While the losses and challenges of the pandemic have been felt by everyone, the effect of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdowns have been particularly impactful on working parents.

Tasneem Jarin pursued her Bachelor’s in Architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Some notable projects that she worked on in her academic life include the Munshiganj Launch Terminal, Residential and Commercial High Rise in Gulshan, and Rural Housing in Faridpur.

Fairooz Faizah Beether of Bangladesh is a recipient of the 2021 Goalkeepers Global Goals Changemaker Award by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She received the award for her work in promoting good health and well-being under SDG-3. She is a student of Business Administration from Khulna University.

A year ago, the youth-led platform Beyond Candid was formed with the intention of bringing stories about social injustices and gender-based violence to the forefront through candid lenses. For co-founder Masud Parvez, the platform is a means of getting to his dream of building a better tomorrow while ensuring a safer world for future generations. He received the National Debate Foundation Bangladesh’s Youth Icon Award from 2017 to 2019. We caught up with him to find out more about his work.

Najmun Nahar Sohagi is the first Bangladeshi woman to travel to 150 countries across the globe, carrying the national flag of Bangladesh.

Shanjidul Alam Seban Shaan, founder of EcoVation Bangladesh (formerly known as Liter of Light), received the GEORGE H.W. BUSH Points of Light Awards’ Inspirational Honour Roll.

Rafeed Elahi Chowdhury is the Lead of Content and Product Growth at The Business Standard. He won the title for Rising Star, under the Content category in the Global Media Industry 2021 at 30 under 30 Awards by International News Media Association (INMA).  Star Youth, The Daily Star recently caught up with him to learn more about his journey.

 “I decided to participate in Miss Universe 2020 out of curiosity. I like to collect experiences and meet new people,” said Masuda. In the span of a few months, she became one of the top 10 contestants in the beauty pageant.

We all remember Mount Kilimanjaro from our general education books as Africa’s tallest peak, and the world’s tallest free standing mountain. For Mrittika Barua, however, it proved to be much more.

Remote learning has been a difficult shift for us all, especially junior and senior- year students of universities. Despite it being almost two years since our routines were replaced with unfamiliar social and academic pressures, there is still a longing ache for the familiar faces and the thrills of on-campus adventures.

Mobin Sikder, a student of Chemistry at Jahangirnagar University, is the founder of Science Bee, an online platform that aims to educate youngsters about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The National Newspaper Olympiad (NNO), a platform founded by Labby Ahsan in 2018, intends to encourage young people to develop the habit of reading printed newspapers to acquire knowledge. It strives to establish a positive journalism ecosystem by encouraging the youth to play an active role in this field. 

Sadia Rahman Mou won three gold medals in singles, doubles, and team table tennis matches in the 9th Bangabandhu Bangladesh Games. She was also rewarded with bronze medals in 2016 and 2019 during the South Asian Games.

Foundation 21 was initiated by a group of friends in March 2018. It aims to combat period poverty, and create awareness about menstrual hygiene. Abreshmi Anika Chowdhury, Arish Islam, Mashrukur Rahman Khan and Sayem Ibn Alam, founded the organisation.

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.

The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (K-L YES) Program is a high school student exchange programme for youths between ages 15 and 17. During the programme, they live with American host families, study in a US high school and participate in various social activities for an academic year.

Students at Independent University, Bangladesh, in association with UN Women Bangladesh held a gender fair and photography competition on November 26, 2018 to promote the HeForShe campaign.

The Department of English and Humanities (DEH) at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) celebrated Karl Marx’s 200th birth anniversary through an international conference from November 30 – December 1, titled ‘Language, Literature, Culture and Politics: Marx’s Bicentenary Conference’.