Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen was in Dhaka to inaugurate the two-day second meeting of the steering committee of South Asia Foundation Learning Initiative (SAFLI) at the BRAC Centre auditorium, Mohakhali on December 12, 2002. The Foundation, set up by UN Goodwill Ambassador and philanthropist Madanjeet Singh, has chapters in all seven SAARC countries, and aims at promoting education, culture and information communication technology in these countries. The Foundation was launched in Kathmandu, Nepal on December 12 , 2001 and emphasizes distant learning as a potent means of education among the masses. Vice Chancellors of Open Universities of SAARC countries and a few other distinguished academics, including BU Vice Chancellor, Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury, form the steering committee of SAFLI. The Dhaka meeting was a follow up of the first meeting and was organized jointly by BU and South Asia Foundation.. Prof. J.R. Choudhury, Dr. Kamal Hossain, Chairperson, South Asia Foundation, Bangladesh Chapter and Ambassador Madanjeet Singh also addressed the function. In his speech Professor Amartya Sen discussed the rich heritage of Indian and middle eastern epistemological traditions, particularly the Muslim contribution to mathematics, the sciences and astronomy, and regretted the loss of that tradition. He hoped that SAFLI would contribute substantially to revive that tradition, and emphasize both reach and quality of education.