Earth360° Festival begins at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro

Earth360° Festival, an annual arts festival that uses visual storytelling to raise environmental consciousness and inspire actions for a sustainable future, was inaugurated earlier today in Dhaka's Bishwo Shahitto Kendro.

James Gardiner, economic officer at the US Embassy Dhaka, and Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) founder Shamir Shehab graced the opening ceremony as guests, reads a press release.

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

Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI), an environmental non-profit, has organised the four-day festival 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.

BYEI is an environmental non-profit 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 organizes various programs.

This festival will run from 17 to 20 February and feature 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.