World Space Week 2005 Report

In Bangladesh, 85% population are Muslims as such they maintain fasting from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan. Most of the schools and educational institutes remain closed during the month of Ramadan. This year, the month of Ramadan started from October 06 but maximum Schools were declared closed from Friday, September 30 as Friday is the weekend holiday. The celebration of World Space Week 2005 was held between October 4 and October 10, which was the time when Schools were closed. So we had some problem to celebrate WSW-2005 both in Dhaka and other places of Bangladesh. There were lots of Schools interested to participation in the celebration of this important Space event but due to closure of their Schools due to Ramadan the programmes were canceled. In Dhaka, Mirpur Bangla High School and at Enayetpur, about 22 Schools had participated in the celebration of World Space Week 2005. Reports are as follows:

CELEBRATION AT DHAKA

In Dhaka, despite the closure of Schools, management of Mirpur Bangla High School agreed to cooperate with us and allowed some of their students to attend our function. The Inaugural Ceremony of World Space Week-2005 was held in the Auditorium of Mirpur Bangla High School on the morning of October 4. Among others who had delivered their important lectures in the Meeting were Dr. A. R. Khan, the President of Bangladesh Astronomical Society and the former Associate Professor of the Department of Applied Physics, University of Dhaka, Dr. Ali Asgar, the former Head of the Department of Physics, Bangladesh University of Science & Technology,(BUET). Dr. Mobarak Ali Akand, the former Director of the Science Museum, Dhaka, Mr. F. R. Sarker, the General Secretary of Bangladesh Astronomical Society and the National Coordinator of World Space Week in Bangladesh, Mr. Abdul Mannan, the Acting Head Master, Mirpur Bangla High School, Mr. S. M. Selim, Member of the Managing Committee of this School and Master Amit, a kid Astronomer. The speakers explained at length the necessity for invigorating Space Education among the students in Bangladesh and urged the government to create appropriate infrastructure helping them to gear up their studies and researches on this important sector. It was attended by a large numbers of students overflowing the pace of the Auditorium. The Meeting was followed by a display of Video Show on Space Exploration.

CELEBRATION AT ENAYETPUR

The biggest Show of the World Space Week-2005 was held at Enayetpur a tiny village under Sirajganj district about 80 miles northwest of Dhaka. on the morning of October 6, over the embankment built over the river Jamuna extending about half a kilometer from the village. It was an ideal place where sunny weather and gentle breeze blowing from the vast sparse of the river kept the audience happy. It was participated by 19 Schools and 1 College situated in the villages, viz :

• 1. Enayetpur High School, Enayetpur.
• 2. Meherunnessa Girls School, Enayetpur.
• 3. Kisholoy Kindergarten, Enayetpur
• 4. ICL School, Enayetpur
• 5. Maizgram Primary School, Enayetpur
• 6. Kabatunnessa Kindergarten, Enayetpur
• 7. Enayetpur Primary School, Enayetpur
• 8. Mohanpur Primary School, Khokshabari
• 9. Dhuliabari Primary School, Gopalpur
• 10. Gopalpur Primary School, Gopalpur
• 11. New Life Model School, Gopalpur
• 12. Betil Primary School, Khamargaon
• 13. Imperial Pre-Cadet School, Goprekhi
• 14. Azugara High School, Azugara
• 15. Khukni Multipurpose High School, Khukni
• 16. Adarsha Shishu Academy, Rupnai
• 17. Sthal Pakrashi High School, Rupshi
• 18. Ahsannagar Primary School, Gopalpur
• 19. Gaberpara Primary School, Khokshabari
• 20. Khamargaon College, Khamargaon

The Meeting was scheduled to start at 10 am. Being the first day of Ramadan, the organizers of WSW-2005 anticipated scanty attendance of the audience in this event but within 9.30 am the entire area was packed up with students, teachers and Space enthusiasts and more groups of students and people were converging into the meeting place. It was a deluge of space enthusiasts beyond the comprehension of the organizers so they had to declare the Meeting closed within 30 minutes with apprehension that the such a huge gathering of crowd might create stampede risking the lives of the young children attending to it.

During the short span of Meeting, among those who had delivered their lectures were Mr. Abdul Matin, Assistant Head Master, Enayetpur High School, Mr. Badal Chandra Roy, Head Master Meherunnessa Girls School, Mr. Ahmed Mustafa Khan, Chairman, Kisholoya Kindergarten School, Mr. F. R. Sarker, General Secretary, Bangladesh Astronomical Society and National Coordinator for World Space Week in Bangladesh, Mr. Saidul Islam, Mr. Wahiduzzaman Wahid, Mosharraf Khan, Members of the Society. After the Meeting, a big colourful Rally marched past the main roads of the village where thousands of students and ordinary people had participated. The function ended peacefully and the people of the entire village found it as an unusual event but enjoyed with great joys and spontaneous gaiety. Lots of people who were still on the way moving towards the meeting place were shocked for failing to attend this unique and unprecedented event in this remote corner of the country. However, the organizers are tempted and encouraged by the deluge of the enthusiasts attending their event and they are now preparing to arrange a " Space Fair " at Enayetpur in near future to show to the world community that there are some crazy people around this remote corner of the globe who love Space from the core of their hearts. 

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