On a quiet December morning in Dhaka, as the winter sun peeps through the fog and children’s laughter is heard under the open sky, tiny hands press soft soil around young saplings. And others sit inside a warm, lively classroom, discovering stories for the first time beyond their school textbooks.
In a city so often known for traffic, pollution and concrete walls, can giving children both fresh air and stories to dream with change anything? Can the actions of young people really change how the next generation grows up?
A group of determined and passionate Bangladeshi youth from Dhaka believe that the answer is yes.
Dhaka is one of the most crowded and polluted cities in the world. Over 90% of us breathe air so toxic it acts as a slow poison, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2024, Dhaka ranked 13th among the most polluted global cities based on AQI-US standards. This year, in January and February, Dhaka consistently ranked first in the list of most polluted global cities for 11 consecutive days. Here, many children grow up surrounded by traffic fumes, dust and limited green space. Dhaka has some of the deadliest air pollution in the world and has repeatedly been listed among the cities with high air pollution levels. The pollution here affects children’s health and can harm their future well-being.
At the same time, many schools in the city have little or no access to proper libraries. According to UNICEF, early reading opportunities play a crucial role in developing confidence, imagination and learning ability in children. So, the lack of access to books beyond curriculum-focused textbooks hinders children’s cognitive development, especially those from low-income families.
Amidst this dire city life, the group of determined and passionate youth from the Global Shapers Dhaka Hub decided that they won’t simply watch and worry but rather act.
With that spirit, members of Global Shapers Dhaka Hub, one of World Economic Forum's global youth networks, went to Rayerbazar Government Primary School this December. The school has around 1200 students and most of them come from low-income families. The goal of the shapers was simple yet powerful: to help children breathe fresher air and open the doors of their imagination through children-friendly books.
Speaking of the initiatives, Fairuz Joyeeta, the Curator of Global Shapers Dhaka Hub, said, “Our focus is on children in communities that are often left behind. By teaching stewardship and enabling access to books, we want to create the conditions for long-term change that begins with responsibility and opportunity.”
Under the Dhaka Hub’s Treelionaire initiative, the students of Rayerbazar Government Primary School did more than just plant trees. They became guardians of their own saplings. They learnt why trees matter, how they clean the air, how they support life and how caring for the environment is also caring for themselves.
This December, commemorating the 54 years of the independence of Bangladesh and the 54th victory anniversary, Treelionaire was relaunched in Dhaka, reconnecting with a deeper global concern of an annual deforestation that estimates around 15 billion trees across the world. Treelionaire was originally pioneered by the shapers of Dhaka Hub in 2016 and later adopted by Global Shapers Hubs across South Asia and beyond, planting over 15 thousand trees to date.
For cities like Dhaka, where pollution is rising and green spaces are shrinking, even small actions can make a meaningful difference. During the relaunch activity, students of Rayerbazar Government Primary School gathered with excitement, as many of them had never planted a tree before. They learnt how ecosystems work and how their small actions could protect the earth. Environmental educator Ahsan Rony from Green Savers helped children understand how tree planting links to larger climate action and urban resilience.
Just a few steps away from the schoolyard, inside a classroom library, bookshelves were getting filled up with children’s books under the Libraries Inspiring Future Together (LIFT) initiative by the shapers. Over 300 books, donated by Annesha Prokashon, were handed over to the school authority for the children. As the children flipped through the pages with their curious little hands, it seemed as if they were discovering treasures.
During the activities, an interactive storytelling session by Nahiyan, the founder of Books with Nahiyan, helped turn reading into joy. They laughed, listened and shared thoughts, proving that a book is not just paper and ink – it is a door. And each child deserves the right to open it.
Many schools serving low-income communities do not have functioning libraries or a wide range of reading materials. Through this initiative the shapers wanted to ensure that the children of low-income families are not limited to curriculum-focused textbooks only.
The students of Rayerbazar Government Primary School now have a peaceful place to read, think and dream. For many of them, this may be their first meaningful relationship with storybooks.
Initiatives, both Treelionaire and LIFT, share a belief that children deserve better. No matter where they are born, they deserve clean air to breathe and shade from trees; they deserve the joy of reading freely; and they deserve the chance to learn about their world and imagine brighter futures.
The initiatives of the Global Shapers Dhaka Hub remind us that the Bangladeshi youth are not just talking about change; they are leading it. In Bangladesh, where more than one-third of the population is made up of young people, these kinds of initiatives instil real hope.