Saturday, January 05, 2008

BBC Bangla debates Dhaka's future with locals

Date: 06.12.2007

BBC Bangla is holding a unique broadcast debate. Dhaka: Your Town, YourQuestion will explore with local people the future development of the cityat the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.Audiences in Dhaka can hear the one-hour debate on BBC 100FM on Thursday 6December 2007 at 20.00 local time. It will also broadcast on satellitetelevision channel ATN Bangla on Friday 7 December at 20.00 local time.Audio of the debate will be available online at bbcbengali.com.
Sabir Mustafa, Head of BBC Bangla and the debate host, said: "Dhaka is setto become one of the great metropolises of the world in the years ahead, andthis is an excellent time to debate the city's future with the people wholive there."It's also a great opportunity for BBC Bangla to really connect with itsaudience by giving them a platform to discuss the issues that are reallyimportant to them."We want them to share their views and create a vision for the future of thecity which is why I expect this debate to be a lively and constructive one."The Dhaka: Your Town, Your Question debate follows the successful month-longBBC Nodipathey Bangladesh (Bangladesh By The River) tour giving a voice tocommunities living along the major rivers of Bangladesh.Up to 50 BBC journalists brought daily reports highlighting the impact ofclimate change and the devastation of Cyclone Sidr in 17 languages to aglobal audience of millions on radio, TV and online.The BBC teams were on board when Cyclone Sidr hit which meant the boat hadto change its course and head back to the area devastated by the storm.The BBC was one of the first broadcasters to speak to the people worst affected and gave communities a unique opportunity to tell the world abouttheir experiences, losses and the effectiveness of the relief effort.On the tour, BBC Bangla also held four special editions of its weeklyinteractive radio, TV, and online question time programme Bangladesh Sanglapwith the BBC's international development charity, the BBC World ServiceTrust.Hosted by Shakeel Anwar, the final programme was dedicated to the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr. It gave those affected by the storm an opportunity to share their concerns with listeners across Bangladesh and directly engage with those leading the relief efforts.A detailed report of the Bangladesh Sanglap discussions along with the full audio is available at http://www.bbcbengali.com/.
A behind-the-scenes diary of the river tour, hundreds of images and an interactive map plotting the route of the journey is available at
BBC World Service Publicity

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