Canada chapter of Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) organized an official in-person launching event on January 28, 2023. The event was held at the Massey Square Auditorium of the Bangladeshi-frequented Danforth area in Toronto, Canada.
The program went on from 5 PM to 9 PM. Dr. Mohammad Asaduzzaman presided over a panel discussion. The discussants in the panel included Dr. Monirul Mirza, an environmental scientist, Dr. AKM Saiduz Zaman, President and CEO of Save Our Environment Canada, and Dr. Nasima Akhter, Executive Director of Bangladesh Canada Community Services. Facilitated by Shaugat Ali Sagar other speakers in the event were Professor Tito Khandkar, Coordinator of BEN, Canada, Prof. Dr. Sujit Dutta, Dr. Tariq Ali, Solaiman Talut Robin, science writer Swapan Biswas, Jannatul Islam, and Sopa Rahman.
The speakers expressed their concern that Bangladesh will be one of the biggest victims of the harmful effects of global climate change. The experts in the panel, living in Canada, have urged Bangladesh to use the experience and network of Bangladeshi experts in the diaspora for development in various fields of environment in Bangladesh.
Speakers in the event said that it is possible to play an important role in the development of Bangladesh’s environment through the collective initiative of the public and private organizations and experts as well as expatriates from Bangladesh. They urged for increasing mutual communication as well as joint initiatives. BEN, the speakers mentioned, was formed to play such a role by connecting expatriate Bangladeshi experts in dealing with climate change responses and environmental development in Bangladesh. BEN is active in different countries of the world including UK, USA, Australia, Germany, and Russia. This time it officially debuted in Canada.
