President M Abdul Hamid urged parents, teachers, affluent people and different institutions to ensure a friendly environment for flourishing the inner potentials of children to build them as worthy citizens.
“Don’t put pressure on the children for study or any other issue . . . Let them flourish by creating conducive friendly environment,” he said this on Thursday while speaking at a ceremony on the “Jatiya Shishu Puroshkar Protijogita or “National Children Award Competition 2017” at Bangladesh Shishu Academy Auditorium here.
He added: “Children are country’s future leaders . . . the responsible role of everyone including parents, family, society and states is a must to ensure all sorts of rights of the children.”
The President also said the government also must play a pivotal role for children’s healthy development.
He also asked the children to enrich their knowledge-science and spirit of freethinking being imbued to the holy motherland, and subsequently cherish as well as uphold the history of War of Liberation, social cultures, mother tongue and tradition for building a Sonar Bangla earlier designed by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Referring to National Children Act formulated in 1974, the President said Bangladesh became a part of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Child (UNCRC) as Bangabandhu realized the rights of the children in national and international levels as part of his dream.
Inspiring the children for different cultural activities along with the regular academic study, Abdul Hamid said, “Be with an attitude of positive competition and it would hold you (children) to become successful in all steps.”
“Try to understand the difference between right and wrong as well as good and bad. . . Never do any misdeed and also allow anyone of doing it, then you will must shine in your life,” he said.
President Hamid said physically challenged children were part and parcel of society and “never consider them as the burden . . . Let them flourish their mental growth in all aspects”.
The President later distributed prizes and medals among the winners of different disciplines here.
Bangladesh Shishu Academy conducted the national-level competitions where 212 children in 32 disciplines including sports, creative dance, songs, acting, clay art, Haamd, Naat, poetry recitation, Qirat, Chhara Gaan, storytelling, painting and dances were given awards.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki, secretary of the ministry Nasima Begum, Chairman of Bangladesh Shishu Academy and novelist Selina
Hossain and Director Anjir Liton, among others, spoke on the occasion.
President Hamid also enjoyed a cultural function of the children there.
