JBYA 2021 features high-octane jury
Young Bangla, country's first national platform of young social changemakers across the country, has come up with a star-studded jury panel, with different youth icons, for its signature event "Joy Bangla Youth Award (JBYA) 2021".
From former national cricket team captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to award-winning actress Jaya Ahsan to the country's first transgender TV Anchor Tashnuva Shishir, the 12-member panel has super-achievers from all walks of life.
The other jury members are - Bangladesh Liberation War Museum Founder Trustee Mofidul Hoque, former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman, MP Nahim Razzaq, Entrepreneur Achia Khaleda Nila, Entrepreneur Zara Mahbub, Conservationist Shahriar Caesar Rahman, Filmmaker Rezwan Shahriar Sumit, Entrepreneur Shornolota Roy, and Journalist Porimol Palma.
The award, conferred every two years, is now being given out after a year to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh's Independence.
The Joy Bangla Award is inspired by the war cry of the 1971 Liberation War.
Like previous years, the fifth instalment of the award received entries from the entire country, said sources at Young Bangla, the secretariat of Centre for Research & Information (CRI).
Around 700 organizations applied for the Award from across the country.
Since its inception in 2014, Young Bangla has been conferring the award to the young people and youth organisations successfully involved in changing the social paradigm and bringing about change in their respective areas.
"Joy Bangla Youth Award helped me network with other young changemakers, get in touch with the country's policymakers, and groomed me for more impactful service to my community," said 2018-JBYA winner Sadat Rahman, who later won the International Children's Peace Prize in 2020 for making an anti-cyberbullying mobile app named Cyber Teens.
Moreover , people who have contributed on respective fields in the space of last 50 years will also be recognized, which is a new addition this year.
Young Bangla will present Lifetime Achievement Awards to individuals who have made significant contributions to the post-independence nation-building process through their leadership, service, initiatives, and research.