With the slogan "When a butterfly flies in the sky, nature gains new momentum," the 14th Butterfly Festival will be held at Jahangirnagar University (JU) on Friday, aiming to promote butterfly conservation and raise public awareness.
The festival will be organized by the Department of Zoology’s Entomology branch. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, will inaugurate this year's event.
At a press conference held on Wednesday at 4pm at the university’s Central Cafeteria Teacher's Lounge, the event's convener and Professor of the Zoology Department, Md Monowar Hossain, confirmed the details.
Professor Monowar Hossain announced that, as in previous years, this year's festival will feature a range of activities including a butterfly-themed drawing competition for children and teenagers, a quiz competition on butterflies and nature, a butterfly photography exhibition, a butterfly photography competition, a documentary screening on butterflies, a butterfly market, kite flying in the shape of butterflies, a debate competition, and a butterfly identification contest. Additionally, a colorful rally, a puppet show about butterfly stories, and a butterfly origami parade will be part of the festival.
He further mentioned that the Butterfly Award will be presented to Sabuj Chakma, the founder of the nature conservation organization "Plantation for Nature," for his overall contribution to butterfly conservation. The Butterfly Young Enthusiast Award will also be given to Mohammad Sabbir Ahmed, a student from the Department of Zoology at Jagannath University.
He highlighted the alarming decline in butterfly species, saying that while more than a hundred species of butterflies were once found in Jahangirnagar, this number has now nearly halved. To halt this extinction, we must pay attention to their habitats. With adequate habitats, the rate of extinction will decrease. To raise public awareness, the Butterfly Festival is organized annually.
It is worth mentioning that the Butterfly Festival has been held every year at Jahangirnagar University since 2010. This year's event’s title sponsor is "Cute." Associate organizations include the Nature & Life Foundation, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Aranyak Foundation, and the Bangladesh Forest Department.
