Sihinta Sabeen Shembil

The closest I got to a white winter Christmas was with movies such as Home Alone, The Princess Switch, The Grinch and The Polar Express. Then, I moved to New York City, USA, in early 2020. Despite the difficult times, the Christmas spirit still awakens as the year wraps up.

The third annual Global Biosummit, organised by Director David Kong, the team of Community Biotechnology Initiative and the MIT Media Lab, took place in October at MIT Media Lab, MA, USA.

Six friends and recent graduates, Minhaz Uddin Shibly, Mooed Rasel, Tanimul Haque Khan, Rahat Rahman, Monirul Hoque Rifat and Fahad Bin Saad opened Capawcino Cat Café, the first cat-oriented coffee house in Bangladesh, this year.

The South Asia Fall Tour 2019, hosted by the American embassy’s EducationUSA Student Advising Center, took place on September 7, at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.

The saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rings true for Fahim Uddin Shuvo, Founder of Garbageman. During his undergraduate education in Architecture at North South University, Shuvo saw the problematic lack of waste disposal methods.

Gorur Ghash, an online clothing and apparel store, stands out with their catchy name and fusion of comedy with fashion. Nahiyan Naser, Director of Operations, Ali Sakhi Khan, Director of Finance and Fahim Islam Shetab, Director of Procurement, are the three young men behind this brand. Gorur Ghash gained prominence in 2018, mainly through their in-house videos.

Creative Conservation Alliance (CCA), a government registered nonprofit organisation centered on environmental conservation, and the Bangladesh Forest Department, bred land tortoises in captivity, for the first time in Bangladesh’s history.

On February 13, 2018, Mohammad Siam, aged 9, stormed out of his home after his mother scolded him for not studying. He went to a nearby park and was greeted by an insidious man.

The Toastmasters Division J conference ‘Eminence 2019’ took place for the first time in Dhaka, at The Olives in Gulshan recently.

The National Finale of Famelab 2019, hosted by British Council, took place on March 23 in The Westin Dhaka. Famelab, the world’s leading science communication competition, requires each contestant to present a STEM topic of their choice with content, clarity and charisma in three minutes, using props.

International Student Festival in Trondheim (ISFiT), 2019 took place recently in Trondheim, Norway. Eight Bangladeshis, from 500 students representing 145 countries, participated in the event, where migration was the key theme.

Marina Farook is a nutritionist and health coach who helps women reconnect with their physical, mental and spiritual strength, using nutrition and strength training. She shares her research-backed insight about female health and fertility for young women in Dhaka.

There is promise in ameliorating climate change when everyone contributes a little; this is what team SHAMOL believes in. SachinaPaudel, Shagoofa Rakshanda, Sayed Hasan Imtiaz and Salman Khan Promon, students of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health and Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, BRAC University,came together to represent Asia in “The Geneva Challenge 2018”, held in Switzerland recently.

While some of us sit and wait for the world to change, others step up and create change themselves. A Managing Director of a commercial bank, who wishes to remain anonymous, and his three daughters are prime examples of how individuals can improve our society.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit organisation that teaches leadership and public speaking skills throughout the globe. Currently, Bangladesh has five Toastmasters clubs.

The internet is like the ocean: deep and fascinating, but also overwhelming. Like the ocean, the internet has many hidden treasures