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.

Every year, the third Friday of June marks Stop Cyberbullying Day. Coordinated by The Cybersmile Foundation, this day is observed by generating awareness about cyber security. Since the past few years, Bangladesh has witnessed an alarming rise in the number of cybercrimes. In order to reduce the incidence of these crimes, Sadat Rahman founded Cyber Teens, an app that provides a safe space for teenagers to ask for help against cyberbullying. For his work, Sadat won the International Children's Peace Prize 2020.

Promoting healthy and safer cities, the Urban Programmes of World Vision Bangladesh (WVB) and BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) of BRAC University, jointly organised “Urban Health Innovation Challenge 2021: Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Cities” from February to March 2021, where youths from universities, urban slums and gender-diverse communities competed side by side.

Encouraging creativity amongst school children who are staying at home for more than a year now, The Daily Star and Dabur Red Toothpaste jointly organised the second season of “Ghorer Eide Ronger Chhite”, an online art competition for children, recently.

Mohammed Ruman Shana made history by reaching the finals of Archery World Cup 2021, along with fellow archer, Diya Siddique. The duo secured a silver medal in the recurve mixed event.

“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 third episode of the show took place on June 8, 2021, featuring panelists from Daffodil International University (DIU).

After completing his graduation in Computer Science and Engineering from BRAC University, Rahatul Amin Anonto pursued his master’s at the University of Manitoba, Canada at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCI-Lab). He is currently working with the Human-Robotics Interaction group at the HCI-lab.

Blogging has emerged to be a popular pandemic hobby for many. To reach out to a specific audience, it is important to ensure that your blog is cross-promoted online. This allows you to create your own niche and engage with a greater number of people. Here are a few ways through which beginners can promote their blogs on social media.

A virtual exhibition of the entries from “Dhaka OIC Youth Capital 2020-21 Bangabandhu Youth Art Competition” will be organised by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The month-long exhibition will begin from June 17.