Seventeen noted personalities of the country have been selected for Ekushey Padak for the year of 2017 for their outstanding contribution to respective areas.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the awards to them at a function at Osmani Memorial Auditorium on February 20, a day ahead of the International Mother Language Day.The recipients are - Poets Omar Ali (posthumously) and Sukumar Barua in Language & Literature Tanvir Mokammel in Film, Sara Zaker in Acting, Dr Zamilur Reza Choudhury in Science & Technology, Professor Dr Sharifa Khatun for her role in the Language Movement, Shushama Das, Julhas Uddin Ahmed, Rahmatullah Al Mahmud Selim and Ustad Ajijul Islam in Music, Syed Abdullah Khalid in Sculpture, Abul Momen and Swadesh Roy in Journalism, Syed Akram Hossain in Research, Prof Emeritus Dr Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin in Education, Prof Dr Mahmud Hasan in Social Welfare, and Shamim Ara Nipa in Choreography.