IUB hosts global day 2025 featuring mun awards and academic seminar

The Department of Global Studies and Governance (GSG) of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), along with its student club Global Gatekeepers, observed Global Day 2025 on 23 November.

The three-day flagship celebration featured an academic seminar, the award-giving ceremony of the IUB Global Intra Model United Nations (IUBGIMUN) 2025, and a cultural programme.

The activities marked the closing of the two-day IUBGIMUN Conference held on 21–22 November, organised by the Global Gatekeepers. Each year, GSG and the club observe Global Day as the department's foundation day, aligning the celebration with the United Nations theme.

The closing session began with an academic seminar titled "Building Our Future Together: Hopes and Lessons," in line with the UN theme for 2025. His Excellency Ghanshyam Bhandari, Ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh, attended as Chief Guest. The session was conducted by Dr Md Shanawez Hossain, Associate Professor of GSG, and opened with a dance performance of Aguner Poroshmoni by members of the IUB Dance Club.

Ambassador Bhandari said, "The UN is more than an institution or a platform for member states to deliberate on global issues. It is an embodiment of people's collective commitment and shared responsibilities. Unfortunately, today this very spirit of relating with each other and our problems is missing. The pressing issues that were discussed during this workshop, and the debates, were enlightening and insightful."

Shah Asif Rahman, Director General of the United Nations Wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "This year's UN theme 'Building our future together' celebrates the 80th anniversary of the UN. This phrase calls not for passive optimism but for active hope. Not for solitary effort but for burden sharing and common purpose."

In his keynote address, Ambassador Tariq A Karim (Retd), Advisor to IUB's Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBoBS), said, "If we are to build now for a better future, the first step is to learn from both our times and from our failures in the past. The past has shown us that division leads only to stagnation and pain, be it wars, discrimination, or exclusion. But history also reminds us of moments where humanity overcame divisions."

From IUB, Didar A Hussain, Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Prof Dr M Tamim, Vice Chancellor; Prof Dr Daniel W Lund, Pro-Vice Chancellor; Dr Imtiaz A Hussain, Professor of GSG; and Dr Marufa Akter, Associate Professor and Head of GSG, spoke at the event. Sudhir Muralidharan, Country Manager of UNOPS Bangladesh, also addressed the audience.

Awards and recognitions were presented to Executive Board members, delegates, and committee performers. The cultural segment featured dance and musical performances by students; sarod playing by GSG student Abul Kasem Ashikur Rahman; Bajna Beat with Japanese performer Mae Watanabe, who presented Japanese–Bangla fusion songs; and a concert by Kishore Claudius.