Meet the trailblazing Bangladeshi ‘Diana Legacy Award’ winners

Bangladesh's Nafira Nayeem Ahmad and Shamim Ahmed Mridha are among a group of twenty exceptional young individuals recognised with The Diana Award's Legacy Award for its 25th Anniversary.

While the Diana Award is given annually to young individuals for their contributions to social action and humanitarian efforts, the Legacy Award is a biennial honour that recognises 20 exceptional young leaders who have previously received the Diana Award. Both awards were established to commemorate the late Princess Diana's legacy.

The Legacy Award is unique for its prestigious ceremony, a two-year development program, and a rigorous selection process, celebrating and nurturing the future potential of these individuals to create social change.

On March 14th, Prince William, the Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, gathered to pay tribute to and engage with these twenty outstanding young people representing diverse regions around the globe.

A high school student who built a charity organisation from scratch

On a summer day in 2019, Nafira Nayeem Ahmad was on her way to her first O-level exam. She was stressed, anxious and on foot. A flower seller, barely seven or eight years old, approached her.

An epiphany ascended on Nafira at the sight of the child.

"Here I am, consumed by exam stress, while this adorable girl hasn't had a meal all day," she recounted thinking, "My problems are nothing compared to hers."

Raised by a well-to-do family, Nafira was used to seeing her family members often engage in charity work. However, it was this epiphany that took root, and led her to reflect on her privileges, class differences and disparity.

My ultimate aspiration is to build one of the largest NGOs in the world one day, like BRAC or others, and I hope my dedication will remain the same.

- Nafira Nayeen Ahmad, Founder, Amplitude

In the same year, Nafira decided to create a non-profit organisation called Amplitude.

Since 2019, Amplitude has extended diverse forms of assistance to over 5,000 individuals, whether it's providing food aid to the hungry, donating winter clothes to those in need, or organising workshops to raise awareness about gender discrimination or disability discrimination, and more.

In 2022, Nafira was honoured with the Diana Award for her organisation. Fast forward to two years later, 20-year-old Nafira made it to the list of 20 exceptional young individuals who previously won the Diana Award in 2022 and 2023.

Even though it has been a fairly short journey, it was not easy in the beginning to build up Amplitude. Funds were hard to come by.

"Initially, we embarked on a door-to-door approach, yet gaining trust proved to be the biggest challenge. People were hesitant to believe us, largely due to my age. Moreover, every member of our team was either a school student or had recently completed high school," explained Nafira.

Then slowly Nafira's team came up with innovative new ideas to collect funds, such as arranging art exhibitions with collaborating artists and selling the artwork, arranging paid seminars, corporate funding etc.

"Galvanizing was our first event, which was a two-day art exhibition hosted at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 2019. Alongside many renowned artists, we also exhibited art of underprivileged children. We ended the night with open mics, where we exhibited the talents of many local artistes. The revenue generated was used to buy art supplies for underprivileged students," said Nafira.

Over the years, the organisation has grown exponentially. With a diverse and dedicated team of more than 30 young people at its helm, including the founder, Amplitude organised seven to eight events every year.

The first event of the year, titled "Paint It Red," focuses on menstrual hygiene—a persisting taboo in numerous regions of the country. To address this, Amplitude has been conducting the event annually on International Women's Day since 2021.

"We provide financial assistance, hygiene kits containing sanitary pads, masks, sanitisers, and medications, alongside informational leaflets on safe sex, consent and menstruation, to underprivileged families and nearby orphanages," Nafira shared.

Each year, they also organise a significant event called "Khair." For the past three years, they have undertaken a month-long fundraising effort during Ramadan, to raise money to purchase a month's worth of groceries and distribute it among a portion of needy people in Dhaka.

And when winter comes, they present their event 'Benevolence.' The team approaches the residents of Dhaka through the internet, urging them to donate spare old winter clothes or monetary aid, to distribute all the collections amongst the underprivileged who are forced to spend cold nights on the streets.

"It is one of the biggest projects we host every year," said Nafira.

Besides these events, they organise Booksgiving – a campaign for donating old books to disadvantaged children at some schools. There's also Gaan – an open mic event where local artistes representing different artforms come and showcase their talent, and the money raised by selling tickets is kept to fund future events.

Additionally, a podcast called The Social Dilemma unites emerging artistes across diverse backgrounds and genres to discuss the challenges and stigmas they encounter in their lives and art - spanning four episodes, airing weekly from mid-March to mid-April.

In addition to its signature events, Amplitude hosts workshops and sessions on breast cancer awareness, known as Pinktober Workshops. Furthermore, their impact extends beyond its initiatives, through partnerships with organisations such as Hope Bangladesh, UWT (Unstitched Women's Tapestry), and UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency).

Nafira, currently in her first year pursuing her undergraduate in the English Literature at BRAC University, envisions a future where her commitment to social change through non-profit work becomes her career.

"My ultimate aspiration is to build one of the largest NGOs in the world one day, like BRAC or others, and I hope my dedication will remain the same," concluded Nafira.

Going global to address a global crisis

Starting a youth organisation on your own is not an easy task - from team building to funding, there are plenty of challenges. It is even more difficult to go international.

However, Shamim Ahmed Mridha, a then sophomore at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), decided to take his organisation 'Eco Network' global, right off the bat in 2018. It helped that he already had a few international friends, especially from some South Asian countries. Eco Network simultaneously launched operations in Bangladesh and Nepal.

As we are concerned about changing a generation, adolescence is the perfect time to build a mindset. So, students and young people are the main stakeholders of our actions.

- Shamim Ahmed Mridha, Executive Director, Eco-Network Global

Today, Eco-Network Global has expanded across 23 countries, of which five are South Asian, including India, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. The rest are African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

A graduate of environmental science, Shamim remembers that back then, the subject was not a popular major for students, and climate change was not as big an issue as it is now. But he found it interesting and realised that there was scope to work in this area.

However, it was beyond his imagination that this interest would take him as far as earning the prestigious 'Diana Legacy Award' one day.

The journey has been nothing but a roller coaster ride. In late 2017, Shamim joined Tunza Eco Generation, an international environmental networking platform, as a regional ambassador. It is run by Samsung E&A and affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). When the six-month-long programme came to an end, he felt an urge to continue working for the environment.

"At that time, I searched for local platforms that focused on environmental work. However, climate change was not yet a prominent topic in our country; so I couldn't find any active organisation dedicated to this cause," he said.

"I felt that the responsibility fell on my shoulders and thus decided to take action. This marked the beginning of Eco-Network Global," said Shamim, Executive Director of the organisation.

Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. According to the World Bank Group's Country and Climate Development Report for Bangladesh 2022, average tropical cyclones cost us about $1 billion and the high level of air pollution costs about 9% of GDP annually. To combat this crisis, every individual has to contribute from their own position. But one must be aware about the issue at first. Eco-Network Global, therefore, is on a mission to build a climate-literate generation worldwide. But how exactly do they do that?

Initially, Eco-Network Global conducted tree plantation and environmental awareness campaigns in different primary and high schools. As they shared the activities on social platforms, students from across the country voluntarily showed interest to join them. The team soon expanded nationwide. They now have campus teams in more than 25 educational institutions of the country.

"As we are concerned about changing a generation, adolescence is the perfect time to build a mindset. So, students and young people are the main stakeholders of our actions," Shamim said.

Each year, they host a 'Global Climate Summit' where a diverse range of national and international guests and participants collaborate to achieve trans-boundary solutions.

The Covid-19 period came as an opportunity for them as everybody stayed home. During that time, they conducted regular advocacy sessions and workshops online. They hosted a national online competition called 'EnVision 2020' for participants to prove their environmental visions through arts and writings.

Through the 'Climate School' project, they organised various workshops and training programmes that provided climate education to hundreds of children and youths. All these events attracted massive public attention and engagements.

Their activities contribute to several SDG goals: Climate Action (SDG 13), Clean & Renewable energy (SDG 7), Life on Land (SDG 15), and Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG 6).

Along the way, Eco-Network Global has partnered up with the government's Department of Environment (DoE), as well as international NGOs like ActionAid Bangladesh and Save the Children Bangladesh on different occasions.

A notable name behind Eco-Network Global is Matthias Gelber, aka the Green Man, the organisation's advisor. The German-born entrepreneur and environmental consultant is often referred to as the greenest person on earth, as he is committed to leading a green lifestyle.

After being nominated by Matthias, Shamim received the prestigious Diana Award in 2022.

Shamim thinks that raising awareness about climate change is challenging because the harm is not immediately visible, nor is the impact of efforts.

"Climate change was not a buzzword when we started. We had to make people understand what we are talking about, how they are affected by environmental pollution, global warming, and climate change. Creating room for acceptance was a big challenge for us," he recalled.

From the very beginning, youths from different countries showed interest in joining their battle for climate justice. They appointed a country director amongst themselves and formed a community for their particular country.

"I have had a great experience with Eco-Network Global so far. Though we have other organisations here working for climate causes, I feel pleased to be a part of a global one from the very beginning," Saru Pyakurel, Country Director of Eco-Network Nepal, told TBS.

"We have conducted various activities throughout this journey. For example, we recently organised a 'Sanitation Hiking' to Champadevi Hill in February of this year, under the banner of Eco-Network Kathmandu Division. Throughout the hike, we actively collected waste and promoted responsible waste disposal practices among visitors," she added.

The Diana Award comes with nothing but an online declaration only. The award winners receive an online copy of certification. The Legacy Award, however, carries greater prestige. One day, earlier this year, Shamim was surprised to get an email informing him that he had been selected for 'The Legacy Award'.

"I could not believe my eyes when I saw the email. I never thought that I would receive an award from Prince William. It was an experience of a lifetime."

The 27-year-old's work, however, has not gone unnoticed within his own country. For his work with Eco-Network Global, he received the prestigious 'Joy Bangla Youth Award' in 2023 from the government under the 'Climate and Environment' category.

Talking about his vision, Shamim said that they are aiming to expand their activities to all South Asian countries, as it is more convenient to work with neighbouring countries.

"Apart from some small grants, most of the funding has come from my own pocket. All I wanted is to make it happen, and to keep it running," he said.