30 June 2010, Dhaka. BRAC and the European Union (EU) signed a Euro 5 million (BDT 400 million) agreement today for "Restoring socio-economic stability and strengthening community resilience in areas affected by cyclone AILA".  The EU support will help link the relief phase with the longer term reconstruction and development of the affected areas. 

The signatories were Dr Stefan Frowein, Head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh and Dr. Mahabub Hossain, Executive Director of BRAC.  

The EU support, being made available under its Instrument for Stability, will provide much-needed interventions to promote socio-economic stability and to strengthen the economic and physical resilience and protection of communities against future natural disasters.  Emergency support of Euro 9 million (BDT 720 million was provided earlier to AILA victims under ECHO. With this support EU continues to meet its responsibilities as a major donor during the post-AILA recovery period.

BRAC, which has been working continuously in the affected areas, will target its interventions to support poor small farmers and fishers, van pullers, small traders, homestead owners and landless day labourers over the next 18 months.

In comments made during the ceremony, Dr. Frowein said that "This additional support underlines the solidarity which the European Union has expressed with the government and the people of Bangladesh in the wake of this terrible natural disaster." and referred to the agreement with BRAC as "a competent partnership".

Dr. Hossain, in his speech, thanked EU for supporting the rehabilitation of AILA victims and noted with satisfaction the trust and confidence that BRAC had been able to earn from the EU through the effective implementation of a similar project for SIDR victims.  BRAC, he said, was fully committed to serving the AILA affected people with the same efficiency and zeal.

The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to stability and rehabilitation in the coastal areas of south-western Bangladesh that were devastated and damaged by cyclone AILA.

30 September 2009, Dhaka. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said he was “extremely impressed” by BRAC’s activities and outreach after meeting with BRAC Founder and Chairperson Fazle Hasan Abed at the Vancouver Peace Summit in September.

The Dalai Lama commented that Abed’s work, and the evolution of the organisation he started, exemplified the process by which “real change must start with individuals, then family, then community.” Abed shared his personal story and that of building BRAC during a private retreat at the peace summit, organised by the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education from Sept. 27-29.

His Holiness also expressed admiration for how the organisation is now able to export decades of expertise to other countries in need. He made the comments during an interview with Maria Shriver on the last day of the Summit.

The Summit centred around dialogue with the Dalai Lama, and brought together luminaries like former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Mary Robinson, religious scholar Karen Armstrong, First Lady of California Maria Shriver, and Nobel laureates Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams.

BRAC USA President and CEO Susan Davis moderated the Summit’s closing session, which focused on “Women and Peace Building.” Panellists discussed the vital, but often unrecognised role women play in advancing peace. They urged more investment in girls and women for greater participation in political office, and called for giving wider publicity to stories on how women are building peace.

The panel included His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Abed, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, Dr. Swanee Hunt of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Ela Bhatt - the founder of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and Emmy awarding-winning musician and co-chair of the NoVo Foundation Peter Buffett.

The session opened with a performance by composer and singer Peter Buffett and cellist Michael Kott. It included an original song, “Set Us Free,” which was inspired by a visit to BRAC`s programme for adolescent girls. It was accompanied by a video, which is available on  youtube as well as on http://blog4brac.blogspot.com/.