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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday expressed Bangladesh’s desire to contribute to socio-economic development and technological advancement for the betterment of the global community.
Acknowledging the ‘kind support’ of the international community in the development of her country over the decades, Sheikh Hasina said, “We also wish to contribute to socio-economic development and technological advancement for the betterment of the global community despite our limited capacity.”
The Prime Minister was addressing the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu International Prize for the “Creative Economy” awarding ceremony at the UN body’s headquarters.
“We believe that investment in the creative economy will result in the realisation of the collective aim of furthering socio-economic development and technological advancement,” she told the function.
The Prime Minister has announced the name of the winner and handed over the prize and certificates to the recipient.
PM’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana was present on the dais.
Appreciating the winner, she said, “I congratulate MoTIV Creations Limited (Uganda ) on receiving the maiden 2021 UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy.”
MoTIV was selected among 69 nominations submitted for the creative economy prize and will receive $50,000 in recognition of its innovative work to promote youth entrepreneurship in the creative economy.
Sheikh Hasina said she believes that establishing the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the “Creative Economy” is the most befitting tribute to Bangabandhu’s contribution to global humanity and peace.
She hoped that this international prize would strengthen the efforts of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in the field of the creative economy, further contributing towards its global priority, that is, gender equality and the priority for youth as a group.
UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, who received Sheikh Hasina with a flower bouquet on her arrival at the headquarters, delivered the welcome address at the function.
The Prime Minister said the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize will surely create a knowledge-sharing mechanism by capturing, celebrating, and communicating the best practice in the development of creative entrepreneurship.
The Prime Minister conveyed her heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the UNESCO personnel for their support in establishing the prize in the name of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh which coincides with the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development declared by the United Nations.
“Bangladesh is privileged and honoured to join UNESCO’s effort in these areas of our priorities,” she added.
Sheikh Hasina expressed gratitude to UNESCO for recognizing the 7th March Speech of Bangabandhu by including the speech in the Memory of the World Register as a documentary heritage on October 30, 2017.
The Prime Minister told the global gathering that due to Bangabandhu’s visionary leadership and legacy, Bangladesh is so different today from what it was during the early years of independence.
She added that this year Bangladesh is celebrating the golden jubilee of its independence that coincides with the ‘Mujib Year’, the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and UNESCO is officially associated with the celebrations.
She also saw the exhibition of recorded videos and photographs on the creative economic activities of the winners.
At the beginning of the programme, a brief description of the award was given while a video documentary on the award was also screened on the occasion.
Describing the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a strong advocate of multilateralism, Sheikh Hasina said that he (Bangabandhu) treated the United Nations “as the centre of peoples’ future hopes and aspirations.”
“Bangabandhu had similar sentiments and attributes for UNESCO as a Specialized UN organ. As his elder daughter, I had closely watched him, and can confidently attribute Bangabandhu as a true advocate of UNESCO,” she added.
The actions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman toward promoting linguistic and cultural diversity and investing in peace are similarly central to all fields of UNESCO’s mandate, she opined.
Moreover, his policy decisions and establishing institutions in the field of education, culture, science and technology and leadership in establishing democracy as the cornerstone of governance in a newly-independent country are directly linked to UNESCO´s core objectives, she said.
Sheikh Hasina mentioned that Bangabandhu was awarded the Julio-Curie Medal for Peace in 1973.
She said that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman envisioned a ‘Golden Bangladesh’ economically self-reliant and free from hunger, poverty and illiteracy.
