The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced an international award in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 7 March 1971, Bangabandhu delivered a 20-minute speech at the then Racecourse (Suravardi) Maidan in Dhaka. UNESCO has also listed that speech as a World Heritage.
UNESCO has decided to give the International Prize in the name of Bangabandhu as ‘International Prize in the Field of Creative Economy’. The Executive Board of UNESCO has unanimously accepted the proposal to introduce the UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Award for Creative Economy. The name of the award will be UNESCO-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Award. The $50,000 prize will be awarded every two years. The award will be presented at the 41st General Session of UNESCO to be held in November next year.
The decision was taken unanimously at the 210th autumn session of the UNESCO Executive Council, which ended on 11 December. As a result, this is the first time that a branch of the United Nations has launched an international award in the name of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In recognition of its outstanding contributions in various fields, including education, culture, science and technology, UNESCO, an offshoot of the United Nations, awards international awards for financial assistance to member states.