-level experiences and good practices.
The discussions allowed participants to learn from a range of community-based approaches and explore how successful practices could be adapted and integrated to make development interventions more relevant, responsive and sustainable.
One participant said the peer-learning experience had broadened their perspective on community-led approaches and provided new ideas for making interventions more responsive to the needs of the communities they serve.
The initiative supports KOICA’s broader objective in Bangladesh of promoting sustainable economic growth and improving the socio-economic environment. Through peer learning and knowledge exchange among organisations working in areas including health, education, climate resilience, livelihoods and social development, KOICA seeks to encourage inclusive, locally responsive and sustainable approaches to community development.
In his remarks, Jihoon Kim, Country Director of the KOICA Bangladesh Office, said, “KOICA aims to bring together the strengths of civil society and diverse stakeholders to deliver more effective, sustainable and inclusive development outcomes in Bangladesh.”
He also underscored the importance of sustaining successful approaches beyond the project period by strengthening community ownership and local capacity and developing stronger linkages with government institutions, local governments and other relevant stakeholders.
Hyunwoo Yang, Deputy Country Director of the KOICA Bangladesh Office, highlighted KOICA’s evolving development cooperation priorities and strategic direction in Bangladesh, including potential areas of future engagement and upcoming project initiatives.
Sujin Kong, another Deputy Country Director of the KOICA Bangladesh Office, also contributed to the discussions and exchange of experiences among the participating organisations.
The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to continued peer learning, knowledge exchange and collaboration between KOICA and civil society organisations to promote sustainable, community-led development in Bangladesh.
Established in 1991 to support the economic and social development of developing countries, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is South Korea’s development cooperation organisation. It implements bilateral country programmes and development consulting initiatives, as well as global programmes covering overseas volunteering, fellowship programmes, multilateral cooperation with international organisations, public-private partnerships and development innovation.
KOICA also provides humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as part of its development cooperation activities.
