Chobi Mela, the first festival of photography in Asia, is one of the most exciting ventures that Bangladesh has undertaken. Organised by Drik Picture Library Ltd., Pathshala - South Asian Institute of Photography, The Royal Netherlands Embassy, The British Council, The Alliance Française, The High Commission of India and the Goethe Institut, the event the single biggest media event in Asia and the first of a regular that will become one of the highlights of the Asian calendar. Over 18 international exhibitions as well as workshops, lectures, slide show and films, throughout the month. The festival opened on the 15th December 2000, by the launch of the retrospective exhibition 2000 of the World Press Photo Foundation. The show features the most significant press photographs taken over the last forty five years, many of which have become icons in world history.

The highlight of the festival the exhibition "The War We Forgot". Thirty photographers from about ten different nationalities affiliated to a dozen international news organisations represented in the exhibition. The exhibitions will pool the images of some of the greater photojournalists like Don McCullin, Raymond Depardon, Marc Riboud, Mary Ellen Mark, David Burnett, Raghu Rai, Marylin Sylverstone, Abbas, Rashid Talukder and Kishore Parekh on the war of liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. It was the very first time ever that such a grouping of photographs by so many distinguished award-winning photographers presented to the public anywhere in the world. Robert Pledge, the President of Contact Press Images and Shahidul Alam, the Director of Drik Picture Library Ltd. were the curators of "The War We Forgot". And the supporting Web Site was being developed by professor Fred Ritchin of New York University. The Web Site is aimed at stimulating discussion as to the meaning of the war and the genocide that followed it, the meaning of photography and journalism, and the place of Web in commemorating and rethinking history. The exhibition is going to annually enrich our national archives in their collection of materials related to Liberation War 1971.

Over a million people expected to turn out for the festival. Bangladesh Television , Ekushey Television, and the leading dailies like The Daily Star and The Prothom Alo, were offering attractive advertising packages for potential sponsors in order to promote the exhibition. The Liberation War Museum was co-ordinating the fund raising campaign for the exhibition "The War We Forgot" within Bangladesh, while Alochona, the largest online community of Bangladeshis, was co-ordinating an online campaign to promote the festival globally.