The Duke of SUSSEX pays tribute to young changemakers from across the world at a virtual ceremony marking PRINCESS DIANA’S 60th birthday. This year, 19 young changemakers from Bangladesh honoured Diana Award 2021, following a virtual ceremony on June 28.
Established in memory of Princess Diana in 1999, the Diana Award is the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action for humanitarian efforts and 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.
19 Young Changemakers from Bangladesh Honoured Diana Award 2021
In a surprise address at a virtual award ceremony for The Diana Award, The Duke of Sussex honoured over 300 young people, aged 9-25, from across the world for going above and beyond in their daily lives to create and sustain positive change. This year, 19 young changemakers from Bangladesh Honoured Diana Award 2021.
Sagar Mazumdar, Co-Founder and COO, Nerdiz
Bangladesh’s first virtual-reality based learning platform founded by Sagar in 2018. He has helped to create more than 120 lessons in history, geography and science, reaching 27 districts and 40,000 children in Bangladesh.
Maria Mumu, Founder and President, Moshal
Moshal aims to make mental health-care more accessible, affordable and effective for everyone. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the foundation provided free first-aid sessions using a hotline number.
Murshidul Alam Bhuiyan, Founder, Team Bertho
Team Bertho values the process of learning through sharing; they document life lessons and share them as creative solutions for everyone where stories are used to uplift and inspire positive changes.
Anika Subah Ahmad Upoma, Founder and President, Evolution360
Evolution360 focuses on youth development and women empowerment by promoting gender equality through various social projects.
Sarker Tanvir Ahmed, President, Youth Parliament
The Youth Parliament inspires young changemakers to be active in their communities. The platform also promotes and contributes to SDG-16.
Sadid Hasan, Founder and CEO, CrossRoads Initiative
CrossRoads Initiative connects mentors with young people in need of support. As of now, Sadid’s students have acquired more than $1,000,000 in scholarship funding under his guidance.
Lamea Tanjin Tanha, Founder, TransEnd
TransEnd is a social organisation that empowers the transgender communities through education, training, employment and entrepreneurship.
Anas Hossain Makki, Co-founder and COO, Safewheel
Anas designed low-cost, affordable ambulances that can access remote villages. Since its inception, Safewheel has served over 1,000 patients.
Rijve Arefin, Co-founder, Awareness 360
Awareness 360 is a global platform that empowers the youth to build community service projects in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Yusuf Munna, Executive Director, Reflective Teens
Reflective Teens is a platform that fosters creative abilities of teenagers.. Through its various initiatives, the platform promotes skills like problem-solving capacity while incubating the passion of young students.
Md Mahbubul Abrar, Youth Development Expert, Volunteer for Bangladesh, Dhaka
During the pandemic, Mahbubul organised relief campaigns in over 13 districts, impacting around 50,000 people. His initiative, ‘Apnar Mask Kothai’, mobilised 7,000 volunteers in 45 districts to distribute face masks and raise awareness about the virus.
Md Mostofa Zaman, Volunteer, Volunteer for Bangladesh, Mymensingh
Being a doctor, Mostofa has initiated programmes related to breast cancer and cervical cancer, thereby spreading awareness amongst underprivileged girls.
Md Shawket Arafat, President, Volunteer for Bangladesh, Chattogram
Shawket oversaw the documentation of 3,000 Rohingya refugees and helped to reunite them with their previous homes. He has aided in raising funds for people displaced by a landslide in Rangamati and managing iftar for 100 children during Ramadan.
Khadiza Tul Qubra Binte Ahsan, Founder, WeMen View
Khadiza founded WeMen View in 2018 in an attempt to combat gender-based violence. Furthermore, she launched a collaborative project to rehome families affected by Cyclone Amphan.
Gulnahar Mahbub Monika, Co-founder, Deshi Ballers
Monika strives to increase opportunities for women in basketball. As a part of Bangladesh’s first female-only basketball community, Deshi Ballers, she hopes to create a women-only national league in the future.
Sidratul Moontaha Chowdhury, Program Manager, Technovation
Sidratul works to inspire the next generation of girls in STEM(Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). By opening the ‘Bangladesh Chapter of Technovation Girls’, she guides girls to not only thrive in an underrepresented field but to drive powerful changes
Muhammad Afjal Sultan Safi, Founder, Doorbin Foundation
Afjal set up the Doorbin Foundation to enable the tribal community of Tripura to access employment and education. His campaigns have helped 34 children start schooling.
Azajul Islam Neloy, Founder and CEO, One Of You
Neloy is passionate about ensuring universal access to education. He founded the first-ever Madrasa for genderqueer individuals in Asia educating over 5000 transgender people till today.
Afruza Tanzi, Project Lead and Manager, Protibha
Afruza set out to tackle gender stereotypes and the stigma of working women by empowering women in marginalised communities to gain financial independence through skills training and workshops.