Rolex Awards '06: Runa Khan Marre does Bangladesh proud

Runa Khan Marre

Her claim to fame lies in her pioneering work alongside her husband Yves Marre from France, of preserving the shipbuilding tradition of our country, which has no less than 600 water courses of a total length of 24,000 km. In just two decades, this conservatively 3,000 year old shipbuilding tradition was on the brink of disappearing. Runa's project involved reviving traditional wooden boats and creating a 'Living Museum' to preserve the techniques of artisans, reviving the country's navigable waterways and preservation of this unique heritage.

Amplifying on the criteria for selection of the laureates, Phillippe Masset (Rolex France) in the Salon des Boiseires in the Musee des Art Decoratifs said, "Over the last 30 years, The Rolex Awards for Enterprise have honoured special individuals. Men and women whose energy and creativity have been responsible for initiating extraordinary projects…They are of all ages and nationalities and backgrounds, but they have one thing in common: The Spirit of Enterprise that has enabled them to realise their dream."

The Rolex Award was created in 1976 on the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, in 1926, one of the most important innovations of the watch-making history. The jury met in 2006 last spring in Geneva, chaired by Patrick Heiniger, MD Rolex SA. Seventeen hundred projects from 117 counties were considered. From these after several days of intensive work the jury settled on five laureates and five associate laureates.