The 'Book Reading Program 2007' attracted 25000 students from 100 different schools in Dhaka this year; 5500 of these students are receiving prizes. The venue, Bokultala, was abuzz with thousands of cheery students and their proud parents. The main rule of the competition was, each participant would borrow one book from Bishwa Shahitya Kendra each week, for a period of 20 weeks. After the deadline a brief examination would be held asking each student two questions from each of the book he/she has read. Those able to answer all the questions correctly will get the Bishwa Shahitya Kendra prize. Depending upon the number of questions correctly answered, students will receive prizes under the following categories: Swagoto, Shubhechcha, Obhinandan and Bishesh.

Those who gave away the prizes yesterday were Lutfar Rahman Sarkar, Muhammad Farid Uddin, Dr Zafar Iqbal, Mahbub Jamil, Mobashsher Hussain, Abdul Awal, Ghalib Ahmed Ansari, Emdadul Haq Milon and the founder of Bishwa Shahitya Kendra, Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed.

Emdadul Haq Milon, in his brief speech, said, "Students are the ones who would write the future of the country." Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed shared heartening stories from his childhood taking the six thousand plus crowd in a frenzy of laughter. He shared the story of winning a plastic spoon in a competition where he had to run backward. The moral was how times have changed from when he was a child. Back in those days there was little opportunity. He hoped this generation would appreciate the event and prizes.

Priyom, daughter of Nurul Alam, received a prize. In his words, "This is a great initiative in our country. Programmes like this will take the nation forward." Srijoni, a student of class eight of Viquarunnessa Noon School, expressed her joy at being a part of something special and winning a prize. Her dream is to build a library someday, where students can come and indulge in reading, the way she does at Bishwa Shahitya Kendra.