British Council celebrates National Library Day 2020

In collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Department of Public Libraries, the British Council’s Libraries Unlimited Programme celebrated the third National Library Day, recently. The event, ‘Porbo Boi Gorbo Desh, Bangabandhur Bangladesh’, consisted of a rally, discussion session and cultural programme.

K M Khalid, MP, State Minister for Cultural Affairs, inaugurated the rally and discussion session, while Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, MP, Agriculture Minister was present as the chief guest for the discussion. The event was presided over by Md Abdul Mannan Ilias, Director General (Additional Secretary) Department of Public Libraries, whereas Dr Md Zafar Iqbal, eminent writer and former professor at Shahjajal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, presented the keynote paper.

A meeting on ‘Toy Brick play activities in government public libraries of 64 districts’ was also organised in the children reading room of the Sufia Kamal National Public Library. Thirty children participated in this activity. The children built the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (National Parliament House) with building blocks, under the leadership of Juditha Ohlmacher, who has already developed a model of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with 8000 toy bricks.

Md Abdul Mannan Ilias, Director General (Additional Secretary) Department of Public Libraries joined this segment as the chief guest, while Tom Miscioscia, Director, British Council Bangladesh, graced the occasion as the special guest. Many other government officials from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Public Libraries attended the meeting.

The National Library Day was first recognised by the government on February 5, 2018, to raise public awareness about libraries.