“Archiving 1971”: Drik initiates building a one stop repository for Bangladesh

Dhaka, 9 February, 2012: “Archiving 1971” a programme to collect oral, textual and visual resources to establish a one stop repository of the historical 1971 year of liberation for Bangladesh will be held on 12 February 2012, at 11am at the National Press Club, Dhaka (Conference Room). The aim is to bring together a team of researchers, social scientists, historians, archivists and other professionals to assemble definitive archives of this important chapter in the history of the country. The 10 year plan includes not only gathering the material from all over the world but also economic resources necessary to form permanent physical archives. This will enable academics, researchers and other interested people to conduct rigorous analysis and to draw inspiration from the repository. It is a gift for future generations.

From the early nineties, Drik Picture Library has been collecting, listing, and recording the scattered visual fragments of 1971 as well as oral records, documents and physical artifacts.  “This archive provides our country an opportunity to define its own identity and pays homage to the courageous lives who gave birth to a new nation,” says Shahidul  Alam, Managing Director of Drik Picture Library.  “Archives have another important dimension – they are silent witnesses. They are the material evidence that hold people accountable, and are essential to the judicial process.”

Drik made several attempts to piece together the scattered history with an initial publication on Bangladesh’s 25^th anniversary in Drik’s 1996 calendar, an exhibition in the first Chobi Mela in 2000, followed by the publication of a book and a film on refugees in 2011, titled “The birth pangs of a nation.”  The establishment of a vital archival national resource will support and supplement public education and lifelong learning. They will serve as illustrative works for educational, cultural, and other diversified programming while preserving cherished memories of family, friends, and community. The repository will be a much valued “Bangladesh family album” that will provide an understanding of how communities formed the building blocks of the nation.

The “Archiving 1971” event is designed to acknowledge the contribution of those who have supported the project, to share with the public, what Drik has been able to achieve, discuss future plans and to see how others – nationally and internationally – could contribute and team up with Drik to strengthen and build this repository.