For International Women’s Day 2021, the European Union (EU) Delegation to Bangladesh organised ‘Right to the City’, a daylong mural painting event, on March 6. The wall outside the EU Delegation Office in the capital’s Gulshan 2 was painted by eighteen young female artists in less than seven hours. The mural was curated, coordinated and led by noted artist Fareha Zeba. Renowned artist Kanak Chanpa Chakma was also a part of the initiative. EU Ambassador to Bangladesh, Rensje Teerink, will unveil the mural at 4:30 pm today.

JuteX is a durable, natural fibre, and an affordable bicycle brand, started by like-minded social entrepreneurs.The startup is the idea of Team Matrix, consisting of Syed Wasim Ul Huda, Tahsin Toqi, and Sadia Turna, recent graduates from the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST). They won the Hult Prize at AUST (on campus round) and the Hult Prize regional, Vietnam 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic witnessed several youth-based organisations step into action. From distributing food and groceries among underprivileged communities to raising awareness about the spread of the virus, youth organisations played an active role in helping the nation combat the pandemic. With vaccination drives being conducted across the nation, resuming normal lives finally seems like a possibility.

Social Business Youth Summit 2021, co-hosted by YY Ventures and Impact Hub Dhaka, curated by YY Goshti, and supported by Yunus Centre and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency took place on February 27 and 28.

In these times of uncertainty, it helps to have something constant in your life. So, if you have an endless flow of tasks, commitments, and reminders bogging you down, or if you’re looking to become more organised, keeping a bullet journal can be productive. These aesthetically pleasing blank notebooks, turned into works of art, have become popular on social media during the last decade. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you start bullet journaling.

Anondolokey, a hostel for women and girls in Bashundhara, was founded by Moriom Mannan around six years ago. Ahead of International Women’s Day (March 8), she talks about her journey with Star Youth, The Daily Star.

Graduating and navigating the start of your career can be daunting even under normal circumstances. The Covid-19 pandemic added more challenging aspects to this experience. The mental toll of taking on a job for the first time amidst a pandemic has weighed down on many young individuals.

Established in 2017, The Johnson & Johnson One Young World (JJOYW) Scholarship Program recognises young leaders who are striving to leave behind an extraordinary impact in healthcare.

A student from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, she is set to sit for her SSC exams this year. “I never had trouble balancing my studies and tennis,” explains Mashfia.

‘Find Your Bangladesh’, an online competition organised by Finding Bangladesh and supported by The British Council Bangladesh, aimed to engage and mentor the youth, on their historical roots. This team based competition, asked each team to identify a historical site in Bangladesh that is being slowly lost with time. The teams set out to find creative ways to better promote, protect, and preserve the location, and in the process learn its related histories, mythologies, legends, and the socio-cultural importance of the site.

Following the theme, A(ma)r Bhashay A(ma)r Bishsho, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) recently concluded their three-day celebrations of International Mother Language Day. The programme was inaugurated by Professor Jahirul Haque, Vice Chancellor, ULAB. During the first day, the organisers conducted a video screening of letters written to mothers in 21 different languages and shared an audio-play entitled "Kajol" from Kolkata. This was followed by an interactive session on German tongue twisters and superstitious beliefs.

In 2017, Orni Hasan found a disheveled kitten around Dhanmondi Lake, deciding to keep him. Before the decision, she looked for safe adoption options, but could not find any.

Sazia Mehnaz, a former student of the Department of Linguistics at Dhaka University, recently won an international award for her research work on the Bengali language.

In recent years, the University of Sussex has become one of the most popular choices for Bangladeshi students planning to study in the UK. Sussex, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, is currently home to approximately 50 Bangladeshi students, who study a range of subjects, from Engineering to Law to Business.

February 21, the International Mother Language Day, is celebrated with the highest honour nationwide. Millions of people, young and old, gather at the Shaheed Minar to honour our language movement martyrs. This year was no different. Keeping safety guidelines in mind, young children, artists and students, along with their friends and family, gathered at the Shaheed Minar to commemorate the day.

Celebrating linguistic and cultural diversity, we should remember to continue making good use of language not just in literature but also in our day-to-day lives. One way to celebrate the beauty of language is to reclaim the art of writing letters.

Celebrating 50 years of the independence of Bangladesh, The Daily Star recently launched ‘Muktijuddho Olympiad’, in partnership with food-tech company efood. It is the largest Olympiad based on the Liberation War of 1971.

National Child Forum (NCF) is an organisation for children by children, which aims to ensure children’s rights in every sphere, guaranteeing child safety and promoting positive leadership.

I still remember how there was so much commotion around the language issue in East Pakistan right after the 1947 Partition. In 1948, Liaquat Ali Khan brought amendments that sought to make English and Urdu the lingua franca of Pakistan, even though a majority of Pakistan’s population spoke in Bangla.

What started as a group of seven boys from South Korea with big dreams but only a handful of fans has amassed today into the global phenomenon known as Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) with millions of admirers from all over the world. BTS’s fanbase, known as ARMY (short for Adorable Representative MC for Youth), are often misjudged for being immature and toxic due to the lack of proper media representation.