Published : 10 Feb 2025, 04:10 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 12:35 PM
This year, Mehdi Hasan Khan, the creator of the Avro Bangla font, has received the Ekushey Padak in Science and Technology.
However, he is unwilling to accept the award alone, as three of his friends also contributed to Avro's creation.
Cultural Affairs Advisor Mostofa Sarwar Farooki said it has been decided to honour all four talented individuals collectively for Avro.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, he wrote: “We knew Mehdi was not interested in accepting the award, as he had been approached before too.
“Even though we knew that he could not accept the award, we agreed to announce it from our cabinet. Through this, we wanted to send a message about who we will celebrate.
"Mehdi did not want to accept this achievement alone, or want to accept the award without his three other friends Rifat Nabi, Tanbin Islam Siam, and Shabab Mustafa; all of whom played an important role in the creation of Avro.
"We are happy to announce that the decision has been taken to honour these four talented individuals with the Ekushey Padak who went against the trend as a group to create Avro."
Advisor Farooki said Mehdi's four friends are coming to Bangladesh from different parts of the world to receive the award.
Farooki says he is eagerly awaiting this and has commented that the event will serve as an inspiration for the youth.
On Feb 6, 15 people were recognised for the Ekushey Padak in recognition of their contributions in various fields.
This year, two people have been recognised for their body of work in language and literature: poet Helal Hafiz (posthumous), who passed away last December, and writer Shahidul Zahir (posthumous).
The director of the sensational film "Chhutir Ghonta" Azizur Rahman (posthumous) has been nominated for the Ekushey Padak in the film category.
Two people have been recognised for the award in music: artist, music teacher and composer Ustad Nirad Baran Barua (posthumous) and artist Ferdous Ara.
In journalism, Mahfuz Ullah (posthumous), and in journalism and human rights, Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman have been nominated for this year's award.
The SAFF-winning Bangladesh national women's football team is receiving the award in sports.
The “Ekushey Padak” is the nation’s second-highest civilian award.
It has been awarded annually since 1976 to celebrate the contributions and achievements of notable individuals and organisations.
