A special poetry event highlighting peace, harmony and human empathy was held at the Goethe-Institut auditorium in Dhanmondi on Tuesday (1 September).
Titled Peace and Empathy: German-Bengali Poetic Harmony, the event was jointly organised by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and Atopor Shobdayan, with support from international poetry platform Lyric-Line.
In his welcome speech, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh Institute Director Frank Werner said poetry can play a vital role in promoting empathy and peace in the current global climate.
“There is perhaps no alternative to poetry when it comes to spreading human empathy and peace in today’s world. Initiatives like this can strengthen the cultural connection between two nations and deepen international friendship,” he said.
Poets Golam Kibria Pinu, Jharna Rahman and Shahed Kayes, along with actress and recitation artist Aupee Karim, recited poems at the event.
From Germany, poets Tim Holland, Anja Kampmann and Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç joined the programme online, taking part in poetry recitations and discussions.
Academician and theatre personality Professor Dr Abdus Selim spoke about the cultural dialogue between Bangladeshi and German poetry, including its philosophy, practices and mutual influences.
Live music accompanied the poetry recitations, performed by poet and musician Shibu Kumar Shil, Sutrodhar Arjun, Md Rajib and Md Ashikul Islam.
Sadab Hashmi and Marzia Shawon hosted the event.
Zobayer Shawon, chief visionary officer of Atopor Shobdayan, said poetry can offer refuge in an unsettled world while inspiring resistance to exploitation and the pursuit of a more empathetic society.
“In this unstable world, poetry can be a place we turn to without hesitation. It allows us to speak against exploitation and dream of a compassionate society.
Initiatives of this kind may also contribute to greater global harmony,” he said.
The programme concluded with an open discussion and poetry session involving invited guests.
Among those present were poets Faruk Mahmud, Nishat Jahan Rana, Tushar Prosun, Robu Sheth, Theotonius Gomes, Nahid Kaiser, Suman Patowari and Golam Muktadir, among others.
The joint initiative by Atopor Shobdayan and Goethe-Institute Bangladesh aims to strengthen cultural ties between Bangladesh and Germany by crossing linguistic and geographical boundaries, while spreading messages of world peace and empathy.
