The award is designed to recognize countrywide young changemakers, help them network among themselves and enhance the services they are already doing to their communities.

Hot on the heels of this announcement comes the news of Sadat Rahman, one of the JBYA  2018 winners, receiving International Children’s Peace Prize 2020 for setting up a social organization and mobile app ‘Cyber Teens’ to stop cyberbullying and violence against children.

Youth Bangla congratulated Sadat saying ‘Young Bangla believes your win means win of Bangladesh.”

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai presented him the award at a ceremony in the Netherlands.

Having set off in November 2014, Young Bangla, the youth wing of Centre for Research & Information (CRI), has been awarding, every year, ‘Joy Bangla Youth Award’ to the youths and youth organizations successfully involved in changing the social paradigm in their respective areas of work.

Young Bangla has already awarded 130 youth organizations between 2015 and 2018 for the stepping stones they set for the welfare of society and the country, said CRI on Saturday.

The curtain will be lifted on November 17 through the welcome speech of Trustee of Centre for Research and Information (CRI) and State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT Affairs Adviser and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, also the chairperson of CRI, will grace the event as its chief guest and award the youths.

The online registration for Joy Bangla Youth Award 2020 commenced on September 15, calling it a day on October 15.

Like previous years, Young Bangla received applications from more than 600 organizations run by youths aged between 18 and 35 for their services under the categories of women empowerment, children’s rights, empowerment of specially challenged and underprivileged people, youth development, empowerment of ultra-poor people, anti-drug awareness campaign, activities to deal with COVID-19, environment and climate change, renewable or green energy, healthcare, education and awareness, cultural initiatives, and disaster management.

At the first stage, the ‘Joy Bangla Youth Award’ will be conferred under six categories - women empowerment, children’s rights, empowerment of specially challenged people, empowerment of underprivileged people, empowerment of ultra-poor people, and youth development.

In the second stage, the awards will fall under the purview of seven sub-categories - anti-drug awareness campaign, activities to deal with COVID-19, environment and climate change, healthcare, education and awareness, cultural initiatives, and disaster management.

Young Bangla set off on November 15, 2014, to directly incorporate the young generation in the country’s development activities geared towards ‘Vision 2021’.

The organization, carried forward by 50,000 volunteers and 315 organizations, consists of nearly 3,00,000 members.

Read Also: Sadat's crusade against cyberbullying brings home the Children's Peace Prize