PM asks youths to be entrepreneurs
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hands over National Youth Award to Rowshan Ara Zaman, recognised as one of the best self-employed youths of 2012, at a programme marking the National Youth Day 2012 in the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday. Photo: BSS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the country's youths to set goal and philosophy for themselves, their families and for the nation. She also said in order to build a poverty-free Bangladesh, the young folk would have to come forward with their dynamic forces. Hasina was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the National Youth Day 2012 programme in the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium. She called upon the youths to make combined efforts for building a self-reliant Bangladesh “turning their hands into the hands of workers.” She advised them to be entrepreneurs instead of wasting time looking for jobs and to create opportunities for self-employment. She mentioned the area of agriculture where the young people could engage themselves for self-employment. “The old mindset should be changed… having some education does not mean that one cannot involve in agricultural activities.” Hasina said the demand for food grains would never decrease, given the rising population of the world. “So, if we produce more food, it will benefit the person involved as well as the country.” She emphasised using modern food packaging system for the agricultural products to earn foreign currencies. The prime minister said her government wanted to prevent the country's youths from going astray. “Nowadays youths get addicted to drugs so easily. This is very much hurtful for the family. We've to engage the youth in games and cultural activities apart from providing them with jobs," she said. She emphasised educating the youth on the country's culture and real history of the Liberation War and centuries-old family bond and values. The present government, she said, took adequate measures to involve the unemployed youths in productive activities as well as creating self-employment opportunities for themselves through the Department of Youth Development. The department has so far provided training to over 38.50 lakh youths in various trades, and of them, about 19.56 lakh have become self-reliant along with creating employment opportunities for others, she said. Earlier, the prime minister distributed National Youth awards to 12 successful self-employed youths and three best youth organisers.
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