Foreign-Affairs
Great Language Martyrs’ Day, International Mother Language Day observed in Seoul
The great Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day was observed in a befitting manner in Seoul on Tuesday with the participation of the international community and expatriate Bangladeshi nationals living in the Republic of Korea.
On this occasion, the Embassy in collaboration with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) organized a programme at the KNCU premises in Seoul.
Senior officials from the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, Ambassadors and other diplomats from different embassies, members of civil society, members of different social and cultural organizations and the representatives of the leading print and electric media took part in the event.
During the event, Bangladesh Ambassador Delwar Hossain delivered opening remarks and the Secretary General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO Dr Kyung Koo Han delivered welcome remarks.
Ambassador Delwar Hossain paid profound tribute to the language martyrs of 1952.
Read more: International Mother Language Day: Tribute from UN in Bangladesh in many languages
He also recalled with deep reverence the outstanding contribution of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in organizing the Language Movement in 1952 and subsequently steering the nation to independence in 1971.
He highlighted the background of International Mother Language Day and the initiatives taken by the government of Bangladesh for the protection and promotion of mother languages and culture of minor ethnic communities in the country.
The Secretary-General of KNCU Dr Han referred to the commonality in the history of the two countries’ struggle to preserve the dignity of their respective mother languages.
He underscored the need for concerted international efforts in the promotion and protection of the mother languages and cultural heritages.
The envoys of India, Indonesia and Sierra Leone and the President of the Joint Board of South and North Korea for the Compilation of Gyeoremal-keunsajeon delivered keynote speeches highlighting the initiatives of their respective governments in the promotion of multilingualism and multiculturalism.
The keynote speech session was followed by a colourful cultural programme.
The performers from Bangladesh, India, Korea and Colombia enthralled the audience through their performances portraying the rich linguistic & cultural heritage of their respective countries.
Ambassador Delwar Hossain hoisted the national flag at half-mast at the Embassy premises with the presence of Embassy officials and the expatriate Bangladeshis.
A one-minute silence was observed to honor the language martyrs followed by an offering of special prayer for the salvation of the departed souls of language martyrs and for the continued peace and prosperity of the country. Following this, the Embassy officers read out the messages of the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs. Then, a documentary on the great Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day was screened. Discussions were held on the historic background and significance of the day.
Earlier, at the first hour of the day, Ambassador Delwar Hossain paid homage to the language martyrs by placing floral wreaths at Shaheed Minar established at the Multicultural Park in Ansan city.
UL Solutions delegation meets BGMEA President
A delegation of UL Solutions, a leading safety science company, has met with BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and discussed possible collaboration in providing safety solutions and services to garment factories in Bangladesh.
The delegation from UL Solutions, led by Charan Singh, Senior Director, Regional Operations, also included Golam Sarwar, Country Manager, UL Bangladesh, Sharif Mollah, Business Development Manager, Emerging Markets, and Rashed Ahmed, Head of Business, UL Bangladesh.
BGMEA Director Neela Hosna Ara was also present at the meeting held at BGMEA Complex in Uttara, Dhaka on February 20.
They discussed how UL Solutions support Bangladeshi garment factories in remaining up to the mark in terms of industry safety requirements.
The discussion also focused on how UL Solutions could support the factories in maintaining compliance with regulations and standards and reducing environmental impacts of their operations.
UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings that support customers’ product innovation and business growth.
International Mother Language Day: Tribute from UN in Bangladesh in many languages
In a video published on February 21, on the United Nations in Bangladesh official Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts, the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, together with the staff of the UN in Bangladesh, representing various foreign and indigenous languages of different states and parts of the country wished the people of Bangladesh a happy International Mother Language Day.
On the same day, the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Officer-in-charge Dr Susan Vize wrote an op-ed on the importance of International Mother Language Day and its legacy.
"On 21 February, we mark International Mother Language Day, a celebration of the world’s linguistic and socio-cultural diversity. We are particularly honoured to mark this day here in Bangladesh as the 21st February is also a worldwide tribute to the people of Bangladesh who have courageously fought for recognition of the Bangla language.”
“Embracing and protecting our linguistic diversity must be reinforced by not allowing anyone to use language as a tool to provoke conflicts and any forms of discrimination.
“It is important to respect all languages: big and small, widely and less spoken, indigenous and foreign.
Read more: Making Bangla UN's official language involves huge money: Shahriar Alam
“The diversity of languages is vital in intercultural dialogue to build inclusive societies”
“On behalf of the staff of the UN in Bangladesh, representing foreign and indigenous languages of different states and parts of the country from Teknaf to Panchagarh we wish the people of Bangladesh a happy International Mother Language Day. The day the country courageously fought for, and the legacy of which should not be forgotten," Gwyn Lewis and Susan Vize said in the op-ed on International Mother Language Day published on 21 February.
Making Bangla UN's official language involves huge money: Shahriar Alam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said that Bangladesh would renew its efforts for making Bangla one of the official languages of the United Nations when the global body will go through a greater reform.
Read more: Ambassador Lee visits Matarbari Coal-powered Plant to observe South Korean company’s construction work
He said there is huge involvement of funds in the process, and it needs to think whether spending such a huge amount of money every year will be logical at this moment though they have the love, respect and desire for Bangla to become UN’s official language.
“We thought about it and worked on it. We estimated around five to six years ago that it will require Tk 800 crore annually,” Shahriar told reporters after attending a programme at Foreign Service Academy marking the International Mother Language Day.
He hoped that Bangladesh will have that capacity but at this moment, opinions might not be there in favour of such a plan.
The United Nations has six official languages — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Earlier in February 2021, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said there is no opposition from the member countries to Bangla as another official language of the United Nations, but the UN has said it does not have money to fund it.
The UN authorities have said they would need $600 million per year for making a new official language functional in the UN system, he said.
Bangla should be named an official United Nations language to reflect the vast number of its speakers and its heritage in literature and history, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the UN General Assembly in 2010.
“Since Bangla [also known as Bengali] is spoken by nearly 300 million people worldwide, has a rich history in literature, history and in other fields. Our Parliament adopted a resolution requesting the UN to declare Bangla as one of its official languages,” she said. “I fervently appeal to you all for acceptance of our very legitimate request.”
Ambassador Lee visits Matarbari Coal-powered Plant to observe South Korean company’s construction work
South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has visited the project site in Matarbari Coal-powered Plant to observe the work being done by 75 Korean engineers and to encourage them.
He was briefed on the progress by project managers, listened to the challenges faced by the South Korean firm POSCO E&C, and discussed solutions to overcome them.
During the visit on Monday, Ambassador Lee said that South Korean companies are actively involved in major infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, including Taeyoung E&C’s involvement in the Bhandal Juri water supply project and Samsung C&T’s role in the construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s Terminal 3.
Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic during the launch of these projects, they have received high commendation from Bangladesh authorities for their punctuality and high-quality outputs, he added. South Korean companies are anticipated to expand their operations in major infrastructure construction projects in Bangladesh.
The Matarbari Coal-fired Power Plant project is expected to improve electricity supply in the region, thus supporting economic development of Bangladesh and well-being of the people, said the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday.
According to the South Korean corporation, POSCO E&C, the construction of the coal-fired power plant is on schedule and 95.9% of the construction has been completed as of February 2023.
The Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal Fired Power Plant Project involves building a coal-fired power plant with the capacity of generating 1,200 megawatts (MW) of power and affiliated facilities over a period of seven years with the funding provided by JICA.
Japan’s Sumitomo, Toshiba, and IHI are collaborating as a consortium to implement the project, with POSCO E&C subcontracted to construct the major part of the plant.
As part of its commitment to supporting the region’s economy, POSCO E&C has employed some 4,000 local workers daily on average.
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of the coal-powered plant began in March 2020 and proceeded without delay.
In order to meet the completion target, POSCO E&C has worked day and night without day-offs since the project inception, said the South Korean Embassy.
It is anticipated that the first unit of the Matarbari coal-powered plant will start commercial production in January 2024, with the second unit following in July of the same year.
Bangladesh wants "more inclusive, equitable" world that respects every language
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam today reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment towards a “more inclusive and equitable” world, where every language is valued and respected.
“Our world is incredibly diverse, with people from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds living and working together. However, this diversity can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and conflicts, which can create division and tension,” he said.
“It is crucial that we work towards creating cultural and linguistic harmony. May the spirit of February 21 be transfused among all,” he added.
Shahriar Alam was speaking at a programme on the occasion of Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day.
Bangladeshi expats in Los Angeles donate for Turkey's earthquake victims
Bangladesh Association of Los Angeles (BALA) has donated essential goods and cash to the earthquake-hit people of Turkey.
The expat association made the donation at a recent virtual meeting presided over by its president Syed M Hossain Babu while it was attended, among others, by Maqsuda Yasmin, Zayedul Mahmud Jami, Rabeya Zahid, Dr. Mohammad Sirajullah, Zillur Rahman Niru,
The association leaders expressed their gratitude to all members and non-members who extended their hand of cooperation to make the proposed donation a reality.
BSF hands over body of Bangladeshi youth it shot dead after 4 days
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Monday handed over the body of a Bangladeshi youth who was shot dead by its members on Friday.
A team of Hakimpur Police Station with the help of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members received the body of the youth around 5:30 pm and handed it over to his family, said Abu Sayem Miah, in-charge of the police station.
Earlier in the day, a flag meeting was held between Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB-20) Battalion and Indian Border Guard Force (BSF-6)1 Battalion at the Main Pillar area of the border, regarding the handing over of the body.
Shahabul Hossain Babu, 24, son of Abul Hossain of Dharanda village under Hakimpur upazila, was shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF), along the Hili land port in Dinajpur on Friday night, locals on the Bangladesh side said.
Md Rafiqul Islam, a ward councilor of Hakimpur municipality, said Babu accompanied by others crossed into the Indian territory along the Hili border on Friday night.
"We heard sounds of two rounds of bullets from the Indian side and subsequently came to know that Babu was shot dead by the BSF,” he said.
Read more: 2 Bangladeshis shot dead in BSF firing in Lalmonirhat
UN Bangla font now in Unicode
Marking International Mother’s Language day, United Nations Development Programme has launched the Unicode version, with seven different iterations, of the UN Bangla font to ease access to the internet for Bengali language users.
The UN Bangla font was first released on 21 February 2020 with a single version for offline use.
The Unicode version was launched by UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller and Goodwill Ambassador Jaya Ahsan at the agency’s office in Dhaka on February 20.
“We first launched the font in 2020 as a tribute to the Bengali language. Since the use of Bengali on the internet is on the rise, we decided to launch the Unicode version for everyone. I hope this Unicode version will help uncover new grounds in Bengali writing,” UNDP Resident Representative Stefan said.
“Now people who write on their cell phones and computers will have more diversity when they write,” he added.
UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador Jaya Ahsan, who was also present during the launch, said, “It’s a great thing for those of us who write in Bengali. I am very happy to be part of this UNDP initiative for the International Mother’s Language Day.”
UNDP’s Head of Communications Md Abdul Quayyum said, “We will soon launch the Bengali version of our UNDP Bangladesh website using this font. All our other publications will use this font as well.”
He continued, “Not only UNDP, BUT all other UN organisations will also be able to use this font. It is also open for free public download and use.”
The Unicode font package includes seven iterations of the font, including bold, regular, thin, light versions of the font with italics.
The font’s designer, Mohibubur Rahman Rajon, said, “There is a lot of diversity in the Bengali script due to variations in its phonetics, ligatures, etc, opening a lot of scope to work with its font. There are not too many Bengali fonts that have so many variations on offer in terms of design.”
Senior UNDP officials were also present during the launching.
Japan to provide grant aid for 2 projects
Bangladesh and Japan on Monday signed the exchange of notes on the Japanese grant Aad for two projects.
Iwama Kiminori, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh and Sharifa Khan, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, signed the documents representing the respective governments.
One is to provide the grant for the “Project for Improvement of Equipment for Technical Education” - up to JPY 997million, approximately USD7.7 million.
Another is to provide an additional grant for the costs of the development of Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management(BIGM), the augmented grant of which is up to JPY2,762 million, about USD 21 million.
Read more: Languages essential tools to communicate, share knowledge: UN expert
“It gives me pleasure to sign both of these 2 projects, which are important supports for Bangladesh to develop world-class human resources. In this regard, these are particularly essential toward graduation from the least developed countries (LDC) status in 2026 and to become a developed country in 2041," said Ambassador Iwama.
The grant for the “Project for Improvement of Equipment for Technical Education” is to provide training equipment in the field of electrical, electronic, mechanical and computer to Dhaka Polytechnic Institute, Dhaka Mohila Polytechnic Institute, and Technical Teachers Training College.
This supports human resource development with a scientific and mathematical background and engineering skills, with a view to shifting the industrial structure in order to ensure competitiveness in the international market.
The additional grant for BIGM is to construct new facilities and to procure equipment for the training of senior administrative officials and for policy research at BIGM, for which additional cost is incurred due to the price escalation affected by difficult global conditions.
In order to promote sustainable development of Bangladesh in the future, it is essential to strengthen the policy formulation and execution capacity of senior administrative officials.
BIGM is a higher education and research institute, and offers master's programs in the public sector to people from diverse backgrounds, including the private sector as well as the public officials.