The four-day ISAME Forum of Lions International began in Dhaka on Friday.
Bangladesh this year is hosting this event after 20 years.
The event will be held at InterContinental Dhaka in the city till December 18, organisers said at a media briefing at the hotel.
Each year the "India, South Asia, and the Middle East (ISAME) Forum" is held in different districts of different ISAME countries where lions meet at the same place to foster friendship and fellowship, exchange ideas and plan for future programmes.
More than 800 delegates from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa, and 350 delegates from Bangladesh will attend the event.
The Lions International has consultative status with the UN, and it is the largest voluntary service organisation in the world since 1917, spread over 210 countries with 1.4 million Lions and Leos working together for communities in need.
In India, South Asia, and the Middle East (ISAME), many Lions and Leos work together for the same cause, they said.
Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury addressed the inaugural season as the chief guest.
Lions International President Dr Patti Hill and LCIF chairperson Brian E. Sheehan, among others, were present.
At the Dhaka Forum, there are 16 seminars to be held in four tracks simultaneously on December 16 and 17.
Prof Atiur Rahman, former Bangladesh Bank governor, and Saima Wazed, World Health Organization regional director for South-East Asia, will address the seminars, among others.
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