Gulnahar Mahbub Monika is one of the nineteen Bangladeshi changemakers to receive the 2021 Diana Award. She is the youngest female athlete of Bangladesh to earn this accolade.

Summit Corporation and Beximco Holdings, two of the country’s largest conglomerates, awarded a matching grant of BDT 45 million per annum for three years to JAAGO Foundation, enabling them to educate 4,000 students across Bangladesh.  JAAGO utilides their UNESCO award winning teaching model using ICT to ensure education over telephone calls, short messaging service, and video conferencing systems. This is even more important while the education institutions are closed due to the pandemic. Once the education institutions open, the grant will be used to run the digital schools. This is the first time two local conglomerates are jointly contributing such a large amount to a local Non-profit Organisation.   

A smile, a shine, a twinkling, a dream -- the divine innocence in the midst of uncalled for struggles -- for survival, for existence, for identity, to be heard, to be noticed. How far do their visions reach? For some, it’s an apprehension what the life has to offer the following day and for others, every day’s struggle is a source of strength to move on to the next unknown.

The ’Youth for COVID Response Barishal’ initiative is a collaborative effort by Lal Sabuj Society, Barishal Blood Donors Club, SNDC Bangladesh, Hasimukh Poribar, Youth Plan for Society, Sohochori, Manobi, Ucchash, and Oshohay Manusher Pashe, alongside unaffiliated young volunteers. On this International Youth Day, we spoke to the gallant members of the organisations.

The International Youth Day, celebrated every year on August 12, enables us to acknowledge the manifold prospects and perspectives of our youth. The day is marked as an opportunity to assess the future for the global youth, and set objectives for their betterment in accordance with contemporary world requirements. This year, we are observing the International Youth Day under the theme “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health,” which carries a significant notion of the youth’s contribution towards the established food systems and wellbeing of humans and the planet.

The Department of Criminology of the University of Dhaka (DU) organised the 3rd International Conference on Criminology and Forensic Science in Global South August 8 and 9, 2021. This year, they commemorated three celebrations, including the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, centenary celebration of the University of Dhaka, and Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh, during the conference. The conference was arranged in collaboration with Ryukoku University, Japan and the National Forensic Sciences University, India.

Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) concluded their Youth Leadership Summit on August 7, 2021. The event was supported by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK. Through a number of planeries and workshops, the summit facilitated an intergenerational dialogue on issues and challenges that limit the youth’s inclusive participation in public, private, and civil sectors.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in association with the ICT Division, organised The Digital Khichuri Challenge for the seventh time since 2016, with the hope to make the digital space safer, and work towards a more tolerant Bangladesh. The Grand Finale was held this March. Team 'Cyber Saver' was the winner, and 'N te Nari, N te Nirapotta' was the runner up in the students/campaigns category. In the start-up category, 'TransEnd' was the winner and 'Cyber Teens' the runner up.

CrossRoads Initiative is a platform that connects Bangladeshi university students both at home and abroad, with high-school students to build peer-to-peer mentorships. Founded by Sadid Hasan in 2019, the organisation intends to help prospective university applicants with proper resources and guidance. The mentors provide students with online and offline support for preparation in SAT and IELTS tests, as well as university admission in general.

The theme of this summit is ‘Journey towards an inclusive Bangladesh’. BYLC held the third day of the summit on August 6. The day began with a debrief of the previous session and discussion on leadership, followed by Plenary: Role of youth in building an Inclusive society and Workshop: Translating Vision into Action II.

The theme of this summit is ‘Journey towards an Inclusive Bangladesh’. With the focus on diversity and inclusivity, BYLC executed the second day of the summit on August 5. The second day of the summit began with a discussion on leadership, followed by Plenary: Living on the Edge and Workshop: Translating Vision into Action.

SK Shoaibur Rahaman founded Agri-Science Society (AgSS), a non-profit agricultural organisation, in 2019. Being a student of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, he has been actively working with farmers, students, and organisations to promote agricultural digitalisation.

Moriom is a master’s student in the Department of Disaster Management, University of Dhaka. She hails from Sherpur upazila in Bogura. Her parents are teachers by profession.

Rabindranath Tagore was a polymath who revolutionised Bengali literature and music. Let us revisit “Kabuliwala”, one of his most famous short stories.

Sayeed Rimon, also known as ‘Shochetonotar Feriwala’, has been raising awareness about different social issues for the last 12 years.

This year, Jubayer Ahmed from Hathazari Government College and Muhammed Mohiuddin Sourav from Adamjee Cantonment College won the silver medals. Additionally, Nafesa Anzum Helaly from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College won the bronze medal. 

Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) began their four-day Youth Leadership Summit on August 4. The virtual summit, supported by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK, brought together over 300 delegates from 149 educational institutions across 45 districts.

Championing positivity and social change, Shuvasish Bhowmick, the founder of father-son singing duo Baap Ka Beta, recently initiated a campaign “Mullobodh Er Paathshala”. The campaign hosts live sessions with celebrities and youth influencers, discussing good practices of moral values, which are becoming very rare in our current society.

Cholo Swpno Chui (CSC), a youth-led social organisation founded by Muhtasim Abshad Zisan, supports orphans and people with physical disabilities, through their different projects. Recently, the organisation started a campaign, ‘Project Oporajita’, which aims to provide menstrual support to women from underprivileged communities.

Following a research study that was conducted on crisis-led approaches to education in Bangladesh, a virtual panel discussion was organised yesterday. Titled Towards a Blended learning framework for post-pandemic Bangladesh, it was jointly hosted in partnership with Cardiff University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), a2i (Aspire to Innovate) and #NextGenEdu.