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Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Embassy of Bangladesh

Paris, France

Date: Paris, Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Press Release

 

Subject: Bangladesh Embassy in Paris commemorated the Shaheed Dibosh and International Mother Language Day-2017

The Embassy of Bangladesh in Paris commemorated the Shaheed Dibosh & International Mother Language Day-2017 with due solemnity and fervor on Tuesday, 21 February 2017 on the Embassy premise, UNESCO Headquarters and with the Bangladeshi community in France.

Program at the Embassy

02.       The program at the Embassy began at 7:30am in the morning with the hoisting of the national flag at half-mast by the Ambassador to France, Mr. M. Shahidul Islam, at the Chancery premise. A make-shift Shaheed Minar was erected on the Embassy premise where expatriate Bangladeshis and the Ambassador and Embassy officials placed floral wreath to pay homage to the language martyrs. These were followed by recitation from holy books and observance of one minute silence showing respect to all the martyrs of the Language Movement in 1952. Messages on the occasion given by the Hon’ble President, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Foreign Minister and Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs were read out by the Ambassador, Commercial Counsellor Md. Firoz Uddin, First Secretary Mrs. Anisa R. Amin, and First Secretary Ms. Farhana Ahmed Chowdhury of this Embassy respectively.

03.       A special prayer session was offered seeking Almighty Allah’s blessings for the eternal peace of the soul of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the language martyrs and other martyrs during the War of Liberation as well as for the peace and prosperity of the country under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A large number of expatriate Bangladeshis including freedom fighters, politicians, media personalities, socio-cultural activists and other community members attended the Embassy event. Among the local Bangladeshi community leaders were: Mr. Benjeer Ahmed Selim, Mr. Nazimuddin Ahmed, Mr. Jamirul Islam Miah, Mr. Wahid Vir SA Taher, Mr. Abdullah Al Baki, Mr. Mohsin Uddin Khan Liton, Mr. Mojibur Rahman, Mr. Delwar Hossain Koyes, Dr. Abu Sayeed Jamal, Mr. Sikder Noor, Mr. Sunam Uddin Khalek, Mr. Mintu Md. Chowdhury, Mr. Shahjahan Rahman, Mr. Shagor Khan, Mr. Ashraful Islam, Professor Apu Alam, Mr. Shuvo Bhattacharja, Mr. Lutfor Rahman Babu, Mr. Anwar Hossain, Mr. Shamsul Islam, Mr. M Abdul Malik Himu, Mr. Ferdous Karim Akhunjee, Mr. Farid Ahamad Rony, Mr. Amdadul Hoq Swapon, Mr. Zafar Shah, Mr. Faisal Uddin. After completion of the day-long event at the Embassy, the participants were entertained by traditional Bangladeshi food.

Program at UNESCO Headquarters

04.       UNESCO, in collaboration with the Permanent Delegate of Bangladesh and International Organization of Francophone (OIF), organized a seminar titled "Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education" today.  The seminar was addressed by, among others, Director General of UNESCO; and the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UNESCO. In her speech, Director General of UNESCO, Ms. Irina Bokova praised the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and termed Bangladesh as “a champion partner of UNESCO in the celebration of the International Mother Language Day”. She mentioned that Bangladesh-UNESCO collaboration led to the establishment of the International Mother Language Institute as a UNESCO category 2 centre in Dhaka. She also highlighted the role of Jaago Foundation, an NGO from Bangladesh, which is a recipient of the 2016 UNESCO-King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for playing a pioneering role in the use of ICT in education. Bangladesh Ambassador to France & Permanent Representative to UNESCO Mr. M. Shahidul Islam spoke at the inaugural session highlighting the background and significance of the International Mother Language Day with a historic perspective and its relevance in today’s world. 

 

Bangladeshi community celebration

05.          A number of Bangladeshi socio-cultural and political organizations based in Paris organized different programs including book fair, cultural events and placing of floral wreath at temporary Shaheed Minar to pay homage to the language martyrs. The Embassy officials also attended those events and placed flower wreaths to pay respect to the language martyrs. 

Ambassador M. Shahidul Islam hoists national flag at half-mast at the Embassy on 21 February

UNESCO DG Ms. Irina Bokova and Ambassador Shahidul Islam seen at the International Mother Language Day Seminar at UNESCO on 21 February

Embassy officials and audience attending at the Embassy event on 21 February

Ambassador M. Shahidul Islam addresses at the Embassy on 21 February.

Expatriate Bangladeshis place flower wreath at the Shaheed Minar at the Emabssy on 21 February