Online Desk:  Earth360° Festival, an annual art festival that uses visual storytelling to raise environmental awareness and inspire actions for a sustainable future, is currently ongoing at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) in the capital.

Inaugurated on February 17, the four-day event is organised by Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI), an environmental non-profit, in partnership with the US Embassy in Dhaka.

This year, Earth360° Festival is themed on “Rivers and Riverine Lives” to showcase a variety of stories about the country’s rivers and river-dependent lives.

James Gardiner, Economic Officer at the US Embassy Dhaka and Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) founder Shamir Shehab graced the opening ceremony as guests.

The opening ceremony on Saturday was followed by the first Earth360 dialogue on ‘Artists with Conscience’, in which cartoonist and editor of Unmad Ahsan Habib, artist Wakilur Rahman, political cartoonist Mehedi Haque discussed and engaged with the audience on the transformative power of art in championing social and environmental causes.

BYEI is an environmental non-profit organisation that has been working on environment, nature and climate change issues with youth and children to develop the next generation of planetary stewards since 2009 and regularly organises various programmes.

This festival features photography and digital art exhibition, film shows, and dialogues sparking debates, discussions and critical discourse focusing on river and river dependent lives of the Bengal delta.

On February 17, children from various schools of Dhaka participated in a drawing competition.

Today (February 19), a special screening of the critically acclaimed film titled ‘Shunte Ki Pao! Are you listening!’ by renowned director Kamar Ahmad Simon will take place at the BSK screening hall.

Over 1200 submissions have been received in different categories for the official selection in the festival. A total of 70 photographs and digital arts are being displayed in the exhibition.

Eminent filmmaker Catherine Masud, renowned photographer Abir Abdullah, popular cartoonist Ahsan Habib, and artist Sabyasachi Mistry are members of the jury for video film, photography, digital art and drawing category respectively, adjudicating the best submissions for exhibition in the Earth Earth360° Festival.

The Earth360 dialogues are featuring prominent artists, thinkers, and civil society leaders such as famed cartoonist Ahsan Habib, artist Wakilur Rahman, political cartoonist Mehdi Haque, architect Marina Tabassum, architectural historian Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, environmental lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan, conservationist Dr Mokhlesur Rahman, environmental activist Sharif Jamil and journalist Sheikh Rokon, and others.

This four-day long photography, digital art, film exhibition and dialogue events are open to all and can be enjoyed free of charge.

To learn more and register for the dialogues and special screening, visitors can visit www.byei.org/Earth360/

The 2024 Earth360° Festival will welcome the visitors from 3 pm to 9 pm till February 20.