Commemorating fifty years of Bangladesh’s independence, JAAGO Foundation in association with Asia Foundation organised the seminar, ‘50 Years Dialogue between Youths & Politicians in Democracy’, recently. The panelists for the dialogue were Nahim Razzaq, MP, Bangladesh Awami League, and Convenor, Young Bangla, Nazma Akther, President, Jubo Mohila League, and former Member of Parliament, Bangladesh Awami League, Rumeen Farhana, MP, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Tabith Awal, Member, National Executive Committee, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and Ahsan Adelur Rahman Adel, MP, Bangladesh Government. The session was moderated by Nobonita Chowdhury, Director, Gender Justice & Diversity (GJD) and Preventing Violence against Women Initiative, BRAC.

With admission tests of different public and private universities approaching and coaching centres being closed, candidates may be in a dilemma about their preparation strategies. The last few weeks before an admission test can be tiring. Here is a list of tips to ensure that you are on the right track.

Born in the outskirts of Netrakona, Sakhina Akhter stood 15th in the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission Examination across the country. A graduate of Northern University Bangladesh (NUB), she was recommended as an assistant judge, following her success in the examination in 2019.

Bondhu Library, an online and offline bookstore, was established in Cumilla by a group of childhood friends in 2019. Founders Shahedur Rahman Rony, Md Ashik, Ahmed Faysal, Tauhid Hridoy, Fahim Imtiaz Kamal, and Shariful Islam have been friends since their school days. Towards the end of their undergraduate studies, they decided to open a bookstore in their city.

Shakil Ahmed, a BSc graduate of the Agriculture Department at Noakhali Science and Technology University, successfully cultivated squash, a foreign variety of a winter vegetable, in Delduar upazila of Tangail.

Deshi Ballers, a female-led sports development organisation working to create a platform for Bangladeshi women and girls to be empowered through basketball, hosted the third season of their International Women’s Day 3x3 Basketball Tournament at Madani Avenue, Dhaka, recently. The tournament was sponsored by Save & Serve Foundation.

Team UVC-PURGE, consisting of members from Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), recently developed a semi-autonomous virus disinfection robot in an effort to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

To inspire and aid visually impaired readers, The Sufia Kamal National Public Library, in association with Sporsho Foundation, inaugurated their Braille Corner yesterday. State Minister for Cultural Affairs K M Khalid, MP, Md Abubakar Siddique, Director-General of the Department of Public Library and Nazia Jabeen, President of Sporsho Foundation, along with other officials were present at the event. The corner also honours the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation and National Children’s Day. It consists of 90 books, including biographies, children’s stories, poems, and many more in its collection. Many of the books focus on the history of Bangladesh’s Liberation War.

TransEnd, a social welfare organisation that works to empower the transgender community, recently began their vaccine registration drive. They began the drive in the last week of February, and have registered more than 35 transgender individuals for the first dose of vaccination against Covid-19.

United Nations Youth and Students Association of Bangladesh (UNYSAB) and Young Media (Y Media) launched “Y Magazine”, a youth-based international publication, at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB), yesterday.

What was supposed to be the biggest night in K-Pop history ended on a disappointing note and a performance which barely consoled the broken hearts of eager fans. The seven-member South Korean group, Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), made history by becoming the first ever Korean act to receive a Grammy nomination and perform their own song on the Grammy stage - a feat which has cemented their legacy as South Korea’s most influential and promising artistes.

With an aim to mobilise youth, build their leadership skills, and empower them to lead the fight against climate change, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) organised the Global Youth Climate Summit, in partnership with Foundation for Climate Restoration, Resilient Markets, and the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge, recently. The two-day virtual event brought together 500 young change makers, aged between 13 and 24, and engaged them in an inter-generational dialogue with leading experts in the field of climate change.

Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) hosted the Global Youth Climate Summit, in partnership with the California-based Foundation for Climate Restoration, Resilient Markets and the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge. Held from March 11 to 12, it is a two-day online summit, with more than 500 young change makers, from six different continents.

Although the practice of open defecation was declared 0 percent in Bangladesh in 2017, 22-year-old *Nishita Nisha, a member of the third gender community in Dhaka, said that she is still sometimes forced to defecate in parks, footpaths or alleys.

Binod K Chaudhary, the chairman of the CG Corp Global conglomerate group, is Nepal’s first billionaire. He spoke at the Bangladesh Business Awards 2020, an initiative of The Daily Star. I recently had the privilege of reading his memoir, “Making it Big” (India Portfolio, 2016), in which he looks back upon his professional journey.

Team Bertho is a storytelling collective, initiated by a group of friends in 2016. “We present human experiences through creative mediums,” shared Murshidul Alam Bhuiyan, the director of the collective.

Around 150 students in Sherpur, Bogura, are making profits by rearing deshi (local breed) chickens at their own rooftops or backyards.

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.