University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) is holding a three-day international conference on Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR) at its own premise, Dhaka.
The conference that starts today will continue till 16 June. The information was revealed at a press conference held at the university campus on Tuesday.
Pro-Vice Chancellor of ULAB Professor Dr Shamsad Mortuza; Chair of the 8th SSEASR Conference and Director of the Center for Archaeological Studies ULAB Professor Dr Shahnaj Husne Jahan; Professor Dr Sumon Rahman, Media Studies and Journalism, ULAB and President of SSEASR Professor Dr Amarjiva Lochan were present at the press conference.
SSEASR is a regional academic body of International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) for the development and harmony of world civilization. IAHR runs under the affiliation of CIPSH, UNESCO. SSEASR is affiliated with 85 countries with members from more than 600 universities including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Australian National University, National University of Singapore, and Tokyo University. The SSEASR Conference takes place biennially in the countries of South and Southeast Asia.
In recent past, it was held in India (2005), Thailand (2007), Indonesia (2009), Bhutan (2011), Philippines (2013), Sri Lanka (2015) and Vietnam (2017).
This year’s theme is Rivers and Religion: Connecting Cultures of South and Southeast Asia, which is very pertinent for Bangladesh since we observe a fine and finite relationship between these two factors from ancient time. The 8th SSEASR conference is a great opportunity to showcase Bangladesh to the international academia.
The objectives of this conference is to bring together hundreds of scholars from home and abroad such as archaeologists, historians, anthropologists, social scientists and economists working on South and Southeast Asia to a common academic platform to share and discuss issues concerning culture and religion for creating a sustainable and healthy academic atmosphere in the region and in establishing good relations among the universities of the world and to promote Bangladesh’s rich cultural heritage worldwide through a special session, cultural programmes, pre and post conference tour and many more.
Total 170 research papers from 30 countries around the world will attend the conference in four days in 37 parallel academic sessions under 15 subthemes.
Dr Dipu Moni, MP, minister of Education, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh will grace the inaugural ceremony as the chief guest while KM Khalid, MP, state minister of Cultural Affairs will be present as the special guest. Riva Ganguly Das, high commissioner of India to Bangladesh will remain present as the guest of honour at the inaugural ceremony of the conference.
The closing ceremony of the conference will be graced by M A Mannan, MP, minister of Planning as the chief guest and Kanbar Hossein-Bor, British high commissioner to Bangladesh (acting), British High Commission Dhaka as the special guest on Saturday, 15 June.
In addition, book fair, heritage fair and photo exhibition titled ‘Rivers of Bangladesh’ by ULAB students and photo exhibition titled ‘Group Temples of Puthia’ by Traditional Photo Gallery, Dhaka will also be organized during the conference at the venue.
