Chhabed Sathee, Back from Virginia: Expat flocked to the Great meeting of the Fobana conference in Virginia, USA. The city of Arlington, Virginia turned into a miniature Bangladesh for three days of the expatriate walk. And for this reason, the 38th Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America (FOBANA) conference in Virginia set a new record in the history of the Fobana conference.
The Bangladesh Association of Greater Washington DC (BAGDC) successfully held the 38th historic Fobana Conference in the United States, attracting thousands of expatriates. The organizers said that the audience of the conference was very happy to see the expected presence of expatriates.
The Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America (FOBANA) conference, which started last Friday, August 30, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, ended last Sunday (September 1) at midnight.
Voice of America’s legendary journalist Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury officially inaugurated the 38th FOBANA conference at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, the heart of Virginia. Convener of 38th Fobana Conference Roksana Parveen and Member Secretary Abu Rumi, President Nurul Amin Nuru, Chairperson Attorney Mohammad Alamgir, Executive Secretary Abir Alamgir were present at this time. Thousands of visitors from around 25 states, including Greater Washington DC, arrived at the convention site in the afternoon to attend the conference. The organizers of FOBANA in Virginia said that about 86 North American organizations came to Virginia to participate in this year’s conference.
The legendary journalist Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury, the founder of the 38th conference held in Virginia, expressed the hope that Bangladeshis involved in mainstream politics will lead the United States one day. He said that students should be encouraged to get involved in mainstream politics by holding such conferences abroad. Then Bangladeshis will also lead the United States one day like the US Vice President Kamala Harris. He said this while inaugurating the 38th conference at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia last Friday (August 30) evening.
Chief Guest Journalist Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury told his story about how the first Bangladesh Conference was held in 1987. At that time, the people living in West Bengal in the United States used to hold Bengal conferences here. From that idea, several of us started the first Bangladesh conference. The first conference was held in Washington DC. The second conference was held in New York and the third and fourth conferences were held in Boston and Texas respectively. After that, the 38th conference of Fobana is being held today. I feel blessed to attend and inaugurate this conference today. I don’t know whether I will be able to attend the next Fobana conference due to my physical condition.
Iqbal Bahar said that as there have been many changes in the country, there is a need for many changes including improving the quality of education. Only then will we see a developed nation. At the same time, US expatriates including Bangladeshi students should be involved in mainstream politics. He mentioned that our generation will one day lead the US like US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Attorney Mohammad Alamgir, the current chairperson of the 38th Fobana Conference, Executive Secretary Abir Alamgir said that 86 Bangladeshi organizations in the United States have participated in this year’s Fobana Conference. Hundreds of artists from over 25 states attended Virginia. For three days cultural workers entertain our audience with their varied cultural performances.
Shamim Chowdhury and Abir Alamgir jointly moderated the opening ceremony among others Virginia State Senator Dr. Ghazala F Hashmi, Virginia State’s only Bangladeshi Senator Saddam Azlan Salim, Arlington County Board Member Susan Cunningham, Regional Director Tanya Talento, US Senator Mark Warner. Treasurer of the 38th Fobana Conference Priyalal Karmakar said to have always approached mainstream politicians by inviting them to come to the conference.
Also speaking at the event were Rokeya Haider, former head of the Bengali division of Voice of America, Scottish Parliament member Faisal Chowdhury from Scotland, Attorney Mohammad Alamgir, the current chairperson of the 38th Fobana Conference, Executive Secretary Abir Alamgir, Convener Roksana Parveen and Member Secretary Abu Rumi, President Nurul Amin Nuru , Executive Committee Vice President Masud Rob Chowdhury, Joint Executive Secretary Khaled Rauf, Engineer Abu Bakar Hanif and others. In the second part of the program, artists from various local organizations performed music and dance. The guests attended a ‘Black Tie Dinner’ at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel on Friday evening. The event was organized by the host organization Bangladesh Association of Greater Washington DC (BAGDC).
38th Fobana Conference Convenor Roksana Parveen, Member Secretary Abu Rumi, President Nurul Amin Nuru and Coordinator Gholam Mostafa presided over the black tie dinner. 38th Fobana Convention Convenor Committee who were in charge were-Roksana Parveen Convener, Abu Rumi-Member Secretary, Nurul Amin Nuru-Host President, Anthony Pius Gomez-Chief Coordinator.
Other important posts of the host committee are Taskin Binte Siddiqui-Chair, Cultural, Pradeep Ghosh-Chair Finance, ATM Alam-Chair Budget and Planning, Kachi Khan-Chair, Event Management, Karim Salahuddin-Chief Executive Consultant.
The opening ceremony of the 38th Fobana was ushered in on Friday evening with the national anthems of Bangladesh, America and Canada. Bangladesh Association of Greater Washington DC (BAGDC) artists performed national anthems of Bangladesh, USA and Canada (three countries). Ankita Barua, Avanti Barua, Piuli Ghosh, Rajdeep Ghosh, Hossain Islam, Zainab Islam and Anandi Barua participated in it. Ashim Rana, Shima Khan, Taslim Hasan, Dinar Moni, Uppal Barua, Shimul Ghosh, Dithi Anwar, Reshmi Mirza, Toshiba, Priyongbada Banerjee and Arjin Kamal performed music in the night.
Saturday’s event was attended by Ekatar Foundation, Bangladesh American IT Professionals Organization (BITPO), Bangladesh Association of Kansas, Science Fair Children’s Recognition, Bangladesh Association of Pennsylvania, Bangladesh Association of Greater Harrisburg, Bangladesh Association of Missouri, Atlanta Cultural Society. Swadhin Bangla Sansiktan Sanganthan (VA), Bangladesh Association of America Inc (BAI), Bangladesh Association of Phoenix (BAP), Oparajeya Bangla (VA), Varnamala School, Dance Stars Performance (Competition Winners): Nritya Star Nritya Star Award and Fobana Film Festival, Sambrat Rakshit played sitar, accompanied by Devi Nayak on tabla, in a tribute to Ravi Shankar. At the end, music was performed by Romel Khan, Momo, Swapneel Sajib, Anima D’Costa, Beauty Das and popular music artist Kumar Biswajit of Bangladesh.
Sunday’s event was attended by Youth Talent Recognition, Bangladesh Association of California, Singing Star Performance, Bangladesh Association of Michigan, Bangladesh Theater Houston, Bangladesh Community of Greater Chicago, Atlanta (two organizations), Friends and Family Ila Shob and Sneha Soha, Bangladesh Association of Greater Kansas City, Sundarbans (Firdous Ikram), Drama Circle and Bangla School (BCCDI), Tribute to Lata Mungeshkar for her support and contribution to the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971 Zenith Esha Samada Khot, Tanushree Dutta
Young star performance-Piuli Ghosh. Ankhi Alamgir, Moza and Zeffer performed the music in the night. During the ceremony, the officials of Fobana handed over the medals to the patrons along with the distinguished persons of the society.
The three-day Fobana conference this year featured several important seminars, literature, impact and development of technical education, artificial intelligence and cyber security, women empowerment, youth development, mainstream leadership development, honoring Bangladeshi freedom fighters in the Washington metro area, urban development, nanotechnology and its Effectiveness, Impact of AI in Healthcare, Scholarship Award for Young Meritorious Students, Music and Dance Competition with participation of Young Generation, Role of Women in Empowerment, Achievements and Significance, Art Exhibition, Colorful Fashion Show, Spotlight on Literature and Poetry Jalsa, Phobana Book Fair, Youth Forums and Networking, Discussions on NRB Businessmen and Business Entrepreneurs, Networking, Alumni Forums of Universities, Interfaith Peace Talks, Bangladesh Short Films and Documentaries etc.
Convenor of the 38th Fobana, convener Roksana Parveen said, We will not talk about our success. It is only the audience coming to the Fobana Conference that will tell how the 38th Fobana Conference went. But all I can say is that I and all those who worked with me were very happy to be able to meet so many people in Virginia. Our goal has been achieved overall. In the last three days, everyone was engaged in a lot of fun and entertainment. For the past three days, everyone has forgotten about the exile and thought only about Bangladesh. They were all lost without their knowledge. He expressed sincere thanks to all the leaders and workers of the organizing committee and all the artists and the audience.
Chairperson Attorney Mohammad Alamgir and Executive Secretary Abir Alamgir said that the 38th Fobana Conference organized by Bangladesh Association of Greater Washington DC (BAGDC) in 2024 was very successful. They feel that this year’s Fobana conference has set a new milestone in terms of attendance and success. More expatriate Bangladeshis are participating in this conference. The organizing committee has shown great competence in organization without any minor mistakes.
The presence of thousands of Bangladeshis in the three-day conference impressed everyone. A total of 86 organizations from 25 American states participated in the conference. In the past conferences, it has been seen that usually the main stage programs have more audience presence and attraction, but this year’s conference, apart from the main stage program, the presence of well-dressed audience in various programs on the floor of the convention hall was noticeable throughout the day. The participation of the new generation in the conference was significant. Youth Forum, Kavya Jalsa, Business Networking events and various subject oriented seminars had a large number of visitors. On behalf of the Fobana Central Committee, they expressed sincere thanks to the organizing committee.
The 39th Fobana conference in 2025 will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. Bangla Dhara has got the responsibility as the host conference. In addition, the 40th FOBANA conference will be held in Los Angeles, California in 2026. Bangladesh Association of California has been given the responsibility as the host conference.
BP/SM
