DHAKA

Bangladesh was announced as the “OIC Youth Capital 2020-21” marking a significant recognition for the leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her spirited Government in the youth sector. The Istanbul based Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), an entity affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), made this declaration on 25 December 2019. The selection of Dhaka as the “OIC Youth Capital 2020-21” will play a significant role to reflect a positive brand image of Bangladesh globally specially among the youth. The convergence of the yearlong events with the grand celebration of the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has amplified its significance to a great extent.

Comprising to the youth of Bangladesh and the world, this event will showcase the spirit of Islam and youth and work to build peaceful collaboration among the youth generation. The year-long programs will contain different modes of youth and practices of living together and building the nest world together.

To celebrate the Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020, ten other elaborate mega events (Bangabandhu Global Youth Award, Bangabandhu Global Youth Award, OIC Knowledge Master, Bangabandhu Youth Art Competition, Bangabandhu-Dhaka International Debate Fest for the OIC Youth, Entrepreneurship, Skill & Employment Camp, Dhaka OIC Youth Capital Film Festival 2020-21, Scout Conference for Sustainable Development, Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award, The Holy Qur’an Recitation competition, Closing Ceremony) have been designed which will be implemented by various Ministries and government bodies throughout the year. It is our great pleasure to formally inform that the ‘Dhaka-OIC youth capital 202-21-Bangabandhu- Youth Art Competition’ is scheduled from 15-30 April 2021 virtually. With an objective to disseminate the related information of the exhibition through public media, the press conference has been scheduled to take place on 1 March, 2021. Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh is going to organize the Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020-21 Bangabandhu- Youth Art Competition in association with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Interested young artists aged between 18-35 years from the OIC member states and muslim community of other country are eligible to apply to the competition. The entire participating countries are devided into six regions. The regions are Bangladesh, Middle East, Rest of Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe and Australia.

Two juries from each region will be responsible for the selection of artists, artworks and awards from their regional countries. Three juries from Bangladesh will select Bangladeshi artworks and awards. The jury board will select top 100 artworks – from Bangladesh 20 artists, Middle East 20 artists, Rest of Asia 20 artists, Africa 15 artists, North and South America 10 artists, and from Europe and Australia 15 artists.

Under the theme of the competition ‘Parity & Prosperity’ there will be a virtual exhibition of contemporary art, calligraphy art, photography and graphic design from 15 – 30 April, 2021.
In order to represent their selective thought and imagination to participate in the competition artistsmay follow the subjects like 1) Bangabandhu and Bangladesh; 2) COVID Pandemic; 3) Humanity in Refugee Crisis; 4) Youth Spirit in Technology; 5) Islamic History; 6) Climate Change etc.

Interested participating artists are requested to fill up the registration form (available at http://dhaka.oicyouthcapital.com/program/bangabandhu-youth-art-competition).

Only selected artists will be notified for participation in the virtual exhibition. The selection result will be posted on the website. Applicants are required to attach necessary documents along with the registration form. Each participant may apply with information of their artworks for selection process in maximum three categories and only one artwork for each category. Images of the artworks should be submitted by email in JPEG format in 300 DPI resolution and RGB color mode. Each file size of the attached Image should not be more than 5 MB. All interested participating artistsare requested to submit a scanned copy of their passportornational ID, educational, professional certificate in not be more than 5 MB.

The deadline for the registration and submission of the participation documents is scheduled from 1-31 March 2021. Artworks and regional award selection will be from 1-7 April 2021 from six regions and the selected artists will be notified about their selection through email. The jury session for grand award selection will be held from 11 – 13 April, 2021. A jury panel comprising from Bangladesh and ICYF will be responsible for judging the seclected artworks. Four awards will be given in each categories.
All selected artists will be recive certificate for their participation.

All communication regarding the ecompetition must be directed to the address of the Department of Fine Arts, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, 14/3 Segunbagicha, Ramna, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. Phone: +88029550602; Mobile: +8801713047571; +8801711183544, +8801711174918;
E-mail: shilpakala.dhaka@oicyouthcapital.com

Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020 was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in a virtual inauguration declaration ceremony on Monday 27th July, 2020. The Inauguration program was attended by His Excellency Yousef bin Ahmad Al- Othaimeen, Secretary General, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); His Excellency Mr. Azad Rahimov, Hon’ble Minister of Youth and Sports of Republic of Azerbaijan; H.E. Dawda A. Jallow, Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Gambia , His Excellency Mr. Taha Ayhan, President, Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen MP, Honorable Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel MP, Honorable State Minister for Youth and Sports of Bangladesh along with other global leaders and dignitaries.

The event was inaugurated at the National Sports Council.  Dr. Momen, Honorable Foreign Minister, Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP, Hon’ble State Minister of the Ministry of Youth & Sports and high officials from both the Ministry attended the event in person in the venue maintaining proper health standards and social distancing. The other Ministers and Dignitaries which includes Ambassadors of Foreign Missions in Bangladesh, Ambassadors of Bangladesh from some countries, Secretaries from Different Ministries, eminent personalities and Journalists from home and abroad have joined virtually in the inauguration ceremony. More than 200 participants from 75 (seventy five) countries who have been shortlisted for “ Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” also joined this virtual inauguration program.

Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh in her statement highlighted on the strength and vitality of Youth and recalled the achievement and sacrifices of the father of the Nation Bangabandhu during his youth. She also highlighted on the plight of the persecuted Rohingya Community and asked the global community to build global consensus for their sustainable, safe and dignified repatriation. Hon’ble Prime Minister has stressed that in all the visions and plan, Bangladesh Government has put utmost importance on the youth. With the power of the youth, Bangladesh has already materialized the Vision-2021 to transform it into a “Digital Bangladesh” and the decision of organizing the whole “Dhaka, OIC Youth Capital 2020” program is a testament to the technologically empowered advanced Bangladesh

Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, MP said, “We were expected to launch the event sequence in April 2020. But the COVID-19 pushed us back. Now – we have remodeled and relaunched ourselves on the web-platform. Additionally, we have reasons to believe that the occurrence of the COVID-19 has only accentuated the underlying rationale for the theme of this year’s edition ‘Resilience for Parity and Prosperity’. Hon’ble Foreign Minister has mentioned about the “Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” where Youth across the globe will visit the Rohingya Camp in Cox’s bazar virtually and sensitize them with the plights of these persecuted people and discuss with humanitarian experts to concoct how the accountability and justice can be ensured for them.

H.E. Dawda A. Jallow, Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Gambia highlighted his country’s principled positions on the Rohingya crisis and the principles of international law and international genocide and other humanitarian laws. He noted that the ICJ ordered provisional measures against Myanmar for stopping the onslaught of the genocide. He noted that the Rohingyas have a birthright to their homeland in the Northern Rakhine and their mandate for citizenship and legal rights remain a common commitment for the international community.

Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP gave a brief on the history and background of the selection procedure of Dhaka as the OIC Youth Capital. He emphasized on the indomitable spirit and vigour of the of the youth of Bangladesh and world as well. He further mentioned about the achievement of youth in different sector of Bangladesh and welcomed everyone for joining this august event.  The Hon’ble State Minister mentioned that he inauguration declaration programme will be followed by a virtual youth summit titled “Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” on 27th and 28th July 2020, where 250 shortlisted youths out of more than 1200 applications from 75 countries will meet expert panelists in various day long activities to learn and craft the strategies to build a Resilient World, particularly, in the context of this COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Mr. Ayhan started his speech by thanking Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Honorable Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for welcoming this year’s OIC Youth Capital Program in the magnificent city of Dhaka, a city of youth. He continued by emphasizing that “Bangladesh has become one of Asia’s most remarkable success stories in recent years, is moving quickly to a high-value, knowledge-intensive society, beyond apparel manufacturing, and will be the 26th largest economy in the world, by 2030″.   “With its asset of two-third of its population is under 25, quick learners, adaptive to technologies, and ready to engage in their communities, Bangladesh will certainly keep moving to highest levels of sustainable development” Mr. Ayhan added.

Secretary General of the  Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),Hon’ble Minister of Youth and Sports of Republic of Azerbaijan and  Hon’ble President of Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) in their statement praised Bangladesh for their outstanding preparation and called upon the youths of the OIC member states to build stronger fraternity among them. 

A series of events will be organized at the OIC Youth Capital Dhaka 2020 including OIC Scout Leaders E-Meet: People for better planet, Bangabandhu Youth Leadership Award, Holy Quran Recitation Competition, Film Festival: Lockdown by the Lence, OIC Knowledge Master: Quiz competition, Art Exhibition: Creativity to create better world, Debate Competition: Topics on new Free world, Youth Bootcamp – Leadership, Youth development, Entrepreneurship, Skill & Employment Camp etc. Dates of these events will be confirmed later.

Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020 will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in a virtual inauguration declaration ceremony on Monday 27th July, 2020. The Inauguration program will be virtually attended by His Excellency Yousef bin Ahmad Al- Othaimeen, Secretary General, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); His Excellency Mr. Azad Rahimov, Hon’ble Minister of Youth and Sports of Republic of Azerbaijan; His Excellency Mr. Taha Ayhan, President, Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) and along with other global leaders and dignitaries.

A press conference was held at the National Sports Council (NSC) Auditorium on Saturday, 25th of July on the eve of the occasion. Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government Republic of Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP, Hon’ble State Minister of the Ministry of Youth & Sports, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Mr. Md. Akhter Hossain, Honorable Secretary of the Ministry of Youth & Sports were present at the conference. Honorable President of Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), Mr. Taha Ayhan also joined the programme through virtual medium. Journalists from home and abroad participated in that press conference both in person and through virtual medium.

Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP gave a brief on the history and background of OIC Youth Capital saying, “OIC Youth Capital, initiated by Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) is the yearly gathering of the youth of the Muslim world that constitutes one third of 1.5 billion Muslims of OIC region. The capital is aimed to bring the youth together through certain activities, conferences, conventions, festivals and other special events. The goals of the initiative are to foster inter-cultural and inter-civilizational diversity and to unite the Muslim youth of the members of OIC countries under one platform to share among themselves and to turn up the Voice of Youth.”

Hon’ble State Minister for Youth and Sports further emphasized on the power and strength of the youth of Bangladesh with which Bangladesh has already materialized the Vision-2021 and the decision of organizing the whole “Dhaka, OIC Youth Capital 2020” program was a testament to the technologically empowered and advanced Bangladesh. He also stated that the significance of “ Dhaka, OIC Youth Capital 2020” had amplified to a great extent due to its convergence with the birth centenary celebration of Bangabandhu and “ Bangabandhu Global Youth Award” will be awarded to enlighten the global youth about the exemplary leadership of Bangabandhu. 

The inauguration declaration programme will be followed by a virtual youth summit titled “Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” on 27th and 28th July 2020, where 250  shortlisted youths out of more than 1200 applications from 75 countries will meet expert panelists in various day long activities to learn and craft the strategies to build a Resilient World, particularly, in the context of this COVID-19 pandemic situation. Youth across the globe will visit the Rohingya Camp in Cox’s bazar virtually and sensitize them with the plights of these persecuted people and discuss with humanitarian experts to concoct how the accountability and justice can be ensured for them. The Rohingya Camp visit will jointly be coordinated by Government of Bangladesh, ICYF, UNHCR, IOM and University of Cambridge.

During the press conference, Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, MP said, “We were expected to launch the event sequence in April 2020. But the COVID-19 pushed us back. Now – we have remodeled and relaunched ourselves on the web-platform. Additionally, we have reasons to believe that the occurrence of the COVID-19 has only accentuated the underlying rationale for the theme of this year’s edition ‘Resilience for Parity and Prosperity’.

Hon’ble Foreign Minister also highlighted the proposed “ OIC COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund” to cushion against the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support Bangladesh migrant workers living in OIC member states during this crisis.  

Hon’ble President of Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), H.E. Taha Ayhan in his statement remarked that Bangladesh was the first OIC Member State  that initiated and organized first ever Youth CFM as side event to 45th CFM in 2018. He further stated about the previous “ OIC Youth Capital” events and expressed utmost satisfaction about the overall preparation of Bangladesh for launching the year long events on virtual platforms.

Explaining the importance of the programme in context of COVID-19 pandemic, the Hon’ble State Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Sports also stated, “This programme is particularly important in the COVID-19 and post-COVID recovery and reconstruction of an equitable global economic order. It emphasizes on the leadership, vision, ideation and imagination of the youth for constructing an innovative, resilient, and inclusive narrative to ensure a leadership position in the affairs of the world. Dhaka-OIC Youth Capital 2020 believes that each new life comes with a potential and a promise.”

A series of events will be organized at the OIC Youth Capital Dhaka 2020 including OIC Scout Leaders E-Meet: People for better planet, Bangabandhu Youth Leadership Award, Holy Quran Recitation Competition, Film Festival: Lockdown by the Lence, OIC Knowledge Master: Quiz competition, Art Exhibition: Creativity to create better world, Debate Competition: Topics on new Free world, Youth Bootcamp – Leadership, Youth development, Entrepreneurship, Skill & Employment Camp etc. Dates of these events will be confirmed later.