Launch of Pracheer Periye 2022
Shuchona Foundation organized an online event in collaboration with Centre for Research and Information (CRI) titled “Pracheer Periye: Saima Wazed's Conversation with Stephen Shore on his Autobiography and Autism”, where Shuchona’s new publication Pracheer Periye was launched. The event was held on 24 April 2022.
Honorable Speaker of the National Parliament of Bangladesh, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was present as the Chief Guest. A panel discussion was conducted with Dr. Stephen Mark Shore, author of the autobiography Beyond the Wall and Saima Wazed, Chairperson of Shuchona Foundation, moderated by Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed, Associate Professor of Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and Shuchona’s Executive Committee member. Other speakers who participated were Jane Pearce, Country Director of World Food Programme Bangladesh, Adiba Ibnat Poshla, a self-advocate on the autism spectrum, and Niger Rahman, one of the book reviewers of Pracheer Periye during the translation process.
During the event Ms. Niger Rahman shared her thoughts while reviewing the translation and her personal journey as a mother of a child on the autism spectrum. She discussed how Bangladesh went through a transformative journey in the last decade to raise awareness on autism. She was fascinated by the lucid translation of the book and highly recommended it to professionals, doctors, academics, and parents who are impacted by ASD. Adiba Ibnat Poshla spoke about her challenges as a person with ASD, how she first went to a school and later joined a special school and got the opportunity to develop and enhance her skills as an artist and who is now a professional, working as a designer. Jane Pearce, Country Director, World Food Programme (WFP) talked about her experience in working with colleagues on the spectrum at WFP. She believes the book Pracheer Periye will play a key role in raising awareness among people by promoting tolerance towards people with ASD.
Dr. Stephen Mark Shore began the panel discussion thanking Shuchona for translating the book in Bangla. The inspiration behind writing Beyond the Wall was his gratitude towards his parents who sought institutional recommendations when they realized that he was on the spectrum. He talked about the importance of early intervention at home. SF Chairperson, Saima Wazed said that the world of autism is same everywhere around the globe. The challenges, prejudices and struggles are the same. She shared her motivation to initiate autism awareness, which came from the parents who share the same struggle. Pracheer Periye is a small step on autism awareness among many others, targeted specifically towards Bangladesh and Bangla speaking communities around the globe.
Chief Guest Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, Honorable Speaker, Bangladesh National Parliament appreciated Shuchona Foundation's initiatives for familiarizing the people of Bangladesh with ASD and spearheading the ASD and mental health related policy advocacy in Bangladesh and beyond. Recording of the event is available on our YouTube channel.
Pracheer Periye is available for purchase online from Rokomari.com https://www.rokomari.com/book/234951/prachir-periye and info@shuchona.org , and physically from Bookworm Bangladesh, and Baatighar.
