The 23rd International Dialogue Program, jointly organized by Grameen Trust and Grameen Bank was held from August 3-15 1997, in Bangladesh.. Twelve participants from Bangladesh, India, Guatemala, Nepal, Pakistan,Philippines , and Zambia, took part in the Dialogue.
The participants spent six days at Grameen Bank branches to observe closely the formation and functioning of groups, training of the group members and day to day operations of the bank branches. They met Grameen members and intensively interacted with them. They also visited the Area and Zonal Offices and attended some of the workshops for GB borrowers.
On their return the participants shared their experiences relating to field level operations and processes of Grameen Bank and their impact on the lives of the rural poor. Mr Gil Lacson, Assistant Executive Director, TSPI (the Philippines) and Dr Humaira Islam, Executive Director, Shakti Foundation (Bangladesh) as resource persons, made presentations on their experience in replicating the Grameen system in their countries. The final two days were spent in group discussions and preparation of action plans in which each participant expressed his/her views regarding the relevance of Grameen Approach and the feasibility of its replication in their home country.
A number of participants have already formulated preliminary proposals to initiate pilot projects on their return home with support from Grameen Trust.