Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury

I am a Deputy Secretary to the Government of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh and a Member of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) since 1995. I am currently working in the Embassy of Bangladesh to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg as a ‘First Secretary (Economic) and Head of Economic Wing’. I served the Government of Bangladesh in different capacities both in the policy level and in the implementation level between 1995 and 2012. Before coming to Brussels as a diplomat, I worked in the Macro-economic Wing of the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh. I received my education from Australia- the Australian National University (ANU) and Bangladesh- University of Chittagong (CU), Chittagong College and St Scholastica's Girls High School, Chittagong.

I am an Economist. My specialisation is in ‘dynamics’ and ‘resource economics’. My PhD topic at the ANU: ‘Essays on renewable resources management’ and waiting for the official award. I have two Master degrees in ‘Economics of Development’ and in ‘Economics’ from ANU and CU, respectively. I also have a Post Graduate Diploma degree in ‘Economics of Development’ from ANU and Bachelor of Honours degree in ‘Economics’ from CU. I have more than twelve years’ research experiences in the field of Economics including my work experience as a researcher in the ‘Australia Japan Research Centre’ at the ANU. I received acknowledgement in a number of international journal publications in the field of Economics for my significant contributions as research fellow and reviewer. I have been working as a 'Manuscript Reviewer' for the ‘Australian Journal of Agriculture and Resource Economics’ (AJARE) since 2010. I also have experiences in teaching at the ANU, Australia in different academic positions in the period 2001-03 and 2007-11. I received teaching evaluation marks above the ANU’s ‘bench mark marks’ in 2010. I am a member of International Economic Association (IEA); American Economic Association (AEA); Economic Society of Australia (ECOSOC); International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE); American Applied Economics Association (AAEA); European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) and Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) from 2007 to till date; and life member of Economic Society of Bangladesh, Chittagong University Branch.

I also have experiences in working at the ANU in the field of Administration and Leadership in different professional and leadership positions in the period 2001-03 and 2007-11. I had a significant contribution to the ANU as an international student and brought recognition and pride to Bangladesh during my time in ANU Australia by achieving a number of firsts: (1) the first Bangladeshi elected Vice President (2009) and elected President (2010) of the ANU Postgraduate and Research Student Association (PARSA) and elected Women Officer (2010) to the National Council of the Australian Post-graduate Association (CAPA); (2) the first Bangladeshi to serve as Chair of the ANU Postgraduate Research Council (2010) and served as a Committee member and Representative (2010) on the ANU’s different committees; (3) the first Bangladeshi student appointed Student Ambassador of the ANU College of Asia and Pacific (CAP) and appointed Secretary of the ANU Crawford School Student Association (2008); (4) the first Bangladeshi addressed the official closing ceremony of the ‘ALAs Leadership Conference 2007’ in Canberra with other two scholars from Indonesia and Cambodia (the conference was officiated by the Hon Greg Hunt MP and attended by representatives of Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates, Senior Australian Government Representatives, Aus AID Officials and 180 Australian Leadership Award (ALA) Scholars from 32 countries in the world).
 
I was recognised for my contributions to the ANU and received Vice Chancellor's Award (2003); ANU Crawford School’s Student Ambassador Award (2008); and Award from Honorable John Hargreaves MLA, Minister for Multicultural Affairs for my contribution to the National Multicultural Festival (2008). I have got coverage in the ANU’s ‘Annual Reports to ANU Council’ (2009); news coverage in the ANU Crawford School’s web site (2009); interviewed by the Bangla Radio Canberra, Australia (2009); photo coverage in the Aus AID’s ‘Australian Development Scholarships Handbook’ (each year, from 2009 to till date); interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Television News and ABC Radio (2010), invited by the VC to attend the ANU Chancellor the Hon Gareth Evans AO QC’s Installation Ceremony and spoke to the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce AC (2010); invited by the ANU Vice Chancellor to attend the official meeting with the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the ANU (2010); success story coverage in the Australian Government’s ‘website’ (2010 to till date) and in the Bangladesh Alumni Association’s Lunching Brochure (2013) published by the Australian Government. I also served as an Executive Member of ANU Bangladesh Student Association (2002-03); Executive Member of Bangladesh Student Association Canberra (2002-03); Convener of Student Association Publication Committee of Department of Economics, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh (1993-95).

I received nine professional trainings from overseas institutions including IMF Institute Singapore; Australian National University (ANU), Australia; University of Queensland (UQ), Australia; Aus AID, Australia; WTO, Switzerland; DANIDA Fellowship Centre, Denmark and AIT, Bangkok. I also received fourteen professional trainings from Bangladesh including Bangladesh Institute of Management; World Bank, Dhaka; Ministry of Planning ; British Council, Dhaka; Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka, FAO and INFOFISH; Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; UNFPA, Dhaka; Ministry of Public Administration and 6 months ‘Certificate Course on English Language’ (1995) from University of Chittagong.

I am a recipient of IMF Fellowship from IMF Institute Washington D.C. (2012- declined due to Brussels posting); Crawford Grant from ANU, Australia (2010); Australian Leadership Award (2007), Endeavour Postgraduate Award (2007- declined) and Australian Development Scholarship (2001) from the Australian Government; WTO Grant (2006) from WTO, Switzerland; Danida Fellowship (2005) and Grant (2005) from the Royal Danish Government, Denmark; Primary to Graduate Scholarship (1980-1991). I am also a recipient of Turner's Kids-matter Team Award (2008) Canberra, Swim and Survive-Swim Star Award (2007) from Royal Live Saving Society of Australia and some other awards and certificates from GoB and other international organisations for my language literature, cultural and sports activities.

I am married to Dr Zia Ul Answar Chowdhury, a member of Bangladesh Civil Service (Health) and a Consultant Doctor in the field of 'Ear-Nose-Throat Disease and Head-Neck Surgery'. I am a mother of two children, daughter- Nahiyan Bushra Chowdhury (16 years)- a recipient of 28 Awards (including Gold, Silver and Bronze) and son- Ariq Nawal Chowdhury (14 years)- a recipient of 21 Awards (including Gold and Bronze), in recognition of their academic, sports and cultural performances.

I am a daughter of Ms Lutfa Suraiya Chowdhury and Late Badiul Alam Chowdhury, who was a renown 'Bhasha Soinik'(active organizer of protests and activities during the Language Movement in 1952), politician (actively involved with 'Jukta Front', contributed to the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 and participated in the National Parliament Election of Bangladesh in 1979 from Chittagong-8 Constituency) and social worker (founder of a number of educational institutions and social organisations, actively involved with lots of organisation).