Commemorating the life and works of the iconic French photographer Marc Riboud, best known for his photojournalistic works in Bangladesh during the 1971 Liberation War, a month-long solo photography exhibition titled ‘Bangladesh 1971: Mourning and Morning’ was inaugurated on Saturday at the Liberation War Museum (LWM), Agargaon in the capital. Jointly organised by LWM and Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD), the opening ceremony of the exhibition was joined by Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen as the chief guest. French Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marin Schuh attended the inaugural event as the guest of honour, while AFD’s newly appointed director François Grosjean, LWM trustee and member secretary Sara Zaker, exhibition co-curator Mofidul Hoque and LWM trustee Dr Sarwar Ali joined the programme as special guests. Lorène Duret, the other curator of the exhibition, alongside Catherine Chaine Riboud, widow of Marc Riboud, virtually joined the inaugural event from France. “This is surely a remarkable day for us, as we are celebrating the never-seen-before magnificent photographic works of Marc Riboud during our 1971 Liberation War. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs will always be there if any sort of support is needed, for the acceleration of this wonderful exhibition,” FM Dr Momen said at the ceremony. He added, “As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we have been implementing initiatives such as Economic Diplomacy which demonstrates the roadmap of our economic activities and achievements, and Public Diplomacy, to let the world know about the remarkable progress of Bangladesh that we achieved in the past 12 years. We have established a ‘Bangabandhu Corner’ in each of our diplomatic missions, to let the world learn about the sacrifices our Father of the Nation made; as well as the unique and tragic sacrifices of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

Narrating the extraordinary tales of Bengali voyager Hariprabha Takeda, also revered as the 'first Bengali modern woman of Dhaka', a travel documentary titled "Hariprabha Takeda: an unsung traveller of Bengal" was screened on Saturday, 5 pm at the Liberation War Museum (LWM), Agargaon in the capital. Produced by traveller and documentary filmmaker Eliza Binte Elahi, the Rashik Barikdar directed documentary’s inaugural screening was joined by Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Ito Naoki as the chief guest. LWM trustee Mofidul Hoque and Dhaka University’s Department of History Bangabandhu Chair Professor Muntasir Mamun were also present at the inaugural screening as the special guests. Praising Eliza Binte Elahi’s effort behind producing the captivating story of the first Bengali modern woman of Dhaka, guests and audiences lauded the documentary film after its inaugural screening at the LWM auditorium. Read:Hasina seeks Japan’s support for early solution to Rohingya crisis “On behalf of our Embassy and all the Japanese people, I wholeheartedly thank Eliza for initiating the documentary, which must have faced difficulties in the making under this Covid situation. You have dealt with the subject which goes beyond the border for Bangladesh, so this is a cultural story regarding the cultural exchange between Japan and Bangladesh. I was really stunned while watching this documentary," ambassador Naoki said at the event. "I learned about the story of Hariprabha Takeda three months ago, when I attended the Cosmos Foundation’s virtual dialogue on "Bangladesh-Japan Relations: Prognosis for the Future" from renowned Bangladesh scholar Monzurul Huq, who really emphasized the significance of Hariprabha’s story, and the history of Japan and Bangladesh; the friendship and partnership between the two countries, and the people to people exchange. She was a really courageous woman, a pioneer who overcame the difficulties of her time. Though there are cultural similarities between Japan and Bangladesh (rice culture, fish eating culture etc) which might have helped her to get familiarized herself in Japan, nonetheless, her story is truly fascinating,” Naoki said at the event.