|
home
|
SHUSHUK MELA
On 9-12 October
we convened a cetacean exhibition at the Shishu Academy in
Bangladesh. In the days before the exhibition we (1) sent
out several hundred invitations to government officers,
academics, NGO workers, and the international diplomatic
community in Dhaka, (2) recruited and trained a group of 17
volunteers (almost all had previously participated in
training and fieldwork conducted by the project so were
already well versed about our program) to serve as
interpreters and help with the set-up and breakdown of the
exhibit, (3) contracted local artists to produce life-size
models of the seven species of cetaceans frequently
occurring in Bangladesh waters, (4) produced a variety of
printed media materials including posters, postcards,
fliers, banners, tickets, CD covers and booklets, (5)
completed the final editing of two film documentaries on
cetaceans in Bangladesh and the BCDP project, (6) completed
power-point presentations and talks for a seminar that was
being held as part of the exhibition, (7) held a press
conference attended by all major local newspapers and radio
and TV stations in Bangladesh, and (8) gave extensive
interviews to the local and international media including
ones that appeared on BBC World and the Australia
Broadcasting Corporation.
The opening ceremony on 9 October was attended by about 200
people. Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur served as the emcee giving
introductions in both English and Bengali. Benazir Ahmed,
BCDP Project Supervisor, gave the opening speech followed by
greetings from the Chief Guest Dr. C.S. Karim, Chief Advisor
to the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, and the
Special Guest, Dr. A.K.M Aminul Haque. Dr. Haque was among
the first scientists to conduct research and promote the
conservation of cetaceans in South Asia and at the beginning
and end of his speech he told the audience that this was
"happiest day of his life." I then gave a short power-point
presentation on the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project.
This was followed by the premiere of our two documentary
films: Shushuk, Our Rivers and Mankind and the second,
Exploring Our Waters.
We then proceeded to the exhibition hall, passing our
full-size 2D model of a Bryde's whale just outside the
entrance. Once there, Dr. C.S. Karim formally opened the
"Shushuk Mela." At the entrance of the exhibit were the
life-size 3D models of the seven small cetaceans inhabiting
Bangladesh and on the other side a table with our media
materials which we sold for a nominal price to help defray
some of the costs of the exhibition. Inside the exhibition
hall there were (1) colorfully illustrated placards with
information about cetaceans in English and Bengali, (2)
interactive games including "Am I a Mammal?", "Cetacean Body
Parts", "Fish or Dolphin?" and "Fin Matching", (3) video
presentations of a live birth of a cetacean and Shushuk, Our
Rivers and Mankind, (4) 34 gallery quality photographs of
cetaceans in Bangladesh, and (5) an exhibit of cetacean
skulls, bones and teeth. Throughout the exhibit our
volunteer interpreters actively engaged visitor to play the
games and discuss the exhibits.
On 11 October, as part of the exhibition, we held a seminar
titled: Working Towards the Conservation of Cetaceans in
Bangladesh. The seminar was attended by 30-40 people, mostly
academics and government officials. Benazir Ahmed opened the
seminar with a short introduction to the BCDP. We then
showed our two documentary films. After a short tea break I
gave a power-point presentation titled: What makes cetaceans
special? This was followed by another power-point
presentation, given jointly by Benazir Ahmed, Rubaiyat
Mansur and me, titled: Cetaceans of Bangladesh -
Introduction to the species, their habitats and the threats
they face. We then broke for Muslim prayers. This was
followed by a final joint presentation, given jointly by the
entire BCDP team, titled: A proposed protected area network
for cetacean diversity in Bangladesh. Although the audience
was relatively small, everyone expressed interest and asked
a lot of good questions. We had a particularly good showing
from the University of Dhaka, including the Chair of the
Zoology Department, Bangladesh Water Development Board and
the Department of Fisheries.
We estimated that at least 10,000 people attended the
exhibition. Entries in the guestbook were overwhelmingly
positive. During the four days of the exhibition we had
continuous showings (29) of the documentary films. The
exhibition received extensive media coverage in Bangladesh,
with articles in at least 12 Bengali newspapers, and feature
stories on the front page (the day of the opening) and in
the weekend supplements of the Daily Star and New Age, the
two largest English language papers in the country. We also
received extensive coverage in the international media
including interviews on Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Radio and a television segment on BBC World.
Subsequent to the exhibition we received several requests to
host it again at universities and schools throughout
Bangladesh, and we have plans to present it to local
communities bordering the Sundarbans onboard one of The
Guide Tours vessels. After the exhibition we also
transferred the life-size cetacean models for permanent
display at the Zoology Department Museum at the University
of Dhaka. |
|
|
| B A C K |
H O M E |
|
