Students dream of poverty-free Bangladesh in 2021

Participants of an extempore speech competition organised by Pratyasha 2021 Forum pose for photograph with the guests at RC Majumdar auditorium in the city yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

They were taking part in an extempore speech competition for school students titled 'What kind of Bangladesh we want to see in 2021' organised by Pratyasha 2021 Forum in cooperation with Hunger Free World at RC Majumder Auditorium of Dhaka University.

"We will not stop after putting poverty into museum or inventing hybrid seeds, rather we want to be technologically developed like present Germany," said Fatiha Noor of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College who secured first position in the competition.

Samiul Awal Sakkhar of BAF Shaheen College, Kurmitola, who stood second, said, "We want to see such a Bangladesh at the time of celebrating the golden jubilee of the liberation war which was dreamt by our freedom fighters (FFs)."

"We want a secular Bangladesh," he added.

SM Tadbir Bin Chisti of Sir John Wilson School got the third position.

Seven participants spoke about their dreams for future Bangladesh.

They said corruption, which has now become synonymous with Bangladesh, will not be in the country in 2021.

They said no one will die from hunger and there will be no single child labourer in the country by that time.

Former diplomat Moisul Mannan presided over the programme which was attended by Country Director of Hunger Free World Ataur Rahman Miton, Mizanur Rahman Shelly of Centre for Development Research, and Journalist Mozammel Hossain Monju.

A panel of judges selected the winners on the basis of their performance.