Runa Khan is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur[1] and the founder and executive director of Friendship NGO.[2] Friendship is based on Khan's model of "integrated development," meaning it addresses problems in multiple sectors, including health, education, disaster management and economic development in communities where it is involved, rather than specializing in one of these.[3] Khan won the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2006[4] for work through Friendship to preserve the declining craft of traditional boat building in Bangladesh.[5]
Runa Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 17 November 1958 |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Occupation | Social Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder, Friendship (NGO) |
In 1996 Khan established Contic as a tourism company which gives tours on traditional wooden boats.[4] Earlier, she wrote text-books for children with the aim of moving away from rote learning, an effort that won her the Ashoka Fellowship in 1994.[6] She is the Country Chair for Bangladesh at Global Dignity.[7]
Early life and education
editKhan was born on November 17, 1958, to an aristocratic family descended from the zamindars or landowners of Bengal.[8] She studied at the Dhaka Preparatory and Farmview International Schools. She went on to study geography at the Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata and did a second BA in humanities from the Eden Mohila College in Dhaka.[8][6] Runa Khan's grandparents came from a privileged background. Her mother's family was originally from Afghanistan. They were descendants of the Karranis, the last dynasty of the 16th-century Bengal Sultanate.[9] When she was as young as 9, Runa's father, Alim Khan, used to receive Zen monks, Hindu priests, Taizé Brothers and ambassadors for dinner and include her in conversations about music and philosophy.[9]
Khan was first married at the age of 20 to one of her direct cousins, and had two children before that marriage ended.[10] Runa Khan wanted to continue her work and studies in geography. But her first husband did not allow her to do that.[9]
Later, in 1996, she married French adventurer and sailor Yves Marre, who brought to Bangladesh the river barge that would eventually become the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital.[10] Runa had a son, Jean, with Yves in 1998. Eventually, in 2019, this couple got separated.[9]
Career
editIn 1988, Khan started a boutique to provide work for Biharis and indigenous Bangladeshis.[8] In 1992 she joined her family printing business. In 1995 she founded a security company.[8] In 1994 Yves Marre arrived in Bangladesh with a retired river barge which he wanted to donate to a charitable cause. Khan's father first suggested converting it into a hospital. Khan created Friendship to carry out the project.[11] The hospital ship was located to cater to the inhabitants of char areas, or regions with continuously moving landscapes, which were deprived of usual government infrastructure.[12][13] Friendship NGO plans to launch 5 more hospital ships.[9][14]
Runa Khan was awarded as a Social Entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation in 2012 at the “Meeting of New Champions” in Tianjin.[15] In 2008, Khan won the IDB Prize for Women’s Contribution to Development.[16] In 2016, she was awarded the Green Award by Positive Planet.[17]
In 2019 she started the lifestyle brand Friendship Colours of the Chars, a leading slow fashion brand in Bangladesh, featuring products made by women in char communities. FCOC now has 3 retail outlets—1 in Luxembourg and 2 in Dhaka—and exports products to France, New Zealand and the USA. [18][19]
An interview of Runa Khan was published by Harvard Business School in 2019 as part of a series of conversations with Harvard faculty titled Creating Emerging Markets. [20]
On September 11, 2023 Runa Khan hosted the French president, Emmanuel Macron on Friendship's traditional panshi boat, the Flèche d'Or, the largest and one of the last of its kind, during an official visit to the country.[21] They were accompanied by climate scientist Saleemul Huq, high-ranking government officials of Bangladesh and France, and young climate activists on the boat trip, which cruised the Turag River. During the ride, Macron and his fellow tourists discussed climate initiatives and the commitments the president had made to his counterpart Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in his visit.[22]
Works
editThe Flower Maiden and Other Stories and Rani Kanchan Mala and Other Stories were two collections of fairy tales published by The University Press Limited in 2000. The stories are based on traditional Bangladeshi folk tales, including some from Thakurmar Jhuli.[23]
Beyond the North-South Dichotomy was a chapter in Reimagining Civil Society Collaborations in Development, published by Routledge in 2023.[24]
References
edit- ^ Khan, Maliha (14 July 2017). "Can business and social change be compatible?". The Daily Star. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ Brinded, Lianna (27 January 2016). "This social entrepreneur told us why businesses should see charities as service providers". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ "New models of working and partnership in development: the example of Friendship, a Bangladeshi organisation". ALTERNATIVES HUMANITAIRES. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Rolex Awards for Enterprise". Rolex Awards for Enterprise : Runa Khan : Overview. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ Strauss, Gary (17 November 2016). "Anchoring Bangladesh's Ancient Boatbuilding Technology". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Runa Khan: Ashoka Fellow". Ashoka. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ^ "Bangladesh | Global Dignity". Global Dignity. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d "'People can live with poverty, but they cannot live without dignity and hope'". Dhaka Tribune. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Defranoux, Laurence (26 December 2019). "Runa Khan, elle a bons fonds". Libération (in French). Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ a b Warren, Katherine (22 March 2013). "Floating Health Care: Runa Khan has a Simple Solution to Bangladeshi Development". Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Chandan, Md Shahnawaz Khan (15 January 2016). "For the Right to Live with Hope and Dignity". The Daily Star. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Hammond, Claudia (23 February 2008). "The chance to see in Bangladesh". Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Husein, Naushad Ali (28 April 2017). "The moving islands of the Jamuna". The Daily Star. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Karim, Naimul (22 May 2019). "In climate change-hit Bangladesh, hospital boats keep healthcare afloat". Reuters. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "All awardees". Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Celebrating Women's Success: IDB Prize for Women's Contribution to Development. Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Islamic Development Bank. pp. 28–29.
- ^ "Positive Planet: un monde meilleur pour les générations futures – Pluton Magazine" (in French). Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Friendship Colours: Beauty and skills from the Chars". The Business Standard. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Iqbal, Maisha Tarannum (27 November 2022). "A Night of Traditions: Fashion show by Friendship Colours of the Chars". The Daily Star. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Runa Khan - Creating Emerging Markets - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ Report, Star Digital (11 September 2023). "Macron goes on Turag river cruise". The Daily Star. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ Huq, Saleemul (13 September 2023). "Macron's support for an 'adaptation pact' with Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Runa Khan Marre | The University Press Limited". www.uplbooks.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "Reimagining Civil Society Collaborations in Development: Starting from the South". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 27 March 2023.