Barishal Youth Society (BYS) founder Faez Belal, a young social entrepreneur from Bangladesh, has been awarded the prestigious Diana Award.
The award has been considered the most prestigious accolade for a young person aged 9-25 for social action or humanitarian work since 1999.
Faez Belal was awarded in recognition of his immense contribution to social work including quality education, climate action, and gender equality.
Through his tremendous initiative, Belal has been involved in solving social problems through various innovative projects including Abhay, Girls Summit, Swapnajoy, Shomporke Bhalo Thakuk Desh, She is the First, Ami Theke Amra, Youth Fest and Barishal Nook.
About 1 million people have been part of BYS through various activities in the last 8 years. Its activities are ongoing in 12 districts of Barisal, Dhaka, and Rangpur.
In a statement, he said, “While everyone in our country talked about decentralisation, BYS made it true.”
“BYS that started its journey with the youths of Barishal has reached out to nearly one million people while trying to prevent violence against women and prioritising adolescent leadership development.”
“This award has not only given recognition to BYS but also brought dignity,” Faez said adding, “I want to dedicate this accolade to the thousands of women and adolescents in the climate-changed areas whose enthusiasm and efforts have motivated BYS to achieve this award today.”
Following the Sustainable Development Goal, BYS will keep working to increase employability and to assure women’s rights of 2 million women and adolescents.
The award was announced virtually on July 1.
Source: United News of Bangladesh