Dr Zubaida Rahman, vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation (ZRF), has opened a month-long tree-planting programme and a science fair, "In Search of Future Scientists", organised by the ZRF to mark the 45th martyrdom anniversary of former President Ziaur Rahman.

She launched the tree-planting programme by planting a neem sapling on the Curzon Hall premises of Dhaka University on Wednesday morning. She then opened the "In Search of Future Scientists" Science Fair 2026 at the central gallery of the Department of Botany.

The event was presided over by Prof Dr Morshed Hasan Khan, acting executive director of the ZRF, and conducted by Prof Lutfor Rahman, convener of the committee the ZRF formed for the anniversary. Speakers included former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Prof Dr A F M Yusuf Haider, the current vice-chancellor Prof Dr ABM Obaidul Islam, ZRF director Dr Mostafa Aziz Sumon and agriculturist Boyjar Rahman.

Also present were Dhaka University pro-vice-chancellor Prof Dr Abdus Salam, Prof Al Mojaddedi Alfe Sani, ZRF director Dr Shah Muhammad Amanullah, Prof Dr Abul Hasnat Mohammad Shamim, agriculturist Shafiul Alam Didar and Amirul Islam Kagoji, along with deans of various faculties, departmental chairmen, teachers and students.

In line with the central programme, tree planting was also launched the same day at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and Sylhet Agricultural University.

Opening her speech as chief guest, Dr Zubaida Rahman paid deep respect to the martyred President Ziaur Rahman and the late Khaleda Zia. She said tree planting creates the opportunity to protect the environment, provide shade and build a beautiful, liveable world.

She said teachers and students can play an important role in developing scientific solutions to the country's problems, and expressed hope that every village and town in the country would become greener, cleaner and more beautiful for future generations.

She urged that tree planting be seen not merely as a routine programme but be turned, through public participation, into a "green revolution" of economic, social and generational development. To that end she proposed green volunteering, a climate youth fellowship and a start-up fund for environment-based ventures.

Stressing the inclusion of green volunteering in the school curriculum to make pupils environmentally aware, she said university students and teachers would be invited to take part in the "In Search of Future Scientists" competition.

She said scientific innovation and healthy competition in medicine, botany, physics, chemistry, information technology and other fields can solve many of the country's problems, and that new innovations would ease people's hardship and pave the way to a developed Bangladesh.

Congratulating everyone involved in organising the event, Dr Zubaida Rahman wished the competition success.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.