Nation to celebrate March 7 speech recognition on Nov 25

The nation on November 25 will celebrate the recognition of the historic 7th March speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a world documentary heritage.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) last week with PM's Principal Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury in the chair.

Officials of different ministries, government divisions, civil society members and media people were present at the meeting.

"We think recognition of Bangabandhu's March 7 speech as a world documentary heritage is a great achievement for the nation as well as for its history and heritage ... inclusion of the speech in the world documentary heritage means involvement with the everlasting world heritage," Dr Kamal Naser told BSS today.

To celebrate this great achievement, he said, joyous processions involving the people of all classes and professions as well as government and private organisations will be staged across the country on November 25.

He said this programme has been taken to inform the people, particularly students and future generations, about the national and international significance of the Bangabandhu's March 7 speech.

The top government official said the celebration won't be limited to as only a festival, it will be in fact as awareness build-up programme so that the students and next generation could be well-informed about the March 7 speech.

Describing the recognition as a great pride for Bangalee nation and Bangla language, he said that everybody, especially students, should know about the national and international significance of Bangabandhu's March 7 speech.

"They should also know that what is the Memory of the World International Register and what is the World Documentary Heritage," he said.

"We're considering taking a special class in all educational institutions to inform the students about these crucial issues," he added.

Dr Kamal Naser said initiatives will be taken to preserve the March 7 speech as a visible one in all public libraries and educational institutions which will remain as a pride for the nation.

"The educational institutions will later arrange various competitions like quiz and general knowledge on the March 7 speech," he said.

The prime minister's principal secretary said cultural functions and concerts will be staged across the country to inform about the significance of the speech.

He said the speech will be broadcast in various languages so that world people can know about it.

"We will engage our missions abroad in this work," he said.

On October 30, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognised the Bangabandhu's historic March 7 speech as part of world's documentary heritage. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova announced the decision at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris.

According to the decision, Bangabandhu's 7th March speech has been included in the Memory of the World International Register, a list of world's important documentary heritage maintained by the UNESCO.

The Memory of the World International Register is a list of documents having global significance. The objective of creating the International Register is to ensure preservation of, and access to, documentary heritage in various parts of the world.

The International Advisory Committee (IAC) is responsible for recommending whether or not a document qualifies for inclusion in the Memory of the World International Register. The International Advisory Committee during its meeting from 24 to 27 October 2017 recommended the 7th March speech for inscription on the Memory of the World International Register.

The Memory of the World Register now includes a total of 427 documents and collection from all continents.

The 7th March speech of Bangabandhu provided inspiration to the Bengali nation in their quest for freedom and emancipation. The speech also energised the entire nation and prepared the people for the liberation struggle.

It also served as the ultimate source of inspiration for the countless freedom fighters who joined the Mukti Bahini.

Bangabandhu's speech is played throughout the country during various national occasions and continues to reverberate in hearts and minds of the Bengali people. This speech continues to enthrall people and will continue to inspire succeeding generations of this country.