The 103rd birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Children’s Day was celebrated at the Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra on Friday. Children participated in speech, poem recitation, and singing where they highlighted Bangabandhu’s love for children. Rashna Farruk Siddiki, wife of High commissioner Allama Siddiki,cut a cake with the presence of a number of kids for celebrating the birthday of the great leader. She also distributed prizes among the children. The evening event begins with placing wreaths in front of the portrait of the Father of the Nation. A discussion session was held where the speakers recollected the legacy of the Father of the Nation and highly admired the sagacity and farsightedness of this great leader. They also highlighted Bangabandhu's uncompromising stance on the Bangla language, culture, and self-respect for Bangladesh. Children from this generation should learn from the life of this great leader, they stressed.Chargé D'affaires Dr Dewan Md. Shahriar Firoz hoisted the national flag in the morning. Messages from the President Md. Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen and State Minister Md. Shahriar Alam for Foreign Affairs were read out. A Special munajat was also offered for the salvation of the departed souls of Bangabandhu, his family members, liberation war martyrs, and for a peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous Bangladesh.  

Ekushey has been observed in Canberra with the wider participation of the Bangladesh community and foreigners. Around 100 participants including ACT Ministers, Ambassadors, representatives from government offices,  multilingual community groups and Bangladeshi diaspora assembled at dawn and spontaneously joined the Probhat Fery with flowers, festoons and banners singing the song of Ekushey “Amar bhaier rokte rangano ekushe February, ami ki bhulite pari”.   Australian dignitaries, including the Australian Capital Territory Minister for Health and Minister for Families and Community Rachel Stephen-Smith, Minister for Environment and Minister for Heritage Rebecca Vasarotti, Shadow Minister for multicultural Affairs Peter Cain, Indian High Commissioner, representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and from the Department of Home Affairs and above all Bangladesh community members passionately attended the Probhat Fery at the cusp of dawn, said a press release. Probhat Fery was organised for the fifth consecutive year around Manuka Oval that ended at a makeshift Shaheed Minar at Telopea Park. After the walk, the ministers and other dignitaries paid their homage to the language heroes by placing floral wreaths at the altar of the Saheed Minar. The High Commissioner recalled the extraordinary leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman throughout the language movement to the struggle for freedom and the War of Liberation. He stated that each of the more than 7,000 languages spoken by humanity is a living repository of knowledge that carries within it a unique expression of thinking and feeling. Read more: Great Language Martyrs’ Day, International Mother Language Day observed in Seoul He emphasised on revitalising dying languages and raising awareness of protecting languages. The dignitaries underscored the significance of Ekushey in securing respect for mother tongue and for linguistic diversity and multiculturalism. The speakers praised Bangladesh in the global campaign for securing honour for all languages and promoting multiculturalism. Later, the High Commissioner hoisted the national flag at half-mast at the Chancery premises. The messages of the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and State Minister for Foreign Affairs were read out. A Special munajat was also offered for the salvation of the departed souls of the language martyrs and for a peaceful, inclusive and prosperous Bangladesh. The evening programme for the Bangladesh community commenced with a discussion session on the significance of Ekushey and International Mother Language Day. The discussion session was followed by a colourful cultural program with songs, dance and recitation of poems that enthralled the audience. Like previous years, the temporarily installed “Shaheed Minar” at the Telopea Park will remain in place till 24 February 2023 for public viewing and reflection. The programme generated interest among locals and the High Commissioner was live on ABC Radio Canberra speaking on the significance of Ekushey and the unique way of celebration by the High Commission.

Independence Day, National Day and 50 years of Bangladesh-Australia ties were celebrated in Canberra with the illumination of an iconic structure with the colours of the Bangladesh national flag. The National Carillon, a large carillon situated on Aspen Island in Lake Burley Griffin, was illuminated with red and green, according to the Bangladesh High Commission Sunday. A formal reception was held which started with playing of the national anthems of Bangladesh and Australia by the Royal Military band. Also read: Pakistan greets Bangladesh on its Independence Day Representatives from the Australian Federal Parliament, ACT legislature, political leaders, heads of diplomatic missions and government officials from the Australian federal departments and local elites were present.

The 102nd birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Children’s Day were celebrated in Australian capital Canberra with the active participation of children. The evening event began with the Bangladeshi High Commissioner, officials and community members placing wreaths in front of the portrait of the Father of the Nation. Children participated in the event, reciting poems and singing songs to highlight Bangabandhu’s love for children. In the morning, Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Australia, Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, hoisted the national flag, according to a release on Friday. A discussion session was also held where young speakers from the community highly admired the sacrifice of the great leader. They also discussed the leadership quality of Bangabandhu during the early stage of his life. READ: Follow Bangabandhu to become self- confident, overcome all obstacles:Energy advisor

The Shaheed Dibash and the International Mother Language Day was observed with due respect in Canberra with the wider participation of Bangladesh community and foreigners. People representing government offices, ACT ministers, ambassadors, multilingual community groups and Bangladeshi diaspora assembled at dawn and spontaneously joined the "Probhat Fery" with flowers, festoons and banner singing the song of Ekushey “Amar bhaier rokte rangano ekushe February, ami ki bhulite pari”.   Read: Amar Ekushey, International Mother Language Day observed in Tokyo Australian dignitaries, including the Australian Capital Territory Attorney General and Leader of the ACT Greens Shane Rattenbury, Minister for Health, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for Families and Community Rachel Stephen-Smith, ambassadors, including from India and Russia and other members of the diplomatic corps, First Assistant Secretary of North and South Asia Division of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Gary Cowan, and Bangladesh community members passionately attended the "Probhat Fery" at the cusp of dawn.  "Probhat Fery" was organised for the fourth consecutive year around Manuka Oval that ended at makeshift Shaheed Minar at Telopia Park.  After the walk, the ministers and other dignitaries paid their homage to the language heroes by placing floral wreaths at the altar of the Saheed Minar.

With the newer kind of appreciation of Bangladesh’s value in Australia, Dhaka is now making its all-out efforts to become “economically more pertinent” to Canberra by jointly exploring the vast areas of cooperation keeping the geopolitical imperatives in mind. “I think there has been a newer kind of appreciation of Bangladesh’s value. And particularly in the last three-four years, we actually started shaking the tree by projecting that Bangladesh is no longer a Bangladesh of 2005 or 2010. It’s changing very fast. And we see this is getting reflected at various levels,” Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia Mohammad Sufiur Rahman told UNB in an interview marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries that falls on January 31. All these past years, he said, Australia has been supportive and there is no doubt about it. But there was a perception in Australia that Bangladesh is a disaster-prone and aid-dependent country. “So, we’ve tried our level best to change it by projecting Bangladesh as a self-assured and self-dependent country which is emerging as a middle economic power in this Indian Ocean region,” said the High Commissioner, adding that it has been their focus in the recent period to change that negative narrative. Highlighting the huge perception change from the Australian side, he said persistent efforts of the Bangladesh Mission over the last three-four years to create a new narrative of Bangladesh in Australia have started paying dividends. Signing of Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA), repeated telephone calls from Australian Foreign Minister to Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and request from Australian Prime Minister for meeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during COP26 in Glasgow indicate a significant change in the approach from the Australian side that has all these years seen Bangladesh as a vulnerable country and a recipient of her development assistance, said the diplomat having a three-decade long career. Founded on bipartisan support, the leadership of Australia quickly recognised Bangladesh on January 31 in 1972, the first among the developed nations that influenced recognition from other countries. READ: Former PM tests positive as omicron cases rise in Australia The then Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visited Dhaka in January 1975 and met Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman giving Bangladesh-Australia relations a strong beginning. “But when we lost our Father of the Nation, I think Bangladesh also lost its path. The momentum in bilateral relations that was created during the visit of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975, the only Australian Prime Minister who visited Bangladesh in the last five decades, couldn’t be sustained,” said the Bangladesh envoy, recalling the role of these two giant political personalities. In the subsequent period, High Commissioner Sufiur said, they saw Australian support coming in the reconstruction of Bangladesh and in the field of socio-economic development which he thinks was far below the potential. The envoy who is also Bangladesh High Commissioner to New Zealand and Fiji said things started changing slightly when Australia decided to extend duty free quota free market access to Bangladesh, two decades back as an LDC. And in the last 10 years or so, he said, Australia's interest in Bangladesh increased because of Bangladesh's capacity to export in a significant quantum to the Australian market and to absorb Australian exports apart from Bangladesh diaspora’s important role in Australian nation building efforts. Geopolitics and Post-Covid Era The High Commissioner said the post-Covid era is going to be an “uncertain time” for everybody in the regional context and also in the global context with the emergence of intense strategic competition. “And that will also have an impact on how we produce, how we consume and how we trade. These all are going to happen at the same time. So, we would expect to see greater focus on sustainable consumption,” he said, adding that the production processes will change, sourcing from various countries will also change.

The 50th anniversary of Victory Day was celebrated in Canberra beside the iconic Commonwealth Bridge on Thursday. Thirty-two flag poles on both sides of the Bridge were decorated with the national flags of Bangladesh and a specially designed banner on the celebration of golden jubilee. The flags and banners will be on display for seven days. Also read: Bullets couldn’t wipe out Bangabandhu’s ideals: Kovind The morning event organised beside  an open park next to the Commonwealth Bridge and was attended by hundreds of members from the Bangladeshi expatriates.

Bangladeshis and Australians participated in a ‘Probhat Fery’ and jointly observed Amar Ekushey in Canberra on Sunday at Telopia Park where a Shaheed Minar was temporarily installed.

The first COVID-19 case was reported in the Australian capital Canberra on Thursday.

Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka ranked fourth worst in the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Wednesday morning.