Tareque Masud’s 62nd Birthday

The first Bangladeshi director to participate in the Oscars or to be honored at Cannes, Tareque Masud was a driving force within his country’s independent film movement. He and his wife Catherine, would visit remote villages all over Bangladesh showing films with a mobile projector, earning the nickname “Cinema Feriwalla” (Vendor of Movies).

Born in the village of Nurpur on this day in 1956, Masud was educated in a Bangladeshi madrassa, or Muslim school. Following Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, he became part of the film society movement and earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Dhaka. His first films were documentaries that told the story of his homeland, starting with 1989’s Adam Surat (Inner Strength) about the Bangladeshi painter Sheikh Mohammed Sultan. His classic 1995 feature-length documentary Muktir Gaan (Song of Freedom) about the independence movement in Bangladesh attracted huge audiences.

Masud’s upbringing in East Pakistan inspired his first feature, The Clay Bird. The Masuds invested all their savings into completing the film, which went on to win an International Critics’ award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

A founding member of the Short Film Forum, an important platform for independent film, Masud also organized Bangladesh's first International Short and Documentary Film Festival, which continues to this day. To further honor his legacy, the Tareq Masud Memorial Trust launched the Tareque Masud Short Film Competition, encouraging a new generation of Bengali filmmakers to follow in his footsteps.

Happy Birthday, Tareque Masud!

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Father's Day (Thailand) 2018

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Edith Cavell’s 153rd Birthday

Today’s Doodle celebrates Edith Cavell, a British nurse who risked her life to help hundreds of British and French soldiers escape from occupied Belgium during World War I.

On this day in 1865, Cavell was born in Swardenton, a village near Norwich. Caring for her aged father during a serious illness inspired her to become a nurse at age 30, and she began her training with Matron Eva Lückes, a friend of Florence Nightingale, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. She went on to work at hospitals in Shoreditch, Kings Cross, and Manchester before being invited to Brussels to lead a new training hospital for nurses. Considered a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium, she founded the medical journal l’infirmière in 1910.

Visiting family when the war broke out, she returned to Brussels straightaway, where she would treat all casualties of war regardless of their nationality. "I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved,” she stated.

Besides her work as a nurse, Cavell became involved with an underground group that was sheltering French and British soldiers and helping them escape from occupied Belgium. In August 1915, after helping some 200 men, Cavell was arrested and charged with treason. She confessed to the military court and, despite widespread appeals for mercy, was executed on October 12, 1915.

In 1917, the Nation’s Fund for Nurses was launched in her honor to raise funds to assist those who “sought the health of others at the expense of her own.” The fund was later renamed the Cavell Nurses’ Trust.

Here’s to Edith Cavell, whose legacy of heroism and compassion continues on.

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United Arab Emirates National Day 2018

Today’s Doodle celebrates the United Arab Emirates National Day on a very special anniversary for the country. This year, UAE’s first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - who founded the country and began his 33-year reign over the unified nation - would have turned 100 years old.

On this day in 1971, the six emirates of Abu Dhabi (the nation’s capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain, joined forces at the Union House in Dubai. One remaining emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, would join in February of the following year thus creating the United Arab Emirates — a rich amalgamation of 7 unique cultures and traditions of centuries past.

To mark the occasion, a spectacular display of fireworks will illuminate the skylines of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in honor of the national day.

Happy National Day, United Arab Emirates!

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Teachers' Day (Panama) 2018

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Romania National Day 2018

Today’s Google Doodle marks the 20th anniversary of Romania’s national holiday known as the Great Union Day or Unification Day. On this day in 1918, over 100,000 Romanians gathered in the city of Alba Iulia, as they watched Romanian leader Vasile Goldis declare Romania’s unification. Under the reign of King Ferdinand I, the Old Romanian Kingdom united with Transylvania and other neighboring lands, almost doubling the size of the Eastern European nation.

Proud Romanians spend this day off work celebrating with friends and family. Ceremonies, concerts, and parades take place in major cities like Bucharest and Alba Iulia, where the national anthem „Deșteaptă-te, române!” (”Awaken thee, Romanian!” is sure to be heard. The Romanian flag seen in today’s Doodle flies over private homes and public landmarks in honor of the unification that took place 100 years ago—blue for Transylvania, yellow for Wallachia, and red for Moldova.

Happy National Day, Romania!

Great Union Day

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Maria Walanda Maramis’ 146th Birthday

Today’s Doodle honors Maria Walanda Maramis, a National Hero of Indonesia who fought tirelessly for the advancement of women in her home country at the beginning of the 20th century.

Born in a small village in North Minahasa Regency on this day in 1872, Maramis was the youngest of three children. Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by an uncle along with her siblings. Maramis and her sister were offered only basic schooling because of their gender.

After moving to Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi province, she began writing an op-ed column in a local newspaper, Tjahaja Siang. Her writings emphasized the importance of mothers as caretakers of their family’s well-being, health care, and education.

Based on these principles, she founded the organization PIKAT, an Indonesian acronym for “Percintaan Ibu Kepada Anak Turunannya,” which translates as “The Love of a Mother Toward her Children.”.PIKAT members learned essential household skills like cooking and sewing and caring for their children’s health. The organization expanded as far away as to Java where local women organized their own branches.

Turning her attention to politics, Maramis fought for women’s right to vote in choosing their representatives. Her efforts paid off in 1921 when the government allowed women to participate in elections. PIKAT’s work went on, aided by Maramis’ daughter Anna Matuli Walanda.

In 1969, in appreciation of her accomplishments on behalf of Indonesian women, the government decreed Maramis a National Hero. Her work towards the emancipation of women is celebrated on her birthday and a statue stands in her honor in the village of Komo Luar.

Happy Birthday, Maria Walanda Maramis!

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