It is my honor and privilege to be elected as the President of Bangladesh Canada Association of Edmonton (BCAE) in 2023. I would like to thank BCAE members for proving me this excellent opportunity. I respectfully acknowledge the contribution of all past Presidents, members of the Executive Committees (EC) and Standing Committees for their dedication and hard work for the last 43 years.

I want to start with respectfully acknowledging that we are situated on Treaty 6 territory, traditional lands of First Nations and Métis people. I thank Government of Canada, Government of Alberta, and the City of Edmonton for providing us a great platform for practicing and preserving Bangladeshi culture. I also deeply remember all of the martyrs and freedom fighters of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

The year 2023 is going to be another transitional year from the COVID-19 pandemic to a post pandemic era. Therefore, it will be a priority for the EC 2023 to increase connectivity and sense of belonging to our Bangladeshi community members in Edmonton that got disrupted by the pandemic. With that in mind, we plan to bring back the regular BCAE events. Moreover, we will organize special events focusing on our youth and seniors. As a respected member of our beloved community, we also want to hear from you as well. Please reach out to us if you have any suggestions and we will consider those in our planning process.

Inauguration of Bangladesh Center in 2022 was one of notable achievements in BCAE’s history. I sincerely thank all donors, volunteers, members of the Community Facility Committee and its predecessor Special Project Committees, the past EC members and all BCAE members who worked tirelessly to make this dream happen. Proper utilization of this facility as well as its continuous development will be another priority for the EC 2023.

No executive committee can be successful without the support and help of its community members. We need your enthusiastic participation, uppermost support, and constructive feedback to plan and execute our events. We hope, if we all work together, we can make the year 2023 a successful one from the association’s point of view.

Sincerely,

Zahidul Islam, PhD, PEng., M.CSCE

Email: ec@bcae.ca

Website: https://www.zahidulislam.ca/