Youth Parliament to Explore Future Bangladesh
On February 10, 2017, Dhrubotara Youth Development Foundation (DYDF) organised an event titled "Youth Parliament to Explore Future Bangladesh" where members who were selected from different regions of the country participated in a shadow parliament held at the Pacific Hotel in Sylhet.
Academic Rasheda K. Chowdhury inaugurated the event under the presidency of the Executive Director of DYDF and Speaker of this shadow parliament, Amiya Prapan Chakraborty. Youth parliamentarians showcased many indictments and proposals throughout the education and information communication technology session; they showed much discontent towards the textbooks which are riddled with errors yet still issued by the government, religion being used for political gains and so on. They also claimed to uphold the values of the Liberation War.
One of the parliamentarians from Sunamganj proposed that eligible and trained teachers should be appointed in the governmental multimedia and ICT facilitated classrooms. Likewise, other parliamentarians from Bhola, Sandwip and Patuakhali requested for faster internet facilities and more opportunities to motivate young entrepreneurs in the ICT sector. Parliamentarians from all over the country also discussed on the national youth laws. Later, according to the national youth law and through the proposal of Ahsan Habib Sarker, parliamentarian from Panchagarh, general youth parliament or youth council proposal bill was passed unanimously. The ensuring of cyber security was also professed there.
Chief guest at the event, Rasheda K. Chowdhury motivated the youth present at the event to grow up as dignified citizens and also encouraged them to take responsibility of the development of the country. She requested the government to include the idea of "Youth Parliament" in the national youth law. Following that, the global campaign, "100 Million for 100 Million", – an initiative of Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi – was launched by the guests. Everybody present there took oath to stand against child labour and also promised to stay beside the unprivileged.
At the second session, youth leaders joined the discussion regarding Sustainable Development Goals and the SAARC Youth Charter. State Minister for ICT Division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, joined the session via video conference. He advised the youth to become more responsible towards the positive change and development of the country. Begum Rokeya Award winning social worker, Aroma Dutta, and Tanjim Ferdous from The Daily Star gave their speeches as panel speakers; Rajshahi parliamentarian Md. Borhan and Newaz Sharif gave their speeches as foreign ministry. Falguni Dev, parliamentarian of Habiganj, requested everyone present to work together against harassment of women. Palash Talukdar, Barisal parliamentarian, asked to enhance governmental and non-governmental partnerships.
Chairperson of Transparency International Bangladesh, Advocate Sultana Kamal, and former Member of Parliament, Md. Shafiqur Rahman, were present at the closing ceremony. At the session, youths from different regions of the country emphasised on the current debatable issue regarding the construction of the Rampal power plant in the Sundarbans. Referring to Bangabandhu's indication towards protecting the Sundarbans, Advocate Sultana Kamal described the initiative of Rampal power plant. For the sake of the country, she called to stop this dangerous plan. Thanking DYDF, she urged the audience to become nation-builders who can build a beautiful nation, with a peaceful future for the country. The event was sponsored by the ICT Ministry, DITC, The Daily Star, and Hotel Star Pacific.
DYDF's Executive Director Amiya Prapan Chakraborty thanked everyone and said that DYDF will work on grooming our youth into capable citizens. Finally, he announced the next Youth Parliament at Chittagong.
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