The British Council in association with Standard Chartered Bank, The Daily Star and University Press Limited celebrated World Environment Day 2016 with a series of events from 29 May to 4 June 2016 at the Dhaka University campus office. A photo exhibition was held showcasing the photos celebrating biodiversity in Bangladesh from ‘Celebrating Life’ contest. ‘Celebrating Life’ was a composite competition, inviting films, photographs and lyrics entries that showcase various aspects of life in Bangladesh. Organised jointly by The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank, this initiative was an attempt to provide participants with a massive platform for creative expression. Visitors at the exhibition were enchanted by an unusual display of photographs depicting the country's rich biodiversity. There were also arrangements for the visitors to browse books on the environment and ecology from University Press Limited. Moreover, visitors could enjoy children’s paintings from ‘Save Forest Save our World’ contest organised by the British Council and Standard Chartered Bank.
A prize giving ceremony for the children’s painting contest on ‘Save Forest Save our World’ was also held on 4 June 2016. Bitopi Das Chowdhury, Country Head of Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bangladesh, Matt Pusey, Deputy Director, British Council Bangladesh and Rafi Hossain, Festival Director, Celebrating Life, The Daily Star were present during the prize giving ceremony.
A special stage drama named ‘Modhu Shikari’ by the theatre troupe BotTala was another key event in celebration of the World Environment Day 2016 at the British Council's Dhaka University campus office. It was a modern-day fairy tale aimed to create awareness about the environment. Inspired by Muslim and Hindu mythologies, author Karthika Naïr and illustrator Joëlle Jolivet have created a compelling style to tell their tale about what can happen when someone interferes with nature's rhythm.
On 5 June 2016, the British Council arranged to showcase four documentaries highlighting the need to take care of our planet. The documentaries were - Breakthrough in Renewable Energy, Catastrophic Failure, The Antarctica Challenge and Oil and Water. This show was also open to the public. The programme ended with environment-themed quiz competition that garnered excitement among the participants. Three winners were selected from the competition and were given attractive prizes. Overall, World Environment Day 2016 was observed with great enthusiasm and interest.
