Gregorians of North America pledge to support Bangladesh’s development

Alumni from St Gregory’s High School in North America have decided to organise themselves into a not-for-profit organisation under Gregorians of North America, Inc (GNA).

The initiative will boost networking, support the mission of their alma mater and assist Bangladesh in its upward trajectory towards a self-sustaining middle-income country.

Towards that end and to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the prestigious educational institution, the first annual meeting will take place in Washington, DC, on July 30, a press release said.

Based on the preliminary registration, about 300 people, including 200 alumni from seven decades, are expected to attend the day-long programme.

The highlights of the programme will include an interactive session with teachers and students in Dhaka and conference attendees, many of whom are working for major organisations, including the US government, multinational companies such as Google and Amazon and world-class universities such as Harvard and Johns Hopkins.

Spearheaded by the former vice-chancellor of BRAC University Dr Syed Saad Andaleeb, the GNA alumni group has organised themselves into task forces to help St Gregory’s educational programmes, facilities, teachers and students as well as develop broader implementable initiatives for the ongoing development of Bangladesh.

The day’s programme will be capped off with an elaborate cultural show.

Founding Secretary of GNA Wahid Shams said, “This is a nostalgic, yet profoundly inimitable opportunity for risk-free networking with a highly-accomplished group of Gregorian brothers in North America who are poised to give back to its roots.”

Along this theme of “giving back”, alumni speakers such as Dr Ajmal Sobhan, a renowned general surgeon in the USA, will be featured in the programme, reads the release.

As part of the first meeting, a special souvenir magazine is being published by Toitomboor Prokason with contributions from alumni luminaries such as Professor Emeritus Dr Serajul Islam Chowdhury, Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury, Ambassador and Foreign Secretary Hemayet Uddin, Ambassador Ziauddin Ahmed, cricketer Yousuf Rahman Babu and Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam. The magazine is edited by Professor Dr Shawkat Hussain of Dhaka University with the assistance of an editorial board.

St Gregory’s High School and College are one of Bangladesh's most distinguished educational institutions.

Founded by the Catholic Order of Holy Cross, the storied institution counts among its alumni the first prime minister of Bangladesh, Tajuddin Ahmad, author of Bangladesh’s first constitution Dr Kamal Hossain, the first attorney general of Bangladesh Faqueer Shahabuddin, former president Dr Badruddoza Choudhury, former prime minister and vice-president Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Nobel Laureate in Economics Dr Amartya Sen, National Professor Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, economist and public policy analyst Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Lt Gen Khwaja Wasi Uddin, the first US ambassador of South Asian descent Osman Siddique, folk singer Mustafa Zaman Abbasi, and comedian Bhanu Bandopadhyay.

Every cabinet of Bangladesh since its liberation has had at least one alumnus from St Gregory’s, including the incumbent Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun.

GNA was incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation in January this year.

Dr Faisal M Rahman, founding chairman of GNA, described the three core missions of GNA as “creating a database of alumni so that we can assist each other, using our collective resources to help our school and support the development of Bangladesh.”