IUBAT Student attended Youngest Student Leader at the Second Commonwealth Futures Workshop

Ms Mubtasim Islam Nirjon of Department of Languages, IUBAT represented Bangladesh and IUBAT in the Youngest Student Leader at the Second Commonwealth Futures Workshop. A total of 28 student leaders from 14 Commonwealth countries participated in this Workshop at O.P Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India, member of Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). During the four days (9-12 February 2020) session, students immersed themselves in learning from Gandhian principles, participatory democracy, non-violence and truth- and modality of applying them in the modern life.

Ms Nirjon’s nomination by the faculties of Department of Languages was finalized through interview with honorable Vice Chancellor and respected Treasurer. Universities from across the ACU’s membership network nominated students with leadership potential in many ways–through their studies, community engagement, volunteering, student activism, or political engagement. Ms Nirjon is also active member of Bangladesh Scouts, currently continuing as a Rover Scout of renowned open rover scout group of Bangladesh. She engaging herself in leading and working with the youths for a long time, working on the SDGs, and volunteering in many social events and she also an active member in some non-profit organizations as well as serving the needy people of our country.

All the delegates across the Commonwealth learnt vastly about democracy, participatory, peace, violence and many other cores of a country from the 4 days long workshop. As 50% population of the Commonwealth is under the age of 30. The Commonwealth wants to use this youth power to fight against the global issues that are faced by the world. Commonwealth Future Series workshops are meant to examine multidisciplinary themes, relating to the concept of global citizenship, from participatory democracy to community engagement – as well as exploring social and emotional learning in the context of peace and non-violence through student leaders the futures of a country.

On the final day, groups addressed issues ranging from hate crime to climate change, showcasing how they are thinking, knowledge and understanding of these issues developed as a result of the Commonwealth Futures process. Unique solutions include the creation of a Commonwealth-wide Youth Engagement Accord to drive civic engagement and create two-way dialogue with policymakers; mainstreaming a more holistic approach to education that includes indigenous knowledge; and placing empathy at the heart of global policy to account for the growing number of climate change refugees.

Ms Nirjon expressed that the participation in this workshop is one of the most memorable and wonderful experiences of her life. She is highly indebted to IUBAT for selecting her. She is looking forward to applying the knowledge and skills she acquired from the Workshop for the betterment of IUBAT in particular and the society in general.”