Bhubaneswar: Bibhu Prasad Sahu is the first Odia civil society leader to be selected under the “Transparency and Accountability in Government” theme of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program.
Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience this country first-hand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Professional meetings reflect the participants’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States.
The theme will examine how transparency and accountability in government ensure public trust in the integrity and fairness of elected officials and public servants. In addition to highlighting mechanisms for transparency in government in the United States, the project will address the roles of civil society and the media as watchdogs and catalysts for the creation and maintenance of transparent and accountable government. This will incorporate case studies that illustrate whistle blower protections and current and ongoing transparency investigations.
Bibhu Prasad Sahu is the founder of Youth for Social Development (YSD), a grass root non-profit development organisation working on issues of governance, accountability, citizen participation, child rights and youth development and climate justice since 2006.
He holds an MPhil degree in Economics and has rich professional experience in the development sector, having worked with community organizations, civil society and public agencies on issues related to governance, social accountability, transparency, government reform, child and youth development and climate justice.
Bibhu was recognized as a roster expert on social accountability tools by the Global Partnership for Social Accountability of the World Bank in 2013. He was a short term consultant for the virtual learning program on social accountability tools of accountable governance program at the World Bank Institute in 2011.
He will be visiting Washington DC, Springfield, Jacksonville, Portland and Chicago during March-April’2019 along with his fellow leaders from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives.