United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh's initiative to encourage a culture of innovation by instituting the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Award  earned plaudits recently,  at the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, or Mondiacult 2022, held in Mexico, The final declaration got adopted by the world leaders who agreed to establish an innovation economy, among other things. Organized with the global goal of establishing the role of culture in sustainable development, this international conference was attended by 136 cultural affairs ministers and state minister level leaders, diplomats, cultural activists, organizers and civil society individuals from 150 countries of the world. A delegation of 3 members led by Bangladesh's State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, Ambassador of Bangladesh to France and UNESCO Khandaker M Talha and First Secretary Md. Walid bin Kashem participated in the conference. At the conference, Khalid was invited to share his speech at the 'Future of Innovation Economy' Minister-level round table meeting, he thanked UNESCO for formulating the 'UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Award' in the innovation economy sector in 2020. “The innovation economy will play a role as a renewable regulator in the implementation of sustainable development goals and will play an effective role in protecting neglected cultural heritage in different parts of the world,” KM Khalid said at the meeting. Read: Bangladesh elected to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage committee for 4 years He also called for cooperation among international leaders to develop a culture that is safe, accountable, and controlled. A proposal has been made for the teaching of culture in educational institutions as a response to the conference's identification of education and culture as complementary to one another. Additionally, in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, all nations are urged to develop cultural policies and update them as needed. In Bangladesh, the National Culture Policy was formulated in 2006 and is currently undergoing modernization.   Mondiacult 2022 was organized by UNESCO as a continuation of the detailed action plan conducted globally to implement the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The last international cultural conference of this scale was held in Mexico in 1982.

Dhallywood superstar Shakib Khan and actress Bubly have finally made public announcement about their two-year-old son ending speculations. Shakib and Bubli revealed this in separate posts on their respective verified Facebook page on Friday. Read: Shakib Khan back home after nine months Although planned to announce the news at an auspicious date, they have shared this news with their fans earlier considering it a 'blessing from the Almighty', Shakib wrote on his post. "Shehzad Khan Bir, Bubly and my son, our little prince. My child is my pride, my strength,” he wrote. "I am seeking prayers from everyone, for our child." Bubly also announced the same in her post. Read: Film Rajkumar: Everything about Shakib Khan’s Upcoming Movie with US Actress There had been a lot of talk about them ever since Bubly uploaded a photo of her with a baby bump on Facebook recently. Later, Shakib admitted it indirectly to the media and informed that he would announce the details soon.

The country’s leading online marketplace Daraz Bangladesh has organized the "Bangladesh Media Innovation Awards 2022" (BMIA 2022) event ceremony at the Ruposhi Bangla Grand Ballroom, InterContinental Dhaka on Tuesday.  Daraz Bangladesh organized the first-of-its-kind media awards recognizing innovative practices toward digital transformation, content marketing, and news distribution, with the aim to seek out the leading lights in the local digital media for their innovative ideas and practices.  Planning Minister MA Mannan joined the event as chief guest, while Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury was present as the special guest.  Daraz Bangladesh’s Managing Director Syed Mostahidal Hoq, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer A H M Hasinul Quddus and other officials and media personnel from various industries and media outlets were also present at the ceremony. “Bangladesh is going through several changes and transitions. The opportunities for Daraz in the global marketplace and our media outlets in the global media landscape are truly limitless, and we want to thank Daraz Bangladesh for recognizing the innovators in our local media industry,” MA Mannan said at the event.  Deputy Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury said, “Due to the lack of quality entertainment and meaningful programs in our media industry, people in our urban and rural communities are being misguided by religious extremists. We need to recognize the deserving media personnel who are trying to ensure quality content in tv, print and web, and this award is virtuously performing that responsibility.”  Read: Daraz Bangladesh celebrates its 8th anniversary A total of twenty best performers from various wings of the country's media industry were presented with the prestigious BMIA 2022 awards. The winners were - The Business Standard, under the Innovative Print Layout category; Dhaka Tribune, under the category of Innovative Special Supplement, ICE Business Times, under the Best Business Magazine category; ICE today under the Best Lifestyle Magazine; The Business Standard, under the category of the Best use of infographics; The Daily Samakal, under the Best Social Media Campaign; Deepto TV, under the Best Use of Social Media category; Chorki, under the Best Digital Diversification Project category; The Daily Jugantor, under the Best Co-branded online project; Somoy TV, under the Most innovative digital report; DBC News, under the Best TV Programme for Women category; Duronto TV, under the Best TV Programme (Kids) category; Jamuna TV under the Best TV Programme (Entertainment) category; ATN Bangla under the Best TV Programme (Lifestyle) category; Ekattor Media Ltd., under the Best TV Programme (Sports); Independent TV under the Best Country Branding Programme category. Bangladesh Television (BTV), Channel I, Ittefaq and The Daily Star received the BMIA 2022 under the special recognition category.  After the ceremony, popular singers Khayam Sanu Sandhi, Karishma Sanu Sovvota and Musharrat Aanchal performed at the event.   Bangladesh Brand Practitioner was the event's outreach partner, SBK Foundation was the strategic partner, Reboot was the event partner and Dimadim was the ideation partner of the event.

Band shows and live concerts are back in the city in full swing, and the band music lovers were mesmerized by two fantabulous shows at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital on Friday.  At ICCB’s Hall 4 (Novoratri), seven popular bands grooved the audiences while showcasing a befitting tribute to the riverine beauty of Bangladesh at the ‘Nodi Rocks Season 1’ concert. Focusing on the issue of climate change, the concert was initiated by Salt Creatives while hosted by Brandmyth Experiential, supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, and facilitated by the Manusher Jonno Foundation.   Seven of the popular Bangladeshi bands - Arbovirus, Cryptic Fate, Chirkutt, Ashes, Smooches, Bangla Five and F Minor, who have previously performed in seven music videos on seven Bangladeshi rivers - Padma, Chitra, Kushiyara, Dahuk, Pashur, Buriganga and Sangu, performed at the concert.

Video streaming platform Bongo has released the Bangla dubbed version of animation film "Bilal" dubbed in Bangla. The film is based on the true story of how Bilal proved himself as a fearless warrior of the Islamic empire and became the first muezzin in the history of Islam. The main characters of the animated film are voiced by Adewale Ekinnuye-Agbaje, Ian McShane, China Anne McLain and others. Many of the crew members of this movie worked in famous Hollywood animation films like "Shrek" and "Monsters Inc." Read: Bongo brings 'The Groomsmen' as 'Bhai Brothers' The story's central characters Bilal and his sister Gufaira are the children of Princess Hamama of Abyssinia. A group of robbers ambush and kill Hamama and kidnap teenage Bilal and teenage Gufaira. They take them thousands of miles away in the desert, and later sell them as slaves to an idol merchant. Directed by Khurram H Alavi and Aiman Jamal, Bilal was nominated in the best animated feature film category at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Asia's most prestigious film award. The film was awarded in the best inspiring movie category at the Animation Day of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the best innovative movie award at the Broadcast Pro Middle East Awards.

UNICEF Bangladesh National Ambassador Bidya Sinha Mim, who visited Sylhet this week, has said the stories she heard from children and their parents in Sylhet are heart-rending.  She visited Sylhet to meet children whose lives were upended by floods that wreaked havoc in north-eastern Bangladesh in May and June this year. Read:Girls lag behind boys in mathematics for negative gender norms , stereotypes: UNICEF “They have shown incredible resilience even as their lives have been turned upside down by the floods, and we must continue to stand by them and support their recovery,” said Mim after speaking to children at Gowainghat upazila. The extensive flooding led to a food, water and sanitation crisis and disrupted the lives of 7.2 million people, including 3.5 million children. Families had no option but to leave their belonging and take emergency shelter while medical facilities and hundreds of schools were damaged. Ten-year-old Najimul, one of the children Mim met, told her: “I did not understand what was happening when the waters started coming into our home. My clothes, books and everything in our home was washed away. I would have been washed away too if we had not left for a school-turned-shelter. I did not eat anything for three or four days, until we were given dry food at the shelter.” Read: Step up efforts, invest in breastfeeding support policies, progs: UNICEF, WHO Months after the waters receded, millions of families are still reeling from the devastation. UNICEF supported the government’s flood emergency response by providing urgent safe water, sanitation, safety, health and nutrition supplies and services, and by prioritizing the protection of children from drowning, separation, violence, diseases and abuse. To date, more than one million people – 40 percent of whom are children – have benefitted from UNICEF’s continuing assistance. During her two-day tour, Mim saw first-hand how UNICEF contributes to the restoration of flood-damaged latrines, water points, schools and health facilities. Mim also met with social workers who spoke about their support to children and their families after the floods. “Mim’s visit reminds us of that even after the waters recede, children remain at risk from flooding and other emergencies related to climate change in Bangladesh,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh. “Today, Mim gives voice to the plight of children who – months after the emergency – are still facing difficulties and need support,” Yett added. Mim, who was appointed as UNICEF’s National Ambassador in Bangladesh in May 2022, also visited children and adolescents in Sylhet, including in a tea garden and a UNICEF-supported adolescent club.

To celebrate the intertwined spirit between climate, river, music and youth, the maiden concert of much-acclaimed musical initiative ‘Nodi Rocks’ is all set to enthrall the music lovers on Friday at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the city.Seven popular and up-and-coming bands will perform in this special concert including Cryptic Fate, Arbovirus, Chirkutt, Smooches, Ashes, Bangla Five, and F Minor.These bands will perform the songs of the inaugural season of the ‘Nodi Rocks’ project which began in February of this year and focused on seven rivers across the country: Kushiyara, Padma, Sangu, Chitra, Pashur, Dahuk, and Buriganga.Seven music videos were made on the seven rivers by these seven bands: Arbovirus performed on Padma, Smooches on Chitra, Cryptic Fate on Kushiyara, F Minor on Dahuk, Bangla Five Pashur, Ashes on Buriganga and Sangu was featured by Chirkutt.These videos gained popularity on social media platforms while the songs became fan-favourites, and the concert will feature these exclusive performances alongside other popular songs of the performing bands.Read: Shironamhin to feature in ‘Concert against violence’ at DU “The journey of the 'Nodi Rocks' initiative started with the dream that 'there will be songs for each of the rivers of the country,’ along with the aim of creating awareness about climate and river protection,” according to the organizers.‘Nodi Rocks’ is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and facilitated by Manusher Jonno Foundation. The project is being implemented by Salt Creatives.The project was the brainchild of Sharmin Sultana Sumi, Chirkutt’s founding member-vocalist and Founder-CEO-Creative Director of Salt Creatives.Brandmyth Experiential is hosting this concert, alongside its partners Shobai Mile Shobar Dhaka, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Limited, Remark HB Limited, Radio Today,Bangladeshi Band Music Fans Community - BBMFC, Metal Freak T-shirts, Nestle and Polar.

The Japanese printmaking exhibition "Photographic Images and Matter: Japanese Prints of the 1970s," which began recently, is still underway at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka. Divided into two sections, the exhibition is showcasing "The Age of Photographic Images," and "Images of Autonomous Matter," giving visitors a sense of Japanese art trends in the 1970s. The two-week exhibition is displaying the award-winning works of 14 distinguished printmakers and professors from Japan. It is also presenting a wide range of palettes, styles, and traditions of Japanese printmaking. The exhibition is jointly organised by the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh and the Japan Foundation. Read: Japan Foundation print exhibition to be held at Liberation War Museum State Minister for Culture KM Khalid inaugurated the exhibition recently. Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki was present. During the opening ceremony, Ambassador Naoki conferred the Japanese foreign minister's commendation to Professor Syed Abul Barq Alvi of the Department of Printmaking of the University of Dhaka for his contribution to printmaking and role in promoting Bangladesh-Japan ties. The exhibition will continue till September 29.

Jean-Luc Godard, the ingenious “enfant terrible” of the French New Wave who revolutionized popular cinema in 1960 with his first big endeavor, “Breathless,” and stood for years as one of the world’s most vital and provocative directors, has died. He was 91. Swiss news agency ATS quoted Godard’s partner, Anne-Marie Mieville, and her producers as saying he died peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones at his home in the Swiss town of Rolle, on Lake Geneva, on Tuesday. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Godard as “the most iconoclastic of the New Wave directors” who “invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art form.” He added: “We have lost a national treasure, the eye of a genius.” Godard defied convention over a long career that began in the 1950s as a film critic. He rewrote rules for camera, sound and narrative. He worked with some of the best-known names of French cinema like Brigitte Bardot and bad-boy Jean-Paul Belmondo, who was propelled to stardom through Godard films. He profiled the early Rolling Stones, gave a voice to Marxist, leftist and 1960s-era Black Power politics, and his controversial modern nativity play “Hail Mary” grabbed headlines when Pope John Paul II denounced it in 1985. While many of his works were lauded, Godard also made a string of films that were politically charged and experimental, and pleased few outside a small circle of fans, while frustrating many critics who saw them as filled with overblown intellectualism. Cannes Film Festival Director Thierry Fremaux told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was “sad, sad. Immensely so" at the news of Godard's death. Born into a wealthy French-Swiss family on Dec. 3, 1930 in Paris, Godard grew up in Nyon, Switzerland and studied ethnology at the Sorbonne in France’s capital, where he was increasingly drawn to the cultural scene that flourished in the Latin Quarter “cine-club” after World War II. Read:Goddess gowns, Old Hollywood glam and pink rule Emmy carpet He became friends with future big-name directors Francois Truffaut, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer and in 1950 founded the shortlived Gazette du Cinema. By 1952 he had begun writing for the prestigious movie magazine Cahiers du Cinema. After working on two films by Rivette and Rohmer in 1951, Godard tried to direct his first movie while traveling through North and South America with his father, but never finished it. Back in Europe, he took a job in Switzerland as a construction worker on a dam project. He used the pay to finance his first complete film, the 1954 “Operation Concrete,” a 20-minute documentary about the building of the dam. Returning to Paris, Godard worked as spokesman for an artists’ agency and made his first feature in 1957 — “All Boys Are Called Patrick,” released in 1959 — and continued to hone his writing. He also began work on “Breathless,” based on a story by Truffaut. It was to be Godard’s first big success when it was released in March 1960. The movie stars Belmondo as a penniless young thief who models himself on Hollywood movie gangsters and who, after he shoots a police officer, goes on the run to Italy with his American girlfriend, played by Jean Seberg. Along with Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows,” released in 1959, Godard’s film set the new tone for French movie aesthetics. Godard rejected conventional narrative style and instead used frequent jump-cuts that mingled philosophical discussions with action scenes. He spiced it all up with references to Hollywood gangster movies and nods to literature and visual art. Godard also launched what was to be a career-long participation in collective film projects, contributing scenes to “The Seven Deadly Sins” along with directors such as Claude Chabrol and Roger Vadim. He also worked with Ugo Gregoretti, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Roberto Rossellini on the Italian movie “Let’s Have a Brainwash,” with Godard’s scenes portraying a disturbing post-apocalypse world. Godard, who was later to gain a reputation for his uncompromising left-wing political views, had a first brush with French authorities in 1960 when he made “The Little Soldier.” The movie, filled with references to France’s colonial war in Algeria, was not released until 1963, a year after the conflict ended. Read:‘The Fabelmans': Steven Spielberg debuts autobiographical film at Toronto Film Festival His work turned more starkly political by the late 1960s. In “Weekend,” his characters lampoon the hypocrisy of bourgeois society even as they demonstrate the comic futility of violent class war. It came out a year before popular anger at the establishment shook France, culminating in the iconic but short-lived student unrests of May 1968. Godard harbored a life-long sympathy for various forms of socialism depicted in films from the early 1970s to the 1990s. Some of the world cinema’s greatest directors counted Godard’s boundary-breaking work as an influence, including Quentin Tarantino, Bernardo Bertolucci, Brian De Palma and Jonathan Demme. Godard took potshots at Hollywood over the years. He remained home in Switzerland rather than travel to Hollywood to receive an honorary Oscar at a private ceremony in November 2010 alongside film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, director-producer Francis Ford Coppola and actor Eli Wallach. His lifelong advocacy of the Palestinian cause also brought him repeated accusations of antisemitism, despite his insistence that he sympathized with the Jewish people and their plight in Nazi-occupied Europe. Though the academy received some complaints about Godard being selected to receive the award, academy President Tom Sherak said the director was recognized solely “for his contributions to film in the New Wave era.” Godard married Danish-born model and actress Anna Karina in 1961. She appeared in a string of movies he made during the remainder of the 1960s, all of them seen as New Wave landmarks. Notable among them were “My Life to Live,” “Alphaville” and “Crazy Pete” — which also starred Belmondo and was rumored to have been shot without a script. Godard and Karina divorced in 1965. Godard married his second wife, Anne Wiazemsky, in 1967. He later started a relationship with Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville. Godard divorced Wiazemsky in 1979, after he had moved with Miéville to the Swiss municipality of Rolle, where he lived with her for the rest of his life.

“Icchedana”, a drama series about a group of Bangladeshi adolescent girls who triumph over gender stereotypes and society’s restrictions, marks its highly-anticipated return to the small screen. Season 3 of the show continues the story of Tanzila, her all-girl football team and their community as they strive to make their own way, to avoid child marriage and to realize their ambitions. “Icchedana” is jointly created by UNICEF and the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs. “Girls and women in Bangladesh have so much to contribute to society, yet they are being held back by discrimination and harmful practices. Icchedana highlights positive practices and encourages adolescent girls to thrive and fully participate in life. It is crucial to end child marriage and ensure that gender equality becomes a reality,” said Md. Hasanuzzaman Kallol, Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs. Also read: 3-day national dance, drama festival begins at BSA In “Icchedana”, adolescent girls from the fictional village of Haathmathali overcome the pressure of early marriage, confront sexual harassment, and find ways to manage their menstrual hygiene. Season 3 features storylines about mental health, bullying and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents. The series highlights the need to invest in girls’ education, and the importance of encouraging young people to speak out on policies that affect them. “Too many girls and women in Bangladesh suffer from discrimination, abuse and violence because of harmful social norms and practices. But change is possible. Icchedana is a celebration of what girls can achieve, and a call to each of us to join the fight for gender equality,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh. Married girls are over four times more likely to be out of school than unmarried girls, to the detriment of their health, well-being, education and career prospects. Child brides are more vulnerable to domestic violence, and their children less likely to thrive. Tanzila shows that change is possible, and that girls can overcome adversity to win respect and equal treatment, especially if we are united and support and encourage each other,” said actress Priyam Archi, who plays the lead character Tanzila. Also read: Eid-ul-Fitr Natoks 2022: Exciting Bengali Dramas by Popular TV artists “There should be no difference in the way girls and boys are treated, or the opportunities we are given. Icchedana shows that girls’ empowerment is also good for boys – we become allies who help each other rather than rivals,” said Arosh Khan, who plays the role of Charger.