A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony was held on March 24, 2021 (Wednesday) during 4-5 pm at the Department of Architecture (DoA), Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET). The MoA was signed between CARITAS Bangladesh (CB) as the implementing partner of the Homes and Community Project funded by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and DoA, Housing and Settlement Division (HSD) under the Research and Innovation Centre for Science and Engineering (RISE), BUET. Honourable Vice-Chancellor of BUET, Professor Dr Satya Prasad Majumder graced the event as the Chief Guest. Among the dignitaries present during the event are Mr Ranjon Francis Rozario (Executive Director, CB), Ms Snigdha Chakraborty (Country Manager, CRS), Prof. Dr. Muhammad Anisuzzaman Talukder (Director, RISE) and Prof. Dr. Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed (Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Planning). The Signing ceremony was moderated by Professor Dr Shayer Ghafur, Head, DoA.

Under the MoA, the research “Community Based Approaches and Local Materials and Techniques in the Disaster Resilient Shelters of Chittagong Hill Tracts Area” will be conducted by Dr. Catherine Daisy Gomes, Professor and Coordinator (HSD), as the Principal Investigator. Ar. Humayra Anan has been appointed as the Research Assistant. The seven months-long research will focus on Community Based Approach and Local materials and Techniques in the Chittagong Hill Tracts using Build Back Safer techniques for disaster resilient shelters. The research aims to understand the Community and Disaster Resilience of the shelters of 12 ethnic communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp and Monpura Island of Bangladesh by documenting, analyzing and creating evidence on Community Based Approaches and Build Back Safer. Cell for Resilient Dwelling (CeRD), within HSD, provides the research and collaboration platform by bridging the stakeholders for sharing knowledge and experience in home and abroad.