The Retreat and Year Planning Workshop 2025, organized by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), was a multi-day reflective and strategic planning initiative aimed at strengthening organizational vision, team cohesion, and programmatic direction for the year ahead. Held at the CCDB Hope Foundation in Savar, Dhaka, the workshop brought together ESDO staff from diverse projects and roles to engage in collective learning and planning under the theme “From Reflection to Action: Pathways to a Toxic-Free Future.”
The workshop opened with welcome remarks by Dr. Shahriar Hossain, Secretary General of ESDO, who highlighted the importance of reflection, strategic alignment, and forward-looking planning in addressing emerging environmental and policy challenges. Throughout the event, participants took part in guided reflection sessions, contextual analyses, project reviews, leadership dialogues, capacity-building exercises, and team-building activities. These engagements enabled a critical assessment of achievements in 2025 while strengthening individual skills, institutional learning, and cross-project collaboration.
The retreat was further enriched by thematic and knowledge-sharing sessions facilitated by Dr. Mahfuza Parveen, Executive Member of ESDO and Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science & Disaster Management, Daffodil International University. Her contributions reinforced the linkages between environmental health, social justice, and policy advocacy. Strategic discussions led by the Executive Committee emphasized organizational vision, accountability, internal culture, and ESDO’s positioning within the evolving environmental governance landscape.
Guided by a structured reflection-to-action approach, the workshop transitioned from institutional learning to the formulation of concrete, project-based quarterly action plans. These plans defined priorities, responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms to steer ESDO’s initiatives through 2026.
The workshop concluded with remarks from Siddika Sultana, Executive Director of ESDO, who summarized the key outcomes and reaffirmed the organization’s shared commitment to evidence-based advocacy, environmental justice, and the realization of a toxic-free future.
