FASS celebrates the International Mother Language Day 2009 in glory

The teachers and students of the Faculty of Arts & Social Science of the American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) organized a series of programs in celebration of the International Mother Language Day, which included Literary Competition, Poster Painting and Drawing Competition, and a colorful multicultural show on 23 February, Monday, at the AIUB auditorium, participated by the Bangladeshi and foreign students of AIUB. Radio Today, the media partner, broadcasted the event live. Prof. Abdullah Abu Sayeed, renowned educationist and social activist, was present as the Chief Guest of the event. Much to the delight of the full-house exuberant audience which included students of all disciplines, teachers and officers, the program began with a knowledgeable welcome speech by Dr. Charles Villanueva, Dean of Social Sciences, who highlighted Prof. Abdullah Abu Sayeed’s achievements as a social reformer glorifying his receipt of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2004. Prof. Anwar Hossain, the Pro VC of AIUB, spoke on the occasion candidly narrated the greatness of Ekushe in our self-discovery as an independent nation. In his luminous speech blended with humor and knowledge, Prof. Sayeed stressed the need for nourishing the love and passion for mother tongue. He explained how Bangalees, as a nation, has traditionally thrived for enlightenment by being internationalistic and patriotic at the same time. ‘We all need English as the most useful tool of openness and global communication, but not disregarding Bangla, one of the most modern dynamic languages of the world,’ he said. After the colorful multicultural show, Prof. Sayeed distributed prizes among the winners of the Literary and Art contests. These contests were unique. In the Literary competition organized by the English Writing Club, students submitted “Letters to Motherland and Countrymen” (in Bangla and English) and “Pages of Diaries about Language and Nationhood” (in Bangla and English). They also submitted Posters on “Bangladesh, as I have seen” and water color paintings on “Motherland”. A massive number high quality letters, diaries, posters and paintings, gave the judges a sweet hard time to finalize the winners.

The winners are as follows:

LETTER WRITING CONTEST (ENGLISH):
  1. Fardi Mahmuda; English (1st)
  2. Quazi Sameer Salman; BBA (2nd)
LETTER WRITING CONTEST (BANGLA):
  1. Tausif Ali; EEE (1st)
  2. Md. Nasibullah Sohan; EEE (jointly 2nd)
  3. Md. Samiul Haque; EEE (jointly 2nd)
DIARY WRITING CONTEST (ENGLISH):
  1. Hasina Mamtaz Eva; English(1st)
DIARY WRITING CONTEST (BANGLA):
  1. Fahmim Ferdous; EEE (1st)
  2. Nusrat Jahan Alam (jointly 2nd)
  3. Khondoker Quaribul Hasan ; EMBA (jointly 2nd)
POSTER PAINTING CONTEST:
  1. Farhana Islam Tani; FASS (1st)
  2. Shukla Debnath; Architecture (2nd)
WATER COLOR CONTEST:
  1. Nafhatul Jannat Shanta; BBA (1st)
  2. Ahmed Nurul Hasan Shakkhor; Architecture (2nd)
Professor Sayeed appreciated the initiative of the teachers of Arts and Social Sciences in promoting literary and cultural pursuits and making students participate in such large numbers. Dr. Faheem Hasan Shahed (Head of English Dept) and Dr. Buddha Dev Biswas (Head of Social Science dept) conducted the entire event, ably supported by Syeda Farzana Sultana Hafsa, Rumana Islam, Syeda Sanjida Islam & Debasish Biswas of English Department; and Farhana Zaman & Shaira Matin of Social Science Department; Mr. Niaz Mazumder of Advertising Department, not to speak of the ever smiling big-hearted Manzur H Khan (Coordinator of Student Affairs