Radwan Mujib to hand over Joy Bangla Youth Award

As the crescendo of the Joy Bangla Youth Award is reaching its peak, the countdown has shifted from days to hours with the announcement of the biggest recognition for young changemakers being due today.

Radwan Mujib, grandson of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a trustee of the Centre for Research & Information (CRI), will confer the award on 15 youth-led organisations that had huge impact on their communities around.

Radwan has become a youth icon through his interactive sessions with youths and creative projects such as films, comics, and concerts to present history in the form of stories.

His creative endeavors include Mujib, a graphic novel based on the unfinished memoir of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu, setting a new trend in the country of telling kids history in the form of comics, blending learning with entertainment.

Radwan also co-produced Hasina: A Daughter's Tale, a docufiction bringing alive the life of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, showing on screen the trials and tribulations she had undergone following the assassination of her father and family in 1975.

A London 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.

Through CRI's youth platform Young Bangla, which launched Joy Bangla Youth Award, Radwan is working for empowering and inspiring youths through numerous initiatives geared towards creating entrepreneurs and leaders.

Themed on the Liberation War-time watchword of the nation Joy Bangla, the Joy Bangla Youth Award (JBYA) created more hype this year than any of the previous years 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 match 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, said sources at Young Bangla.

JBYA 2021, the fifth installment of the award, received entries from a total of 750 youth-led organisations 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 primarily picked up 31 applicants, out of which 15 will receive the 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 organisations.

The goal of this platform is not just awarding or recognising 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.