Invited Guests
Chief Guest of Opening Ceremony:
Professor Dr. Akhtaruzzaman, Vice Chancellor, University of Dhaka
Special Guests of Opening Ceremony:
Professor Dr. M. Wahiduzzaman, Former Vice Chancellor, Noakhali Science and Technology University; Faculty, Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka
Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Halim, Director, Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka
Chief Guest of Closing Ceremony:
Dr. Dipu Moni, M.P., Minister, Ministry of Education, Govt. of People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Special Guest of Closing Ceremony:
Mr. Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, M.P., Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Govt. of People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Guests of Honour Closing Ceremony:
Ms. Beatrice Kaldun, Head of the office and UNESCO Representative, Bangladesh
Professor Md. Moshiuzzaman, Chairman, National Curriculum and Textbook Board, Ministry of Education, Govt. of People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Inauguration
The three-day long conference commenced at 9:30 AM, 19 May 2022. Dr. Sumera Ahsan, Associate Professor, IER, University of Dhaka, hosted the conference alongside Grace P. Sengupta, Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations, BRAC. The member secretary of the 6th international conference on equity and inclusion in education, Professor M. Tariq Ahsan, Ph.D., gave the welcome speech. In his articulation, he spoke about the theme and agendas of the conference and conveyed his regard for the overwhelming response received worldwide from research scholars, teachers, and development practitioners. He thanked all the keynote speakers, participants, and presenters of the ACIE Conference 2022.
Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Halim, Director, IER, University of Dhaka, was one of the special guests at the inauguration of the ACIE Conference 2022. In his speech, he emphasized the necessity of inclusion for ensuring quality education globally. The honourable guest also signified the engagement of IER faculties in ACIE’s international initiatives as a matter of joy. He congratulated ACIE and all the national-international participants and partners for making the event a success.
Professor Dr. M. Wahiduzzaman, Former Vice-Chancellor, Noakhali Science and Technology University, was also invited as a special guest at the inauguration. He addressed the challenges and barriers that lie ahead on the path of equity and inclusion, and he proposed a few changes in conventional thoughts and practices. The honourable guest also took his time to appreciate the government of Bangladesh on its initiative to promote equity and inclusion in education.
Professor Dr. Akhtaruzzaman, honourable vice-chancellor, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, was the chief guest at the inauguration. He apprised how Bangladesh, like the rest of the world, came nearly to a standstill situation during the COVID 19 period. The Government of Bangladesh has continued its online and offline learning activities by taking appropriate initiatives to ensure that educational activities are not disrupted during these disasters and have also provided incentives to students through subsidies at the primary, secondary, and university level. He aspired the other universities, including the University of Dhaka, would play a leading role in adapting to any situation through research activities. Watch The Video
Professor Umesh Sharma, Ph.D., Monash University, Australia, was the conference chair. He joined via Zoom meetings online and expressed his thoughts and expectation about the conference. Following a brief on the conference outline, he thanked everyone present online and offline and passed the floor to book and journal unveiling.
The honourable chief guest, special guests, and member secretary in front of the participants and partners, online and offline unveiled the book and journal and inaugurated the 6th International Conference on Equity and Inclusion in Education officially.
Closing Ceremony
This section of the conference was glorified by the presence of Dr. Dipu Moni, M.P., Honourable Minister, Ministry of Education, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The honourable minister congratulated the ACIE and everyone associated with the team, participants, presenters, partners, and volunteers for arranging an international conference on this scale. She joined virtually and gave her regards to everyone. In her speech, she mentioned the necessity of a holistic approach and understanding of inclusive education to adapt to the changing world.
The honourable chief guest Dr. Dipu Moni, M.P also stated the devastating effect of the COVID 19 and how the government is working relentlessly to cope with the damages. She expressed her belief and hope that Bangladesh has the power to get the best from the edge. On the end note, she took her time to show gratitude toward the people who sacrificed their whole life for the inclusion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Bangladesh. She thanked ACIE Bangladesh for honouring Late Mr. Lindsay Allan Cheyne the NAMI Award 2021. (Speech Video)
Then, Ms. Beatrice Kaldun, Head of the Office, UNESCO Representative, Bangladesh; and Professor Md. Moshiuzzaman, Chairman, NCTB, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Guest of Honour, 6th International Conference on Equity and Inclusion in Education 2022 left their wise words for everyone who attended the conference.
She briefly outlined the initiatives and activities of UNESCO. She also mentioned why UNESCO has been initiated to promote SDG4. 4.7, ESD, GCED, Empathy and related concepts at school, teacher-student, and community level. She discussed the importance of the above concepts for achieving the SDGs of a country. However, she presented UNESCO data and said that 11 Asian countries, including Bangladesh, are under progress in achieving SDG4. (Speech Video)
Professor Md. Moshiuzzaman expressed his delight to be a part of such a conference when NCTB is launching a new national K-12 curriculum. He said that the timing of the conference could not be more right than this because the curriculum of Bangladesh is proposing a major transformation. He mentioned a few points about the new curriculum in his speech. To adapt to the damages and changes that have been brought to us by the COVID 19, the speaker wants the community to be brave and have the courage to go through with it. On the end note, he thanked the ACIE Bangladesh for providing such a platform to interchange ideas and to create room for collaboration.
After that, Mr. Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, M.P., Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, expressed his gratitude to be a part of such an event and thanked ACIE Bangladesh for all the arrangements. In his speech, he stated the need of changes in students’ assessment and perception towards vocational training. He also stated that religion and science should not be compared or correlated by any means rather they have different purpose for our communities and we should identify those and act accordingly. Referring from these, he stated the challenges regarding inclusive education and how the government is working on bringing a fruitful result. After that, he mentioned that changes require time, patience, and collaboration to become fruitful and therefore we all should work together so that we can build a better future for the community. On the end note, he expressed his gratitude towards the excellence and leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister of the Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.
After the speeches of all the guests, the honourable conference chair, Professor Dr. Umesh Sharma, Monash University, Australia, spoke a few words and congratulated the member secretary Professor Dr. M. Tariq Ahsan, for being the sole person to arrange such a conference considering all the challenges. He also took time to thank the guests, participants, presenters, partners, volunteers, and everyone else for being a part of the arrangement and expected such collaboration in future.
The concluding remarks to the 6th International Conference on Equity and Inclusion in Education 2022 was given by the honourable member secretary of the conference Professor M. Tariq Ahsan, Ph.D., IER, University of Dhaka. While stating the necessity of inclusive education and change, he expressed his hope toward changing this world into a better one than go with the plan that NASA surfacing life on Mars by 2030 and make a new world. He expressed his gratitude to the honourable guests, participants, partners, and everyone associated with the conference and concluded the conference