Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has handed over the "UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy" to MoTIV, a Uganda-based integrated creative studio. Noel Collin Kaijabwango, business and operations lead of MoTIV, received the award on behalf of team MoTIV. Prime Minister's sister Sheikh Rehana was present beside her while handing over the prize. Audrey Azoulay, who was re-elected Tuesday to the post of Director-General of UNESCO with the massive support of the organisation's 193 member states, delivered welcome remarks at the function. Sheikh Hasina's presence at the first award-giving ceremony coincided with the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's Independence. Addressing the function, Sheikh Hasina said UNESCO's decision to establish the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy, is the most befitting tribute to his contribution to global humanity and peace. What Bangladesh is today so different from what it was during the early years of independence is due to his visionary leadership and legacy, she added.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will pay a visit to Paris, France from November 9 to 13 which Dhaka says will be a very “extensive and engaging” one and take the relations between the two countries to a newer height. She will have bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jean Castex separately during the visit. “Both the French President and the Prime Minister invited our Prime Minister to visit France,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday. Also read: Doraiswami lauds Hasina’s leadership in realizing Bangabandhu’s dream of Sonar Bangla State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam said the Prime Minister’s engagement in Paris will be very extensive and she will be given guard of honour in three places.

Attending the COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to visit Paris, France in the second week of November to attend the prize-giving ceremony of “UNESCO-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy.” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen shared the information while talking to reporters at his residence on his recent visits to Romania and Serbia. Read: Ties with Bangladesh to grow: Nepalese FM Asked whether the Prime Minister will hand over the award, Dr Momen said they want the Prime Minister to hand over it. “We want the Prime Minister to hand over the award. Unicef is hosting the programme.” Tentatively, the event will be held on November 11, said the Foreign Minister about the US $50,000 Prize that will be awarded on a biennial basis, initially for three iterations of the Prize. The first award ceremony will be held on the occasion of UNESCO’s 41st General Conference in November 2021 and subsequent award ceremonies will be held on the occasion of the Conference of Parties to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the creative economy will create a knowledge-sharing mechanism by capturing, celebrating, and communicating best practice in the development of creative entrepreneurship, according to Unesco documents. The objectives of the Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy are in line with strategic objective 8 of Unesco's Medium-Term Strategy for 2014-2021 and with the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The prize will be fully managed and administered by Unesco. Meanwhile, Dr Momen said Romania has shown interest  to recruit around 40,000 workers from Bangladesh. Read: Bangladeshi’s conviction: FM says evidence to be shared with Saudi govt