Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei observes Language Martyrs’ Day
On the occasion of the Language Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day, Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei Darussalam hosted an event at the commission along with an online programme amid rapidly deteriorating Covid-19 scenario in Brunei.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Language and Literature Bureau, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended cooperation and all-out support to the High Commission in arranging the programme, reads a press release.
Dr Shamsiah Zuraini Kanchanawati binti Haji Tajuddin, permanent secretary (Core Education), Ministry of Education of Bruneigraced the occasion as the Guest of Honour. The programme started with hoisting the national flag at half-mast.
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The main programme then continued with observing once minute silence, placing floral wreath at the Shaheed Minar located in the chancery premises, recitation from the Holy Quran, special prayer for the salvation of the departed souls of language martyrs.
The program proceeded with reading out of the messages from the Bangladesh President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Bangladesh High Commissioner in Brunei Nahida Rahman Shumona spoke about the contribution of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the language movement of 1952 that eventually led to the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
She also referred to the theme of the 2022 International Mother Language Day set by UNESCO as "Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities".
She also touched upon the undeniable reality of the need to accept the cultural and linguistic diversity in this era of globalisation while acknowledging the necessity of preservation of one's own mother language.
The online segment of the programme was chaired by the Bangladesh High Commissioner.
There were representations from all three leading universities in Brunei (UBD, UTB, UNISSA) in the seminar session on the UNESCO theme moderated by Dr Malai Zeiti Sheikh Abdul Hamid, Assistant Professor at the Universiti and Teknologi Brunei and the President of Reading and Literary Association of Brunei (ReLA). Speakers were Prof. James Mclellan from the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Ms. Suciyati Sulaiman, Deputy Director, Office of Language Centre, UBD, Dr. Norashikin Yusof, Assistant Professor, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA), Dr. Jaya Priah Kasinathan, Specialist (Management), SEAMEO VOCTECH, Regional Training Centre, Brunei, Mr. Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Secretary (West), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, and noted academic Kishwar Kamal. Among the performances in this special segment were poetry recital by Dayang Hanny Bahriyah binti Haji Awang from ReLA, cultural dance performed by Yajnasri Karri who is an Indian national, the reading of the Graphic Novel "Mujib" which is a novel based on the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation, performed by Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (MSPSBS) students, musical performance by the Brunei Music Society and finally another performance by students from La Vida.
