Debate for harmony begins Saturday
With a view to promoting harmony and tolerance, a five-month-long university-level debate festival will begin on Saturday at Narsingdi Government College.
Daffodil International University Debating Club (DIUDC) hosts the event and involves 60 higher educational institutions including madrasas of six districts of Dhaka division -- Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Narsingdi, and Gazipur.
The festival is part of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF)'s “SAMPREETI” project, which aims to increase resilience against violent extremist agendas among students. The details of the event were shared through a press conference on DIU campus in Dhaka yesterday.
Speaking at the conference, former chief information commissioner Prof Golam Rahman said, “The focus of debating should be patience, tolerance and non-violence… We have to acknowledge the existence of pluralism in society. And this is the main function of debate.”
Prof Golam Mostafa Faruk, dean of the faculty of arts and humanities, DIU, said, “Due to the absence of tolerance, election to student unions has stopped. But it was the cradle of creating national leaders. Against this backdrop, debate organisations are the lighthouse.”
Shahzadi Begum, deputy program manager of MJF, said, “There are conflicts and differences in society… But we have to be tolerant, too. SAMPREETI is an initiative to spread this theme.”
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