The long wait for the country’s most cherished award for young trailblazers is over with the sixth Joy Bangla Youth Award scheduled for November this year. Youth organisations that  turned around communities through social initiatives can apply for the sixth of Joy Bangla Youth Award. The aspirants for the country's most celebrated award for young changemakers can apply  till August 31. Read: 15 organizations clinch Joy Bangla Youth Award-2021

Young Bangla on Monday handed over the Joy Bangla Youth Award, the country's best recognition for young changemakers, to 15 youth-led organizations for the social changes they spearheaded. The event took place on the ground of Sheikh Hasina National Youth Center in Savar amid strict safety measures against the Covid-19. Though Joy Bangla Youth Award 2018 had been hosted at the auditorium of the same centre, this time the playground with a wider space was chosen to ensure safety from Coronavirus. This year, the hype of the Joy Bangla Youth Award was on full blast as it was made to coincide with the country's 50th year of independence whose watchword was the slogan Joy Bangla. Recorded speeches of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy were aired during the event. Radwan Mujib Siddiq, a trustee of the ruling Awami League's research wing Centre for Research & Information (CRI), handed over the award to 15 youth-led organizations, recognizing their contribution to their communities. Since its inception in 2014, Young Bangla, the youth secretariat of CRI, has been awarding the youths who spearheaded social changes in different parts of the country, even in remote areas. A couple of past awardees, equipped with the grooming and networking provided by JBYA, later achieved International recognitions. This year Young Bangla received entries from a total of 750 youth-led organizations, out of which 31 were primarily nominated. Among them, 15 finally claimed the award. The winning organisations are Dhrubotara Youth Development Foundation (DYDF), the Tech Academy, Asmani Jubo nari Foundation, Amal Foundation, Third EYE, EcoVation Bangladesh, Bangladesher Dushprappo Chobi Somogro, Steps Ahead, Moner School, TransEnd, Reflective Teens, GenLab, Diner Alo Hijra Unnyon Mohila Songstha, Bangladesh Tea Community Student Youth Council and Medhabi Kallyan Sangstha (MKS).

Radwan Mujib, a trustee of Centre for Research & Information (CRI),  will confer the "Joy Bangla Youth Awards" to 15 youth-driven groups  today (Monday). They have worked with scarce resources but hugely impacted on communities with their innovative projects.  Themed on the Liberation War and name after the war cry of the Bengali freedom fighters , the Joy Bangla Youth Award (JBYA) created more expectations this year than any of the previous since the country is celebrating the 50th year of its independence.  Though the event takes place once every two years, this year the gap has been slashed to one year to time it with the golden jubilee of the country’s victory from the occupation army of Pakistan. The event will feature recorded speeches of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ICT advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who is also the chairperson of CRI, said sources at Young Bangla, the youth platform  of CRI that took the initiative of launching the Joy Bangla Youth Award. Read: Joy Bangla Youth Award brings about stories of silent young changemakers JBYA 2021, the fifth installment of the award, received entries from a total of 750 youth-led organizations that are silently transforming society. The applications were inspected by a high-octane jury including celebrities such as cricketer Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and actress Jaya Ahsan. They shortlisted 31 applicants, out of which 15 will receive Joy Bangla Youth Award. Since its inception in 2014, JBYA has awarded 120 organizations for changing the social paradigm and advancing inclusion. Young Bangla, the largest network of the country’s youths, is a hub of 12,500 volunteers, 2,00,000 members, 300 youth organizations. The goal of this platform is not just awarding or recognizing the young changemakers but also helping them network, connect with policymakers, and receive proper grooming. Owing to the supports provided by Young Bangla, a couple of past awardees later claimed international recognitions, including Sadat Rahman, who won International Children’s Peace Prize for his contribution against cyberbullying. Through CRI’s youth platform Young Bangla, which launched Joy Bangla Youth Award, Radwan is working to empower and inspire young people  through numerous initiatives to create entrepreneurs and leaders. Radwan Mujib turned a youth icon through his interactive sessions with young people and creative projects such as films, comics, and concerts to present history in the form of stories. Read: ‘Joy Bangla’ to be national slogan: HC His creative endeavors include Mujib, a graphic novel based on the unfinished memoir of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, setting a unique trend in the country to tell history for kids in the form of comics, blending learning with entertainment. Radwan also co-produced Hasina: A Daughter’s Tale, a docufiction that PM Sheikh Hasina's trials and tribulations after the massacre of much of her family, including her Father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A London of School of Economics graduate, Radwan edits the country’s first policy-based magazine WhiteBoard, covering the gamut of policy issues through in-depth analysis from globally acclaimed academics, researchers, and experts.

The star-studded jury panel of the Joy Bangla Youth Award, the initiative to recognise nationwide young social change makers, sees the urge and potential among the awardees to transform the country as well as the planet.  Echoing the relevance of the Joy Bangla Youth Award-2021 furthered by the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence, Bangladesh Liberation War Museum Trustee Mofidul Hoque said, “The award has made us optimistic. Let youths carry forward the legacy of independence, the ideals of Bangabandhu, and the development of Bangladesh. That is what I expect of them in this 50th year of the country’s independence.” Read: Joy Bangla Concert: Rock stars share best memories This is the first time Hoque has joined the Joy Bangla Youth Award (JBYA) Jury Board.  "The best thing I have felt about this award is that the youths have their deepest urge to ensure the freedom of humanity and the freedom of society. Some are working on technology and taking the benefit of that technology to people. On the other hand, some initiatives are working in remote areas. They may be small in scale but big in essence. In a nutshell, it made us optimistic,” he added. The Joy Bangla Award takes inspiration from the war cry of the 1971 Liberation War. Like previous years, the fifth installment of the award received entries from the entire country, said the organizer Young Bangla, the secretariat of the Centre for Research & Information (CRI).  Around 700 organizations applied for the award from across the country. Entrepreneur Sharmishta Roy said, “It's a great experience to be part of the jury. We have got so many young talents that it’s hard to predict what milestones these youths will help the country reach. Through this award, the organizers are imbuing young hearts with the confidence and inspiration that will contribute not just to the country but to the world as well." The award, conferred every two years, is now being given out after a year to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's Independence. Since its inception in 2014, Young Bangla has been conferring the award to the young people and youth organizations successfully involved in changing the social paradigm and bringing about change in their respective areas. In previous years, the award paved the path for international acclamations for youths including Sadat Rahman, a 2018-JBYA winner, who later won the International Children's Peace Prize in 2020 for making an anti-cyberbullying mobile app named Cyber Teens. Reflecting on the method of selecting entries, former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said, “Following a particular methodology and a fair selection process, the team presented information about the applicants. Young change makers from all walks of life from across the country took part in it. Youths are our power. This award corroborates that idea. Bangladesh will ride on the initiatives of these youths.” “We have got applications from diverse groups from across the country. We spent the entire day selecting the best ones to be awarded by the CRI-organized event,” Tashnuva Shishir, said the country’s first TV Anchor from the transgender background. Read: Joy Bangla Youth Award winners eye wider contributions to communities “It was difficult to select the top 10 projects as we received applications from all corners of the country and all of them had been doing great jobs braving all limitations and challenges. Heartiest congratulations to the Joy Bangla 2021 awardees,” said Conservationist Shahriar Caesar Rahman. “Congratulations to the young champions! But other applicants shouldn’t lose hope either as they too have a long way to go,” said Entrepreneur Zara Mahbub. “We have got so many different projects and our youths are so much active in serving their communities that they made our job difficult to select the best ones. Wishing all the best for those who couldn’t make it this time. But there is an expectation burden on those who are going to be awarded. They will keep serving more,” said Tech Entrepreneur Achia Nila.

Connecting young changemakers across the country through one platform, Joy Bangla Youth Award 2020 celebrated the vision and efforts youths silently channelized towards turning lives and transforming communities.

Some of them reached out to the homeless, to the distressed with help when everyone was supposed to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak. 

Prime Minister's ICT Adviser and CRI Chairperson Sajeeb Wazed Joy on Tuesday evening made his first appearance online after almost a year to encourage youngsters to play role as changemakers in the country to build Sonar Bangla.

International Children’s Peace Prize 2020 winner Sadat Rahman credited Joy Bangla Youth Award (JBYA) for setting the stepping stones leading him from a boy addressing social issues in a remote area to the countrywide recognition and networking that eventually catapulted him to this global exposure.

The fourth edition of Joy Bangla Youth Award (JBYA), organized by Young Bangla, one of the largest youth platforms of the country, is set for November 17.