Bangladeshi scholars win global award for study on govt's handling of Milestone plane crash communication
The award was presented at the ICA's 76th Annual Conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 4 to 8 June 2026
Four Bangladeshi communication scholars have received a Top Paper Award from the International Communication Association (ICA) for a study examining how the government communicated with the public following the Milestone School and College plane crash in Dhaka in July 2025.
When a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into Milestone School and College, killing 37 students and teachers, the government faced not only a tragedy but also a communication crisis. How authorities communicated, and failed to communicate, with the public in the hours and days following the incident became the focus of the award-winning research.
The award was presented at the ICA's 76th Annual Conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 4 to 8 June 2026. The ICA is one of the world's most prestigious communication research organisations and brings together approximately 3,400 communication researchers annually.
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The researchers were Dr Najma Akhther of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Dr Khairul Islam of Florida Atlantic University, Md Sayeed Al-Zaman of Jahangirnagar University and the University of Canberra, and AKM Zamir Uddin, a PhD researcher at the University of Georgia.
The team analysed official government press releases and more than 500 news reports published by major Bangladeshi newspapers to assess how the state and the media communicated with the public during the crisis.
The researchers concluded that Bangladesh requires a fundamentally different approach to crisis communication. They proposed a Care-Centered Government Crisis Communication Framework based on empathy, moral accountability, and timely and accurate information, rather than institutional deflection.
AKM Zamir Uddin, one of the researchers, said the study would help both the Bangladeshi government and corporate organisations develop more effective crisis response strategies during emergencies.
He added that crisis communication remains a relatively underexplored field in Bangladesh, with only a limited number of studies conducted in the local context.
