Rakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh won the Outstanding Young Leader of Asia Award 2021 from the Asian Youth Council for his work in children’s and women’s rights, education, health, democracy, and peace. Youths around the world are doing important work during the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time, the Asian Youth Council, a well-known youth organisation in Asia, organised this award programme to provide such young leaders with opportunities.

Skipping is a playground staple for people of all ages. Rasel Islam, a teenager from Thakurgaon, has commandeered the sport with two Guinness World Records to his name.

International Economics Olympiad (IEO) is an annual competition for high school students that intends to stimulate their interest in the field of economics, business, and finance through a creative problem-solving approach.

Championing positivity and social change, Shuvashish Bhowmick, founder of father-son singing duo Baap Ka Beta, took an initiative called, “Mullobodh Er Paathshala”. This campaign hosts live sessions with celebrities, influencers, and experts on the importance of morals and values. The third episode, titled "Are we aware of discipline and wellness?"  was held yesterday, featuring Shahriar Nafees, former player of Bangladesh national cricket team and the first captain of Bangladesh T20 team and Dr Saklayen Russel, Assistant Professor and Head of Department- Vascular Surgery of Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital.

Mir Sakib, CEO of Cramstack, was inducted in the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list, under the category of Enterprise Technology. Cramstack is a startup that uses artificial intelligence to automate the extraction of information from unstructured data to provide insights for businesses.

American Concrete Institute (ACI), a Michigan-based international professional organisation, recently hosted the Concrete Projects Competition, an annual event for undergraduate students from all across the world. This year, it was organised virtually.

22-year-old Sarkar Tanvir Ahmed Tanim, the founder and acting president of Youth Parliament, is one of the nineteen changemakers from Bangladesh who received the 2021 Diana Award.

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.   

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.