Freedom50 has brought together key events in our history that led to the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, recognised together with the role that British Bangladeshis played in the UK.
Bangladeshi men settled in the UK in sizeable numbers during the post-war period and were joined by their families in the 70s and 80s. Today in the UK, we now have fourth and fifth generations of Bangladeshi people thriving.
The first and second generations have lived through war liberation and have a collective memory of the events. However, many young people of Bangladeshi heritage don’t have the same memory and share very different feelings toward the country.
Through various events curated between March 2021 to March 2022, we have educated, entertained and connected people to the best of their Bengali heritage, delivering a memorable series of celebratory initiatives, from:
- Documenting 50 inspirational stories
- A community organised national bike ride
- Special edition of the annual Nowka Bais boat race
- Stories of Bangladesh told through photography
- Cultural expo with live entertainment and performing arts
- Charity hospitality event uniting local restaurateurs and communities
- Whilst iconic landmarks in the UK were lit up in red and green
For more information about the events we have hosted, take a look at the below.
London to Amsterdam Charity Bike Ride
A four-day European bike ride was planned to raise awareness of global climate challenges starting from London and travelling through Calais, Bruges, and Oostvoorne and arriving at our final destination in Amsterdam. The charity bike ride purpose is to raise awareness of the impact of global warming amongst the UK’s British Bangladeshi and other communities and highlight the health benefits of cycling. Health inequalities have disproportionately impacted the Bangladeshi community, and during Covid-19, this was further exacerbated.
Last year’s national bike ride encouraged more Bangladeshi people to use their bikes for exercise and commuting. We aim to build on this momentum and encourage more people to make small changes that make an impact on climate change. The European charity bike ride will raise funds to continue our work in Bangladesh, building a school in Jamalpur, where severe flooding regularly displaces people. Over the past year, we have successfully raised £50,000 for this project, and through this European bike ride, we aim to reach our target of £100,000.
Lighting Up The UK
On Friday 26 March 2021 the exterior facade of the Library of Birmingham will be lit up green and red to mark the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh independence.
On the evening the Library of Birmingham, along with public buildings in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester and London, will be lit up in the Bangladeshi flag colours.
Aftab Rahman, director of Legacy WM, who helped create Freedom50 said: “Birmingham has the second largest number of Bangladeshi people in the UK after London and its community played a major role in campaigning for the independence of Bangladesh, so it is really important to acknowledge their contribution.”
“We have set up several steering groups to lead on various aspects of the project, which will also raise awareness of the struggle for independence for young people and the wider community.”
Freedom 50 Restaurants
The programme forms part of our wider national initiative to help to meet our fundraising target of £100,000.00. The restaurant sector has been a major platform for our communities over the last five decades and sector has laid the foundation for our young people to flourish in today’s society. We have raised £40,000.00 with our cycle ride and with the support of our restaurants we will raise that £100,000.00. Participating restaurants will host a charity night and add an opt out £1.00 charge on bills.
Cultural Expo
The Birmingham Hippodrome will host a day of activities that will start with a phita mela, and include arts, drama, an exhibition, film screenings and crafts workshops throughout the day. The evening will start with a performance from BCMG followed by the UK’s Bengali jazz fusion artist – Sohini Alam, and the renown folk singer Pabon Das from Bangladesh. All the daytime events will be free and tickets for the evening event will go on sale in May.
Nowka Bais
The event was held on 25th July at Birmingham’s Edgbaston Reservoir and celebrated the best of Bangladeshi heritage and arts. There was a national Nowka Bais boat race, food stalls and an international line up of musicians. www.nowkabaiscic.co.uk. The 2022 Nowka Bais event is planned for the 24th July at Edgbaston Reservoir.
The Freedom50 Bike Ride
Starting from Oldham, we rode to cities to be greeted by communities and local MP’s (in Stoke, Birmingham, Northampton via Coventry, Luton), arriving at our final celebratory destination in London.
Our national bike ride has raised awareness across many communities, engaging people to use their bikes for exercise, commuting and encouraging more people to make small changes that impact climate change.
Photo Exhibition
Freedom 50 ‘photos’ highlighted 50 years of Bangladesh using photos from Bangladesh and the UK. This was an international project that worked with UK and Bangladeshi based photographers. Legacy WM worked with Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG) who secured 10 outdoor photo display units and this was showcased outside Birmingham Rep and Library. The photos and posters displayed all had the following themes:
- Politics & resistance
- People of Bangladesh
- Landscape
- Environment
- Future of Bangladesh – Bangladeshis in the UK
Photos from Sheikh Mujib’s iconic speech from 7th March 1971 which galvanized a nation to fight for independence was used. Marches in Birmingham and London’s Trafalgar Square photos were used. A short video has been created that captures the exhibition.
Kee Khobor
Kee Khobor featured the inspirational stories of those connected to the British-Bangladeshi community to explore their heritage over the last 50 years, their challenges and how they overcame these as individuals and as a community, their achievements, and their aspirations for a community to be a leading light amongst Britain’s diverse communities. Kee Khobor means “what’s your story?” and was launched on 26th March 2021.
Kee Khobor has developed its own Kee Khobor has its own logo, Charity-T, QR codes, postcards, jingle, and also has two short videos. Check them out here: