New 7 Wonders of Nature: Time for us to stand out

Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain

The time to create yet another unique mark for Bangladesh in the world has finally arrived. So let's wake up guys to vote for the two most hot spots of Bangladesh to become one of the "New 7 Wonders of Nature".
The "New 7 Wonders of Nature" is an online search set up by a Switzerland based non-profit organisation. Their goal is to bring forward the hidden treasures of our planet to global attention. They highlight the breathtaking and incredible beauty of natural places that include waterfalls to seascapes, rainforests to mountain peaks, and freshwater lakes to salt flats that people are still yet to discover.
A total of 261 locations from 222 countries have participated in this grand campaign. And competing for the title of being recognised as one of 7 Wonders of Nature is three of Bangladesh's very own renowned places Cox's Bazar Beach, Sundarban Forest and Ganges River.
The very famous Cox's Bazar Beach located in southeastern part of Bangladesh is claimed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach. This 120 km sandy beach is made of a series of sandy hills that run parallel to the waters of the Bay of Bengal. The beach's towering cliffs, colourful ancient pagodas and Hindu temples, waterfalls, a game park, tribal villages and a coral island in nearby Saint Martin are its' biggest attractions. In the category of seascapes, this calm and serene beach is currently at the top, ranking first in the voting process.
At present, ranking the third position in the category of forests, national parks and national reserves is none other than the famous Sundarban Forest. This forest located in the southwestern part of the country is the largest mangrove forest in the world, spreading across parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. This area is well known for the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger along with the numerous fauna and its different species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes.
Also in the third place is the 2,510 km long Ganges River amid with other rivers in the category of lakes, rivers and waterfalls. This major river, flowing through India and Bangladesh, is considered as a holy river amongst the Hindus and also holds a great deal of historical significance.
I know what you must be thinking right now. How did Cox's Bazar reach the number one spot? The answer is quite straightforward.
Cox's Bazar is being supported by telecom operator BanglaLink, which is its' Official Supporting Committee and their contribution has made it possible for this 120 km sandy beach to reach the position it is currently in. For a period six months, BanglaLink ran a successful campaign that ended on New Year's Eve that is on 31st December 2008.
During this period, BanglaLink promoted Cox's Bazar via a television advertisement. Along with televised promotions, BanglaLink encouraged people to vote for Cox's Bazar as well as Sundarban Forest and Ganges River through radio commercials as well in the major leading newspapers of Bangladesh.
BanglaLink also urged their subscribers to vote for the nominees nominated for the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" especially Cox's Bazar by sending them regular SMSs. In August 2008, they organised a rally in major parts of the city including Shahbagh and Press Club. People from media and tourism and Dhaka University all participated in the rally.
For five whole months, BanglaLink also organised two caravans that consisted of internet accessible laptops and supervisors who went to around 200 educational institutions and other places all over the country so that they could get people could vote for Cox's Bazar Beach and the other nominees free of cost. They took this to another level by having two mobile booths going to around 72 educational institutions to collect votes from the youth of Bangladesh which lasted for two months approximately.
BanglaLink to promote Cox's Bazar for the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" also associated itself with the Bangladesh Cyber Café Association. Basically via this promotional activity, BanglaLink provided the opportunity for people to vote for Cox's Bazar by occupying two desktops in around 250 cyber cafes all over Bangladesh for a duration of three months.
Sharfuddin Ahmed, PR and Commuthnication Manager of BanglaLink said BanglaLink has been associated with Cox's Bazar ever since 2005 with their Beach Cleaning Project, which is still being carried on and showing wonders. With this new campaign, they hope to see both Cox's Bazar and Bangladesh touch the sky in terms of global recognition and success.
"We are very happy that our campaign has been so successful. We hope our campaign will promote public awareness and contribute to the protection of our natural heritages by making us victorious," said Sharfuddin Ahmed.
Another company promoting the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" is Golden Bangladesh. Jahangir Alam said they have been encouraging people to vote for Cox's Bazar, Sundarban and Ganges River by advertising in their website goldenbangladesh.com. Advertisements on the website take people directly to the voting page in the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" website. Apart from that, a rally has been organised and a stall "Golden Bangladesh" for free voting has been set up at the Bangla Academy which will be there till April 24.
Now you must be wondering, how the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" will be selected. Well entire process of selection is extremely simple.
The first phase of national qualification for the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" ended on January 1 2009. A list of 261 nominees were finalised from around 430 nominations from 224 countries. From that day onwards, voting for the top 77 nominees in 11 different categories from that list also started. People can vote once from one e-mail address.
Voting for the top 77 nominees will continue until July 7 2009. This is the second stage and these nominees will be the ones that will be considered to be qualified for the status of "New 7 Wonders of Nature" by the New 7 Wonders of Nature Panels of Experts. The panel will be governed under the guidance and leadership of Prof. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO. This panel will review the top 77 and select 21 finalists, according to a published standard. The selection will be announced on 21 July, 2009, and the 21 finalists will enter the third and final phase to vote and choose the official New 7 Wonders of Nature.
We are currently in the second phase and one of the main purposes of this article is to encourage all Bangladeshis to vote for Cox's Bazar so it can maintain its current position and also support Sundarban Forest and Ganges River to reach the same height as the sandy beach.
Voting process is extremely easy. Simply go to www.new7wonders.com and go to the N7W tab where you will find the option, "Vote for Nominees." The way to vote for your preferred nominee is posted on the poll's website. To make it easier for you, let me provide with the exact link that will take you directly to the online-voting page, http://www.new7 wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees/. So read the rules and vote away.
Another new way you can vote for your favourite natural beauty is over the telephone, which facility is available worldwide. Basically, you dial their 24-hour international telephone line number, 0041773124041. At the end of the message, after the tone, you need to tab in the 3-digit code for your chosen nominee. To know 3-digit code, just visit http://www.new7 wonders.com/ nature/en/vote_on_nominees/telephonevoting/. After you have heard a thank you message, you are assured your vote has been approved. Your one call represents your one vote.
Voting will continue throughout 2010 and will continue in 2011. During this time, the New 7 Wonders World Tour will visit each of the finalists to allow them to present themselves to the voters across the globe. If you want to find out more information, just visit www.new7wonders.com. And to view the list of nominees and also find out the live ranking of your favourite destination, just go to http://www.new7 wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/.
The top 7 nominees will be officially declared the "New 7 Wonders of Nature" by the year 2011.
So guys, let's not waste any more time and start voting. It's time that the entire world recognises Bangladesh as a country of natural beauty and amazing scenery rather than identifying Bangladesh as country with food shortages, floods, political turmoil or other natural disasters.
So all you Bengalis out there, let's make Bangladesh the proud owner of one of the "New 7 Wonders of Nature."