Teens promise to work for country's welfare
More than seven hundred teenagers at an adolescent conference yesterday took an oath to work for the welfare of the country as well as for humanity.
They also promised to keep themselves away from extremism, negative thinking and harmful activities, and build self-confidence.
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), a government-run institution to fund rural development and provide training, brought the boys and girls together at the conference -- held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre -- through a competition.
The 710 teenagers were selected through a talent hunt, under which they took various tests on history, traditions and culture of Bangladesh. They were selected from 1 lakh participants from 11,000 educational institutions from across the country.
The participants took part in the conference as future change agents and would work in various areas including social awareness-building for sustainable development.
Speakers at the conference enlightened the teenagers on different issues and challenges Bangladesh is facing today, and how to overcome those.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in his chief guest's address said, “We've defeated poverty in many respects. But 3 crore people are still below the poverty line. Of them, 1 crore are extreme poor.”
To ensure development of this huge number of people, it is necessary to continue the trend of progress for seven to 10 more years, he said. Only then the poverty level will come down to below 10 percent.
President of PKSF Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, who administered the oath, said the main condition of sustainable development is inclusiveness. Keeping it in mind, PKSF works for sustainable development, and this conference was a part of the integrated programme, he added.
Among others, Managing Director of PKSF Md Abdul Karim and member of the PKSF governing body Naznin Sultana addressed the programme.
The participants also shared their thoughts and viewpoints at the conference.
“This kind of initiatives will increase our confidence and instil leadership skills in us. It will help build quality leadership in the future,” said Shahzadi Binte Razzak, a tenth-grader of Nabab Fayzunnesa Government Girls School in Comilla.
Another tenth-grader, Anika Ashraf of Duribinni High School of Jhenidah, said, “This conference has awakened our values and given us a guideline to move in a new direction.”
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