Artistes propose five-point plan to reform Actors Equity

Several members of Actors Equity Bangladesh came together to call for reforms within the organisation. Today, they convened a meeting at 11am at Ground Zero in Niketan, where numerous artistes discussed the current issues regarding the organisation. 

The change-making artistes who joined forces today to demand reformed shifts are Intekhab Dinar, Azmeri Haque Badhan, Nadia Ahmed, FS Nayeem, Shamol Mawla, Orchita Sporshia, Shohel Mondol, Quazi Nawshaba, Mousumi Hamid, Mostafizur Noor Imran, Khairul Basar, Manoj Pramanik, and Abdullah Al Sentu, among others.

After several hours of discussion, they finalised a five-point demand and issued a press release to inform the public of their demands.

Here are the following five-point demands by the artistes:

1. The participating members have made several attempts to discuss issues with Actors Equity Bangladesh. After following their procedures and sending a formal letter, they were informed that the organisation would only meet with its members. Despite this, as a collective of professional actors, they wanted to work together on reforms through dialogue. Thus, on September 7, they invited the organisational members for tea at their Ground Zero venue. In response, the organisation replied that they would first consult with their general members before deciding whether to engage with non-members.

The Actors Equity's use of terms like 'members' and 'non-members' reflects a discriminatory attitude towards those seeking reform. The actors who called for the meeting now expect them to publicly apologise and recognise all actors in Bangladesh as equals, rather than making distinctions. The organisation should ensure that everyone has the right to participate in discussions and address their actions with a formal apology

2. In a Bangladesh that is increasingly committed to fighting discrimination, the current committee, advisory board, executive members, and general members of Actors Equity Bangladesh who have supported a particular governance system and displayed inhumane and unprofessional behaviour, ignoring humanitarian concerns, must publicly apologise to the nation. They are also required to meet with actors who called for the meeting by September 10.

3. If they are unwilling to comply with these demands, the committee should be dissolved, and all members should resign by September 10, 2024 (or ideally today or tomorrow).

4. Following the resignations, an interim Reformation Committee will be formed. This committee will oversee the implementation of the changemakers' proposed reforms within the organisation over the next six months, with the goal of modernising it to be relevant and acceptable to all professional actors. The committee will also handle preparations and create a favourable environment for the upcoming elections.

Read more

‘Saba’ premieres today at TIFF with all tickets sold out

5. Representing the reform-minded group of general actors, the changemakers invite actors from various visual media across Bangladesh to collaborate on creating a framework for an organisation that will safeguard the interests, rights, and dignity of all actors. They urge all professional actors in Bangladesh's visual media to engage in discussions and work together to establish a new and fair organisation.