The Department of English of East West University (EWU) recently won the cultural competition of the 8th Inter-University Student Conference and Cultural Competition 2022.

Hosted by ULAB's English and humanities department from October 20-21, 17 public and private universities competed in this year's edition of the conference.

The inter-university student conference and cultural competition explored different facets of conflict and avenues for conflict resolution within topics in literature, language, linguistics, cultural studies, communication studies, translation studies, and digital humanities.

Nine universities competed in the cultural competition. EWU defeated DU, AIUB, NSU, UITS, SUST, CU, SUB, and the host ULAB.

EWU won the same competition for the second time after six years.

The EWU students performed the play "The Corporate Graveyard" based on the conference's theme "Facets and Faces of Conflict."

The cast of the play included EWU English department students Inan Al Banna, Sumaiya Farhana, Asiful Hasan Joy, Sumiya Haque Titly, Tarek Aziz Leyon, Alif Islam, Jenin Hossain Elham, Tanvir Hossain Osama, Kaniz Fatema Tisha, and Md Khairul Imam. EWU English department faculty members Shahnaz Ameer, Shabab Tahsin, Rohini Zakaria Oishee, and Anowara Rayhan Arusha were their mentors.

Shahnaz said: "This was a team effort of the Department of English, a collaborative achievement of our enthusiastic students."

Farzana Akhter, chairperson and associate Professor at EWU's Department of English, told UNB that the department focuses on nurturing the students with extracurricular activities.

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"The theme of the conference and our play was very relevant in today's world, and this particular group of students alongside the faculty members participated in this competition within a very minimal time. They worked really hard, and that showed their strength of belongingness and ownership of the department," she said.

"This was an honour and privilege for us. Once we took the stage, we acted our hearts out," Inan told UNB.

The script of the play was jointly written by Shahnaz, Shabab, Rohini, Sumaiya, and Titly. The direction, sound and choreography were managed by Shahnaz, Shabab, Mobashir Kaynad Mugdha, Tarek and Jannatul Imrose.

The award was handed over to the team by eminent litterateur and academician Syed Manzoorul Islam alongside ULAB's Department of English and Humanities (DEH) Professor and Special Advisor to the Board of Trustees Shamsad Mortuza, and the competition judges writer Abdus Selim and academician Mohammad Israfil.