SAF Bangladesh Chapter's Introduction

 

Founder's Prologue

The chairperson of the Bangladesh chapter of the SAF, Dr. Kamal Hossain, has served as Minister of Law, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Petroleum and Minerals following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

He has nominated several outstanding members to the SAF Advisory Board including the Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus; and the Vice Chairman of SAF Bangladesh and Former Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University, Jamilur Reza Choudhury. Other eminent members include the Nobel Peace Prize nominee Mrs. Khushi Kabir, who was also the great-niece of Humayun Kabir, who served as secretary to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru following Indian independence.

The Third Steering Committee Meeting of the SAF Learning Initiative (SAFLI), hosted by the BRAC University in Dhaka, was inaugurated on 11th December 2002 by the Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen. He explained the importance of twinning widespread literacy at the grassroots level with excellence in knowledge.

The extensive possibilities offered by online education were highlighted, taking into account the increasing familiarity of young people with computers.

SAF chairman, Dr. Kamal Hossain, underlined the role of regional cooperation for peace and development and summarized the rapid progress that SAFLI had made since its first steering committee meeting in September 2002 at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France.

 

 

The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence was awarded to the Bangladeshi poet, writer and journalist, Taslima Nasreen, on 16th November 2004 – the United Nations Day of Tolerance and anniversary of the founding of UNESCO.

At the Special Meeting held on 27th November 2006, the SAF Governing Council decided that the South Asia Foundation would thereafter fund the biannual UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize of US$ 100,000.

Madanjeet Singh
SAF Founder

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SAF Bangladesh Chapter

Mr. Kamal Hossain, The Emeritus Chairperson
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973 - 1975).
Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
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Mr. Farooq Sobhan, Chairperson

Ms. Khushi Kabir, Vice-Chairperson

SAF Secretary: Md. Zakaria
Email:- zakaria@safmail.org