About

Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun (ইফতেখার আহমেদ ফাগুন) is a Bangladeshi researcher and film director. Aquatic resource management and fisheries are his topics of interest. Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun’s research interlinked aquatic biodiversity, wetland management and conservation, sustainable use of aquatic resources, remote sensing-based aquatic conservation, ecosystem services, small-scale fisheries, and the impacts on the dependent community’s well-being. He has contributed to many research ventures, attended several scientific conferences, and both published and presented his research findings. Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun has directed a couple of short films, documentaries, and other visual media productions. His films have been nominated for national and international film festivals and have screened there. He is actively involved with the film society movement.

Research Career

Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun is a postgraduate student and researcher at Sylhet Agricultural University’s Department of Aquatic Resource Management. Fagun graduated from Sylhet Agricultural University’s Faculty of Fisheries in the year 2019. In 2015, he graduated from Brindaban Government College in Habiganj with a Higher Secondary Certificate, and in 2013, he graduated from Habiganj Government High School with a Secondary School Certificate. He has finished accomplished several online courses on GIS mapping and oceanography courses from the University of Barcelona and the University of Toronto. He worked as a research assistant at Sylhet Agricultural University’s Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries. For his research project, he received a National Science and Technology Fellowship from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Science and Technology. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute provided him with extensive training on emerging technologies in the fisheries sector. He is a member of the Krishibid Institute of Bangladesh (KIB) as well as Too Big To Ignore (Global Partnership for Small-Scale Fisheries Research).

Film Career

‘Touching 71‘, ‘Darpa Churna’, and ‘Aurthohin Artonaad‘ are three fictional short films in his filmography. He serves as the president of the Sylhet Agricultural University Film Society. Fagun oversaw the Sylhet Film Festival‘s festival director (2017-2019). In his home town of Habiganj, he is a part of the Aitizza Film Society and the Habiganj Film Club. He received a training in the UK through the British Council’s connecting classrooms project in 2012 after directing a stage drama.
He’s also participated in a number of filmmaking seminars, festivals, and initiatives. Other visual media productions by Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun deal with wetland and biodiversity conservation, climate change impacts, and aquatic ecosystems. He was involved with the production of a documentary of Regional Integrated Multi-hazard Early Warning System (RIMES)’s project ‘Improved Weather and Flood Information System for Community Based Risk and Resource Management’ under SHOUHARDO III program, a food security program of CARE Bangladesh, supported by USAID with the complementary support from Government of Bangladesh. He has produced another documentary for the Department of Aquatic Resource Management of Sylhet Agricultural University’s project ‘Techniques Adoption and Formulation of Guidelines for Sustainable Management of Haor and Beel Fisheries‘ funded by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC).

Journalism

Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun began his journalism career with Bangladesh’s National Children’s Taskforce when he was a child. In 2011, he received training at the Press Institute of Bangladesh on the fundamentals of journalism and child rights protection, and he joined a magazine published by the National Children’s Taskforce, which was funded by Bangladesh Shishu Academy and Save the Children (Australia). In 2013, he became a contributor of ‘Hello,’ Bangladesh’s first child news portal. Bdnews24.com and Unicef collaborated on that project. Between 2013 and 2015, he worked there. He has also worked on newshabiganj.com, another news portal. Fagun began working for the Bangla Tribune in 2016 as a Sylhet Agricultural University campus correspondent. He has written numerous feature stories for Desh Rupantor, Kaler Kantho, and other Bangladeshi national newspapers in addition to his usual journalism and reporting. He was elected general secretary of the Sylhet Agricultural University Reporter’s Forum in 2017. He’s attended a number of journalistic festivals, training sessions, and workshops. He is also a member of the Habiganj Online Press Club. He is currently writing op-ed pieces and articles on various topics for numerous Bangladeshi national newspapers.

Organizational

Since his childhood, Iftekhar Ahmed Fagun has worked for several organizations. He founded the Aitizza Shangskritik Club in Bangladesh’s Habiganj district in 2009. The club has campaigned to establish children’s cultural rights and to promote Bangladeshi traditional culture. He was the organization’s first president. From 2011 until 2013, he served as the general secretary of the Habiganj branch of the National Children’s Taskforce. As a Charter Club service director of the Interact Club of Habiganj, Bangladesh, he was participated in multiple social initiatives. Fagun has worked in Habiganj for the World Human Rights Forum, Prothom Alo Bondhushava, and the Association for Youth Advancement. Fagun joined some other organizations and worked to establish some in Sylhet, Bangladesh, in 2016. He has worked as a cultural activist and publication-related secretary at Binodon Shongho, Sylhet Agricultural University Photographic Society, Metronome Musical Club, Sylhet Agricultural University Art Club, and Lubdhok Theatre. He has worked for establishing Sylhet Agricultural University Film Society. As a volunteer in 2017-18, he worked on the ‘Vision-2020‘ project to support the SDG targets. He was a member of the Bangladesh Scouts and the Red Crescent Society. He worked as a copywriter and web developer at Habiganj Info, an online information center. On behalf of Bangladesh Biggan JonopriyoKoron Somity, he has organized some workshops. He has arranged various training, workshops, events, and festivals over his organizational career. The Sylhet Film Festival, Habiganj Cultural Fest, Habiganj Film Festival, and Rabindra Nazrul Jayanti are notable ones.