Fifteen youth organizations from universities and community environmental conservation groups countrywide participated in USAID’s “Saving Mother Nature, Saving Us” over the past six months.
Dhaka, June 18, 2023 – On June 17, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Helen LaFave joined Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, and Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Vice Chancellor Tanweer Hasan for a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) youth-led campaign to mobilize action to mitigate climate change and protect the environment.
Fifteen youth organizations from various universities and community environmental conservation groups countrywide participated in USAID’s “Saving Mother Nature, Saving Us” over the past six months. During this time, they learned how to develop effective project plans and proposals and pitched their project ideas to a panel of judges at a special event at IUB.
Ms. LaFave, Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, and Vice Chancellor Hasan presented awards to the top three Bangladeshi youth organizations for developing innovative solutions to protect natural resources, improve waste management, curb plastic pollution, and create awareness about the need for urgent action to mitigate climate threats.
“Climate action is a lot of work, but if we work together we can make a difference. This is why we emphasize the need to mobilize youth leaders. They are not only future leaders of Bangladesh; they are already talented leaders in their schools and in their communities now,” said Ms. LaFave.
The grand prize winner of the project proposal competition was the Sharub youth group from Satkhira for its innovative idea to provide remote villages in its district with safe, saline-free drinking water. The second place winner was PCycle for their idea to promote sustainable waste management in schools and universities. The Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative won third place for its proposal to increase climate literacy and create a climate-based school curriculum for young Bangladeshi students. The winning groups each received cash grants from USAID to mobilize their project ideas.
