EUNIC launched in Bangladesh to promote diversity, culture

The educational and cultural centers of the three European countries in Bangladesh have together formed the European National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Cluster “to promote diversity and mutual understanding between cultures”.

The Alliance Française, British Council and Goethe Institut also signed an agreement on Wednesday in the presence of Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Head of EU Delegation in Dhaka Rensje Teerink.

Those centres are known for organising cultural and education programmes in Bangladesh. Together as a cluster, their works are expected to get more visibility in Bangladesh.

Noor thanked the EU countries for setting the EUNIC Cluster in Bangladesh and said he was happy to know that one of their priorities would be “to encourage action aimed at raising awareness of cultural heritage with general public, officials and schools.”

He said all cultures and cultural cooperation and understanding aim for one thing – to build a liberal, free-thinking society that is free from any extreme or prejudiced views.

“I thank EUNIC for joining this fight for free thought, and I hope we can work together to create societies that can continue to coexist with cultures from all over the world.”

EUNIC Bangladesh aims to overcome the lack of visibility and presence of the EU in the cultural sphere with programmes focusing on the intrinsic values of the European identity with a range Bangladeshi partners and stakeholders, according to a statement.

Through the development of common cultural projects and stronger partnerships, based on the founding values of the European Union, the EUNIC Bangladesh Cluster aims to connect Bangladeshis with a cultural practice that creates impact all over the world.

Bruno Plasse, Director, Alliance Française de Dhaka said, they are “very excited” to join hands with the British Council and Goethe-Institut in creating EUNIC Bangladesh to foster relations between people of Europe and of Bangladesh and to join hand on cultural and education projects.