In honour of the Freedom Fighter of '71, Aly Zaker, a distinguished cultural figure, theatre personality, and founder of the Liberation War Museum Trust, the "Aly Zaker's Liberation War Reading Project" initiative was embraced by the Liberation War Museum on Saturday.
Ten private libraries in Dhaka participated in this initiative.
This marks the second time a three-month book reading program was announced in November 2023.
Feedback was received from students of 46 libraries out of fifty provided with books after reading five sets of three selected books.
The selected books include Ahsan Habib's "71 er Rojnamcha", Sheikh Taslima Munni's "Ami Ekti Bajpakhi Ke Hotta Korte Cheyechilam", and Mahamudul Haque's literary work "Jibon Amar Bon".
National Library Director Minar Mansur, Dhaka University's History Department Professor Milton Kumar Dev, and mountaineer Nishat Majumder were members of the jury board.
Due to the high number of received feedback, a primary judging committee was formed. Its members included contemporary journalist Abu Saleh Rani, journalist Morsalin Mizan, and daily newspaper journalist Jharna Moni.
They verified and selected 37 schools, 31 colleges, and 28 university-level feedbacks for the final jury board's review.
Based on the scores given by the jury, the top ten students from schools, colleges, and universities in each category will receive a prize of Tk5,000 in cash and Tk5,000 worth of books.
Additionally, each participant in the program will be awarded a certificate.
The award-giving ceremony for "Aly Zaker's Liberation War Reading Project" winners took place on Saturday at 4pm at the auditorium of the Liberation War Museum.
The prizes awarded by Jayashree Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, trustee of the Liberation War Museum, MP Asaduzzaman Noor, Dr Sarwar Ali, Mofidul Haque, and Sara Zaker, along with jury members Minar Mansur and Nishat Majumder.
Mohammad Shah Nawaz, coordinator of the reading project, and Aly Zaker's son, Iresh Zaker, were also present.