Shaniz Chowdhury

Hafsa Tasnim, a student of Bangladesh Agricultural University, received the IVD Bangladesh Volunteer Award 2021 for her activities in community development. The event, titled “Volunteering Contributions towards Community Development in Bangladesh”, was organised by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, UNV Bangladesh, UNFPA, VSO, and WaterAid.

Following two years of pandemic interruptions, the Cannes Film Festival resumed its pulse for the 75th time. After two weeks of film screenings, the festival ended yesterday. Here are six award-winning films from the festival, which have made their mark in history.

Marvel has dropped a new trailer of “Thor: Love and Thunder”, the fourth Thor film which picks up after the ending of “Avengers: Endgame.” The last time, we saw Thor in the pantheon of suffering - the downfall of Asgard and the death of his brother, Loki.

The 75th Cannes Film Festival is being held from May 17 to May 28 in the French Riviera. This year, 18 films are contending for the prestigious Palme d'Or. In 2021, the honour went to the French body horror drama “Titane,” directed by Julia Ducournau.

Tod-Learn is a ‘learn through play’ based educational platform designed for kids aged two to six years. Early childhood education occurs before the age of eight, when a child’s brain develops faster than at any other point in their lives, so these years are critical – it is the period which determines their moral outlook, emotional intelligence, and cognitive skills, among other things.  A Tod-Learn subscription has many products to offer, including age-appropriate weekly activity worksheets and lesson plans. Anonta Kibria Khan, who is at the helm of Tod-Learn talked to us about how she started the platform and its journey so far.

This summer, film studios are armed with a variety of spectacular movies.

The 64th Grammy Awards was a night of wonder and as pointed out by host Trevor Noah, a concert where awards are doled out and people’s names are kept out of people’s mouths. It was an intentional jab at Will Smith infamously slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Adnan Mehedee Khan is the Director of Project Development & Communication in Jolputul Puppets, a non-profit organisation that hosts puppet shows. He also works with mPower Social Enterprises Limited as Manager of Communications & External Relations.

Working first-hand with the Health Ministry and icddr,b, Shayan Chowdhury led data analysis projects that traced the Covid-19 outbreak, hospitalisations, deaths, and mobility to inform actionable policy for lockdowns, public health communications, and healthcare decisions.

Beyonce kicked off the ceremony from a tennis court in Compton, in honour of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, whose childhood is the main theme of “King Richard”.

Founded in 2019, SHAPE is an innerwear brand that works with South Asian body types, to celebrate intimacy and inspire confidence. It was recently selected for the Stanford Seed Spark incubation programme.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, you might be fumbling in the dark trying to grasp the what, why and how of events.

Sidratul Moontaha is one of the recipients of the 2021 Diana Award. At the age of 22, she became the youngest Chapter Ambassador for Technovation.

Ananya Ferdous Hoque is a researcher in Virology at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). She graduated with a BSc in Microbiology from North South University, and pursued an MRes at the University of Manchester.

CHAYA is a novel space-sharing marketplace in Bangladesh, launched by Farhia Tabassum and Mehraab Anwar. Unoccupied and unused spaces can be listed by their owners on CHAYA’s website, for users to browse and find what they need.

Under Nigar Sultana Joty’s leadership, Bangladesh women’s cricket team qualified for the first time in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in 2021. She is one of the most talented players in the country. Cricket fans have praised her determination, dedication, and hard work over the years.

The 2022 nominations for the Oscars were announced yesterday. In the run up to the award ceremony, let us look at the 10 wonderful movies that have been nominated in the Best Film category.

From the age of 10, Marzan Akter Priya knew that her calling in life is karate. She used to watch seniors and juniors in karate training from a window in her classroom. However, she did not pluck up the courage to join them because such activities were strictly prohibited in her household.

Sarjeena Maodud is the CEO and Co-founder of Sheraspace, a tech-based home improvement company. After completing her Master’s in London, she moved back to Dhaka in 2017.

Ummay Hafsa Rumky won a gold medal in women’s high jump, setting a national record of 1.71m in the Sheikh Kamal 45th National Athletics.