Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020 was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in a virtual inauguration declaration ceremony on Monday 27th July, 2020. The Inauguration program was attended by His Excellency Yousef bin Ahmad Al- Othaimeen, Secretary General, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); His Excellency Mr. Azad Rahimov, Hon’ble Minister of Youth and Sports of Republic of Azerbaijan; H.E. Dawda A. Jallow, Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Gambia , His Excellency Mr. Taha Ayhan, President, Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen MP, Honorable Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel MP, Honorable State Minister for Youth and Sports of Bangladesh along with other global leaders and dignitaries.
The event was inaugurated at the National Sports Council. Dr. Momen, Honorable Foreign Minister, Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP, Hon’ble State Minister of the Ministry of Youth & Sports and high officials from both the Ministry attended the event in person in the venue maintaining proper health standards and social distancing. The other Ministers and Dignitaries which includes Ambassadors of Foreign Missions in Bangladesh, Ambassadors of Bangladesh from some countries, Secretaries from Different Ministries, eminent personalities and Journalists from home and abroad have joined virtually in the inauguration ceremony. More than 200 participants from 75 (seventy five) countries who have been shortlisted for “ Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” also joined this virtual inauguration program.
Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh in her statement highlighted on the strength and vitality of Youth and recalled the achievement and sacrifices of the father of the Nation Bangabandhu during his youth. She also highlighted on the plight of the persecuted Rohingya Community and asked the global community to build global consensus for their sustainable, safe and dignified repatriation. Hon’ble Prime Minister has stressed that in all the visions and plan, Bangladesh Government has put utmost importance on the youth. With the power of the youth, Bangladesh has already materialized the Vision-2021 to transform it into a “Digital Bangladesh” and the decision of organizing the whole “Dhaka, OIC Youth Capital 2020” program is a testament to the technologically empowered advanced Bangladesh
Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, MP said, “We were expected to launch the event sequence in April 2020. But the COVID-19 pushed us back. Now – we have remodeled and relaunched ourselves on the web-platform. Additionally, we have reasons to believe that the occurrence of the COVID-19 has only accentuated the underlying rationale for the theme of this year’s edition ‘Resilience for Parity and Prosperity’. Hon’ble Foreign Minister has mentioned about the “Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” where Youth across the globe will visit the Rohingya Camp in Cox’s bazar virtually and sensitize them with the plights of these persecuted people and discuss with humanitarian experts to concoct how the accountability and justice can be ensured for them.
H.E. Dawda A. Jallow, Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Gambia highlighted his country’s principled positions on the Rohingya crisis and the principles of international law and international genocide and other humanitarian laws. He noted that the ICJ ordered provisional measures against Myanmar for stopping the onslaught of the genocide. He noted that the Rohingyas have a birthright to their homeland in the Northern Rakhine and their mandate for citizenship and legal rights remain a common commitment for the international community.
Mr. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, MP gave a brief on the history and background of the selection procedure of Dhaka as the OIC Youth Capital. He emphasized on the indomitable spirit and vigour of the of the youth of Bangladesh and world as well. He further mentioned about the achievement of youth in different sector of Bangladesh and welcomed everyone for joining this august event. The Hon’ble State Minister mentioned that he inauguration declaration programme will be followed by a virtual youth summit titled “Resilient Youth Leadership Summit” on 27th and 28th July 2020, where 250 shortlisted youths out of more than 1200 applications from 75 countries will meet expert panelists in various day long activities to learn and craft the strategies to build a Resilient World, particularly, in the context of this COVID-19 pandemic situation.
Mr. Ayhan started his speech by thanking Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Honorable Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for welcoming this year’s OIC Youth Capital Program in the magnificent city of Dhaka, a city of youth. He continued by emphasizing that “Bangladesh has become one of Asia’s most remarkable success stories in recent years, is moving quickly to a high-value, knowledge-intensive society, beyond apparel manufacturing, and will be the 26th largest economy in the world, by 2030″. “With its asset of two-third of its population is under 25, quick learners, adaptive to technologies, and ready to engage in their communities, Bangladesh will certainly keep moving to highest levels of sustainable development” Mr. Ayhan added.
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),Hon’ble Minister of Youth and Sports of Republic of Azerbaijan and Hon’ble President of Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) in their statement praised Bangladesh for their outstanding preparation and called upon the youths of the OIC member states to build stronger fraternity among them.
A series of events will be organized at the OIC Youth Capital Dhaka 2020 including OIC Scout Leaders E-Meet: People for better planet, Bangabandhu Youth Leadership Award, Holy Quran Recitation Competition, Film Festival: Lockdown by the Lence, OIC Knowledge Master: Quiz competition, Art Exhibition: Creativity to create better world, Debate Competition: Topics on new Free world, Youth Bootcamp – Leadership, Youth development, Entrepreneurship, Skill & Employment Camp etc. Dates of these events will be confirmed later.
