This year, 304 students from 76 countries participated in the Olympiad. Team Bangladesh won two bronze medals and two merit awards. The medalists are Tasnim Binte Zulfiqar from SFX Greenherald International School and Raad Sharar from Rajshahi College. Abrar Jahin Tushar from Notre Dame College and Rayan Rahman from SFX Greenherald International School bagged the merit awards.

This year, 400 students from 76 countries participated in the Olympiad. Team Bangladesh bagged one silver, three bronze medals and an honourable mention. The silver medalist, Rashed Islam is a student of Notre Dame College. The bronze medalists are Imtiaz Tanweer Rahim and Absur Khan Siam from Notre Dame College and Md Fahim Abrar from Rajshahi New Government Degree College. Lastly, Golam Ishtiak from Kushtia Government College won the honourable mention. It is also to be noted that this has been the country’s best performance at IPhO so far, with Rashed scoring way above the required threshold to secure the silver medal.

This year, students from 107 countries participated in the Olympiad. Team Bangladesh won three bronze medals and two honourable mentions. The bronze medalists are Tahmid Hameem Chowdhury and Adnan Sadik from Notre Dame College and Md Maruf Hasan Rubab from Ananda Mohan College. Nujhat Ahmed Disha from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, and Tahjib Hossain Khan from Ananda Mohan College bagged the honourable mentions. The results were published on IMO’s official website, and was followed by a virtual closing ceremony.

Maria Mumu, the founder of Moshal Mental Health, a youth-led organisation based in Bangladesh, is the first mental health advocate to receive the Diana Award.

Mahin Rahman Saquif is a third-year BBA student at North South University. He started his cattle business, Hasina Agro, last year. As a child, Mahin was always fascinated by animals.

Anika Subah Ahmad Upoma is one of the nineteen changemakers from Bangladesh who received this year’s Diana Award. She founded Evolution360, an organisation that promotes the Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment, in 2016.

The two years of college play an instrumental role in shaping the lives of young students. But the pandemic has led to impediments, with many beginning their college life at home, online.

Elinore Rema, a second-generation Bangladeshi immigrant, is on her way to becoming the first lawyer in Australia from Bangladesh’s Garo community. Elinore has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from University of New South Wales. She developed a passion for law during the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, as she wanted to make a difference and help refugees from war torn countries find asylum in Australia. Subsequently, she got a diploma in Migration Law at Australian National University, before completing a Juris Doctor (a postgraduate degree) at University of New South Wales.

Rafid Hoque Swad, a BBA student at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), looks after injured birds of prey at his ‘Chilbari’ (Kite house). It all started with the bird Scar, whom he brought from a trader in Old Dhaka.

Shunbo is an anonymous mental health support group in Bangladesh, which encourages people to speak freely about mental health. It was inaugurated on July 5, 2020, amid the pandemic. Shunbo started off as the brainchild of six university students, Mohammad Samiur Rahman, Shams Mahfuz Arnob, M. Rakinul Islam, Vishal Agarwal, Abrar Islam and Ishraq Islam. Five of them are from North South University and one of them is from Independent University, Bangladesh.

Established in memory of Princess Diana in 1999, the Diana Award is a prestigious accolade given out by the charity of the same name. It is supported by Princess Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. To be eligible for the Diana Award, nominees must be aged between 9 and 25, and have to be carrying out humanitarian activities for a minimum of 12 months. Nominators must know the young person in a professional capacity. This year, nineteen young changemakers from Bangladesh received the award, following a virtual ceremony on June 28, 2021.

Md Sadik Abdal, an undergraduate student from Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Independent University, Bangladesh, recently led his team to the bronze prize (third place) at this year’s Efficiency for Access (EforA) Design Challenge 2020-2021. This challenge is a global, multi-disciplinary competition that empowers teams of university students to help accelerate clean energy access and provide sustainable energy for all by helping to enhance the efficiency and affordability of high-performing appliances. Engineers Without Borders UK is the chief event partner of the competition. It is funded by UK aid and the IKEA Foundation. The Efficiency for Access Coalition is coordinated jointly by CLASP and UK's Energy Saving Trust.

One of the most influential books of the 20th century, written by a teenage girl, “The Diary of a Young Girl”, first reached bookstores on this day in 1947. The book is more commonly known as “The Diary of Anne Frank”, providing readers with a unique view of life as a Jew hiding in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Till date, it has been translated into 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold worldwide.

Jibon is a non-profit organisation based in Rangamati, which provides blood to the needy, free of cost. It was established in November 2011 as a Blood Donor Association, and gained the trust of the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) localities swiftly.

18 year-old Mohammad Fahad Rahman is the youngest chess player in Bangladesh to earn the lifelong titles of International Master (2019) and FIDE Master (2013). The self-taught genius relies mainly on books to practice and perfect his moves across the chessboard. He is an SSC candidate from Little Jewels International School.

“The Daily Star Campus Stars” is a show that highlights promising individuals who have excelled in their academics and extracurricular activities, alongside securing success in their professional paths. The fourth episode of the show took place on June 15, 2021, featuring panelists from University of Asia Pacific (UAP).

Founded in 2018, Nerdiz is Bangladesh’s first virtual reality (VR) educational platform. Pradeepta Kumar Saha, the co-founder Nerdiz, conceived the idea in 2016, after he realised that he was a visual learner. “Many students have problems with conventional learning methods and visuals make things easier for them. So, I decided to introduce VR in our education system,” he shared.

A group of young students from DPS STS School recently distributed relief to the underprivileged community. The DPS STS Community Club handed out daily essentials and food among underprivileged families and children at an orphanage, ‘Families for Children’, to make a difference and bring smiles to their faces amidst these tiring times of the pandemic.

Father’s Day celebrations are closely intertwined with the efforts of two women in the United States. The day was first observed to pay homage to hundreds of men who died in a mining accident on July 5, 1908, in West Virginia. Grace Golden Clayton, the daughter of a minister, proposed the idea of a one-time memorial service to honour fathers who lost their lives in the accident.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is establishing an educational centre of excellence, The Aga Khan Academy, in Dhaka to provide international standard education for students and prepare them for leadership roles in Bangladesh and across the world.