Following the success stories of the past five years, the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad 2024 (BDEO 2024) kicked off in grand style today with an inspiring inauguration ceremony graced by eminent personalities in the fields of economics, finance, and education.
Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of the National Committee and an eminent economist, the receiver of the highest national civilian award, Swadhinata Padak and Ekushey Padak, declared the competition officially open for this year and set the tone by emphasizing the importance of inspiring the young minds at the mass level towards learning the basics of economics as an essential knowledge for nation building, reads a press release. He also emphasized rethinking the existing market-based concepts of economics so that those could be assimilated with our spirit of liberation war such as building an equality-based society, ensuring human rights, and living with human dignity. He also said that the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad could work as a catalyst to create scopes and opportunities for research and development for the youths of the country contrary to the aspirations of many of them to go abroad.
Other National Committee Members of BDEO, including Dr. Mustafa K. Mujeri and Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, shared insights from their diverse expertise. Dr. Mujeri, a renowned scholar on inclusive finance, stressed the need to "make economics accessible and relevant to everyone, regardless of their background." Dr. Akhtaruzzaman, Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), highlighted the significance of "equipping future economists with the tools and knowledge to navigate the complexities of the modern financial landscape."Md. Khurshid Alam, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank, reiterated the commitment of financial institutions to fostering economic literacy through financial inclusion and supporting young talents. He pledged to "provide opportunities for Olympiad participants to learn from and collaborate with industry leaders."
The ceremony also featured addresses from Executive Committee Members Akhtar Ahmed, Chairman of Capstone School Dhaka, Khaleda Nasrin, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Dr. Asif Iqbal, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Finance, M Mynul Islam, Deputy Head of Remittance, Islami Bank Bangladesh Bank PLC., representing a variety of sectors including education, government, and financial institutions.
They all expressed their unwavering support for the Olympiad and pledged to "contribute their expertise and resources to ensuring its success as an important endeavour towards achieving SDG goals and human capital formation." Besides, Md. Shahin Shaikh, and Md. Aminur Islam, Directors of the hosting organization of the BDEO, Strategic Research and Outreach Foundation (SRO Foundation), expressed commitment to spreading the core message of BDEO to a further extent.
Md. Al-Amin Parvez, President of the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad, presided over the programme and expressed his gratitude to all distinguished members of the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad. He underscored the Olympiad's passion to "identify and nurture the next generation of economic leaders" and its mission to spread financial literacy and a vision to become a part of the national development strategy of the Government of Bangladesh.
In due course, the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad 2024 will start the nationwide campaign shortly to select the national teams following multiple evaluation and training schemes for the International Economics Olympiad 2024 in July 2024 in Hong Kong and the World Economics Cup 2024 in October 2024 in Shanghai.
The Bangladesh Economics Olympiad promises to be a platform for intellectual engagement, academic excellence, and personal growth for thousands of talented young minds. With the support of renowned leaders and institutions, the event is poised to leave a lasting impact on the future of economic thought in Bangladesh.