The Reflective Teens Experience – Salwa Saira
Being a part of and serving as a member of Reflective Teens was a privilege. I was given the opportunity by Reflective Teens to contribute my creativity and thoughts in developing a better creative environment for teenagers. Along with sharing my thoughts, it also gave me the chance to practice new skills with my coworkers in the same sector. For instance, I gained experience doing professional interviews, hosting an international cultural exchange program called Bridges not Borders, authoring research on global collaboration programs like NOOK, and performing in-person surveys in fields that need creative and educational growth. All of these were made possible by the supportive, welcoming environment that Reflective Teens offered me. My senior colleagues and Reflective Teens’ founder, Mr. Yusuf Munna, taught me new concepts and inspired me to explore them. Therefore, throughout my time at Reflective Teens, I was able to test my limitations and develop my leadership skills. As a result, I soon received a promotion from executive member to head of the research, and development sector and had the opportunity to lead a team. Thanks to the Reflective Teens environment, people, along with my diligence and curiosity. Without a doubt, Reflective Teens offers a fantastic working environment and a memorable, priceless experience. Because Reflective Teens is very professional while also being very comfortable and friendly, just like family, each member of Reflective Teens is more like a family to me now. Being a part of an organization that makes you feel like family and allows you to grow professionally was a blessing.
Glocal Teen Hero Bangladesh 2022 held Successfully
কিশোরভিত্তিক সৃজনশীল প্ল্যাটফর্ম রিফ্লেকটিভ টিনস’র আয়োজনে দেশে প্রথমবারের মতো অনুষ্ঠিত হলো ‘গ্লোকাল টিন হিরো বাংলাদেশ – ২০২২’। গত ২০ ডিসেম্বর রাজধানীর ধানমন্ডিস্থ ড্যাফোডিল এডুকেশন নেটওয়ার্কের ৭১ অডিটোরিয়ামে এক জাঁকজমকপূর্ণ আয়োজনের মধ্য দিয়ে বিজয়ীদের মাঝে পুরষ্কার তুলে দেয়া হয়। তিনশ’র অধিক আবেদন থেকে যাচাই-বাছাই এর পর প্রথম ধাপে ছয় জন এবং পরবর্তীতে একজনকে গ্লোকাল টিন হিরো স্বীকৃতি দেয়া হয়। প্রথম আসরে গ্লোকাল টিন হিরো নির্বাচিত হয় ‘ব্যাক্টো ক্রপ’ এর প্রতিষ্ঠাতা ও নটরডেম কলেজের ছাত্র তালহা জুবায়ের। তালহা ছাড়াও প্রথম ছয় জনের তালিকায় থাকা অন্যরা হলো – আইরিন মুশফিরাত, ফারহান নবী, নাবিল মোস্তাফা, সাদ আল আমিন এবং সানজিতা সিদ্দিকা। এই নির্বাচন প্রক্রিয়ার জুরি সদস্য হিসেবে ছিলেন কিশোর আলোর সম্পাদক, সাংবাদিক ও লেখক আনিসুল হক, নেদারল্যান্ডস এর রাষ্ট্রদূত অ্যান ভেন লিউয়েন, ড্যাফোডিল ফ্যামিলির চেয়ারম্যান সবুর খান, ইয়ুথ অপরচুনিটিজ এর প্রতিষ্ঠাতা ওসাম বিন নুর, ইউএনডিপি বাংলাদেশের প্রজেক্ট ম্যানেজার রবার্ট স্টোলম্যান এবং ইংরেজি দৈনিক দ্যা ডেইলি স্টারের সাবেক হেড অফ বিজনেস শুভাশিষ রয়। পুরষ্কার বিতরণী অনুষ্ঠানে জুরি সদস্যগণ ছাড়াও তুরষ্কের রাষ্ট্রদূত মোস্তাফা ওসমান তুরান, নেপালের রাষ্ট্রদূত জ্ঞানশ্যাম ভাণ্ডারী, ড্যাফোডিল ফ্যামিলির গ্রুপ সিইও মোহাম্মদ নুরুজ্জামান, জেন বাংলাদেশের কান্ট্রি ডিরেক্টর কে এম হাসান রিপন, সেইভ এন্ড সার্ভ ফাউন্ডেশনের প্রতিষ্ঠাতা তৈয়ব বাশার, রিফ্লেকটিভ টিনসের নির্বাহী পরিচালক ইউসুফ মুন্না, গ্লোকাল নেপালের চেয়ারম্যান আশিস ঠাকুর অন্যান্যদের মাঝে উপস্থিত ছিলেন। ২০১৪ সালে নেপালের কাঠমুন্ডুতে শুরু হয় এই আয়োজন। পরবর্তীতে ভারত, শ্রীলংকার পর বাংলাদেশে এই আয়োজনের উদ্যোগ নেয় রিফ্লেকটিভ টিনস। সারাদেশে ছড়িয়ে থাকা প্রতিভাবান কিশোরকিশোরীদের সৃজনশীল কাজের স্বীকৃতি দেয়ার লক্ষ্যে এই উদ্যোগ নেয়া হয়। অনুষ্ঠানের স্ট্রাটেজিক পার্টনার ড্যাফোডিল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পার্টনার দ্যা এশিয়া ফাউন্ডেশন এবং সেইভ এন্ড সার্ভ ফাউন্ডেশন, নলেজ পার্টনার কিশোর আলো, মিডিয়া পার্টনার দ্যা ডেইলি স্টার, আউটরীচ পার্টনার ইয়ুথ অপরচুনিটিজ, এনগেইজমেন্ট পার্টনার বরিশাল ইয়ুথ সোসাইটি এবং চকবোর্ড কমিউনিকেশনস এবং সাপোর্টিং পার্টনার জেন বাংলাদেশ এবং বিএসআরএম।
Classroom Sidewalk Game Project in Chittagong
High-rise buildings, 24-hour food, fast Internet speed, and a richness of food and activities have all been brought about by urbanization. You will never be bored if you live in the city. But urbanization has an impact on the development and behavior of children. The more civilized we become, the fewer open spaces there are for children to play. Children in cities are hardly ever seen playing their hearts out in open fields. If they are seen, they are under the parents’ constant supervision in various gaming schools with specific formats. But is this a genuine form of play that benefits children’s overall development? Limited space, a lack of attachment to nature, being constantly surrounded by rules and regulations, and a lack of a free-spirited attitude prevents them from experiencing the joy of playing. As a result, it hampers children’s physical, mental, emotional, and overall development. Outdoor playing is really essential for children’s physical, mental and overall development. Reflective Teens, as usual, attempted to solve problems concerning children and teenagers. We took the step to launch a project named “Classroom Sidewalk Game Project”, with the intention of creating opportunities for recreation in abandoned places for kids. We attempted to provide a space for them to play even in small spaces such as corridors or vacant places between classrooms. We attempted to make it an amusing place for them by using colorful paintings that were appropriate for their age. In Chittagong, with the help of Elite Paint, we conducted this experiment on 10 schools with approximately 5000 students. The children appeared to be having a good time. Their enthusiasm for attending school grew as their colorful minds were given a platform to express themselves. Teachers and guardians at those schools reported that the students were ecstatic about their new way of learning. They are now learning and playing in a small number of places. Author: Farhana Afrin Fariha, Executive Member (R, D & E)
The Rejuvenate Bootcamp Held Successfully
The Rejuvenate Bootcamp is a virtual program specifically designed for club leaders to learn how to coordinate and operate their clubs more efficiently. This virtual Bootcamp was held on 18th March 2022 and the present attendees were our esteemed Growth Ambassadors and various leading figures of very well reputed emerging clubs throughout Bangladesh. The attendees were able to listen and interact directly with our very talented guest speakers Ms. Purbita Jannat from 3Z Global Centre, Mr. Abdullah Kaisar, and Mr. Imtiaj Jehad from Lead Bangladesh who spoke on different parts of Creative Organization Leadership, Communication, and Talent Management. This extremely informative and engaging session ended with smiles of profound gratitude and newly formed meaningful connections.
RT partners with 3ZERO Club; an initiative designed by Nobel Laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus
Reflective Teens (RT) is overjoyed to share the news of our new partnership with the 3Z Global Center with everyone. 3ZERO Club, an initiative designed by Nobel Laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus to connect youth around the world in a unified vision of creating a world of three zeros, is now available to our network of young people. Through this partnership, we hope to connect young people to global events, seminars, workshops, competitions, and much more to help them address global challenges. To learn more and join the 3ZERO Club, please visit: https://3zero.club/ The future is in your hands. ACT NOW!
Bridges, Not Borders with Bangladesh and Nepal held Successfully
And so on 16th February, the Bridges, Not Borders event between Bangladesh and Nepal comes to an end. Starting in the last week of January 2022, a group of young people from Bangladesh and Nepal got together on a virtual meeting to get an on-hand experience about each other’s culture right from the natives! The bridge between Bangladeshi and Nepalese youth included them breaking the ice on Day 1 in order to set the stage for the next days. On Day 2, both Bangladeshi and Nepali teens were assigned a certain element of culture and nationality that they wished to uphold and represent. Youth from Nepal and Bangladesh respectively took each other through an immersive experience of culture by describing their nation’s history, culture, festivals, fashion, and the culinary variations that they have through verbal and visual presentation. The third day was the last day of such a warm exchange between these two cultures. However, these youth managed to look past the borders of their nations and be united in their love of creative artwork and hobbies. Almost all the participants have prepared a little showcase of their favorite hobbies, interests, and talents. Ranging from dance performance, digital artwork exhibition to poem recitation – with a chance to appreciate each other’s talents and find mutual interest in each other’s work. No matter how divided the world is in the current era, moments like these that the youth of Bangladesh and Nepal got to witness set off a ripple effect that not only allows them to be a better global citizen but also embrace each other’s differences.
Bridges, Not Borders with Nepal and Bangladesh Begins
On the eventful day of 28th January 2022, the youth of Nepal and Bangladesh got a unique and never-foreseen opportunity to bridge a new friendship with youth like them – living miles away. Bridges, Not Borders is one of the flagship programs of the youth-based organization Reflective Teens – whose goal is to look across the borders of different nations and allow the youth of this country to know the culture, history, and people of other countries right from the people themselves. This cross-cultural program facilitated by Reflective Teens through Bridges, Not Borders allows the youth of Bangladesh to directly interact with the youth of other countries – this time, with the Nepali youth. The Day 1 of the Bridges, Not Borders program took off on 28th January 2022 with 5 young souls each from Nepal and Bangladesh. Day 1 started off with a warm and graceful orientation session, followed by an introductory icebreaking session where our participants each describes a little bit about themselves and their passion and hobbies. After the participants got a bit well acquainted with each other, they were assigned the task of presenting different aspects of their country to their fellow foreign friends on Day 2. The participants were taught to make a presentation through a brief workshop. Afterward, each of the participants chose a topic to present on Day 2 of the event. Finally, at the end of the session, we arranged a little game to end Day 1 with a spark. We arranged a game called “2 Truths and 1 Lie” where each participant would get to share 2 truths and 1 lie about them which the other participants had to guess. It was an ecstatic moment as the participants rolled around in laughter and excitement as they played the game. The session sadly had to come to an end but we all managed to take a group photo to commemorate such a joyful time. Asif Zubayer, Program Coordinator, Bridges Not Borders
RT Creator’s Convergence presents ‘Connecting Poetry with Mental Health’
Human minds are a mystery. We laugh, we cry, we scream, we talk, we do tons of things to express our emotions. Usually, the medium we choose to share our feelings is by talking to others. However, many people among us have a kind of timid personality and feel shy or uneasy to talk to others easily. But many of those chose writing to express their emotions. They know the tricks to play with words, add a bit of rhythm as a spice, let out their inner poets and verbalize their thoughts, opinions. A unique talent, which can both profess emotions and catch the attention of the audience. And “Creator’s Convergence” is one such platform where we create opportunities for teenagers and youths to bring out and showcase their talents and creativity to the world. 15 December 2021, Wednesday evening, a workshop was held by “Creator’s Convergence” on how poetry connects with our mental health. A session on mental health was necessary at this point because a pandemic, close to two years now, has brought us to a stage where we have gone through many ups and down in a blink. Depression, frustration, sadness didn’t even budge in many of our lives. Some people tried to get involved in many creative works to let themselves busy and somehow it worked for many. But humans need support, we need hands to heal. This is why “Creator’s Convergence” holding a chance, conducted a blissful session with the respective guests’ Professor Razia Sultana Khan and Ms. Audrika Eshna Purbasha who are professionals on Poetry and Mental health. The event which was hosted by the Program Co-ordinator of RT’s Creator’s Convergence, Nuzaba Tasannum began by discussing how often we neglect our mental condition while prioritizing our physical appearance more; that Ms. Audrika Eshna explained brilliantly. She noted that it became taboo to speak up our minds which eventually pressurizes our minds. The system subconsciously stops our mind to speak about psychological issues like being depressive or having panic attacks and became a barrier to us. Taking the note from here, Professor Razia emphasized how poetry helps people to open up and soothe their minds. She helped participants explore the vision of poetry and its different aspects. Those who never even thought of writing poets could finish the prompt by following her guidelines. She then stated how poetry helped our minds to speak up. Both our honorable guests beautifully explained to the participants that poetry is nothing but a creative way of expressing our thoughts by those words that remain in our minds. The whole one-and-a-half-hour workshop was undoubtedly interactive as participants got curious and discovered a different creative way to express their thoughts. It was full of interesting ways, one of which was using newspaper cuttings to compose a poem using random words from a news article. Ms. Audrika Eshna linked how creativity training builds confidence by letting us recognize our inner abilities, which is beneficial to our mental health. The great session came to a close with a heartfelt poem recitation by Ms. Audrika herself. “Creator’s Convergence” with this short yet wonderful workshop brought out the scope to people to let out their inner qualities, prioritize mental health and explore their creativity more because we believe in effort & hard work which will forever be cherished by our youth, our teens. About the Author: Yasmin Akther, Writer, Reflective Teens
Workshop for Growth Ambassadors held Successfully
The first workshop for the newly recruited Reflective Teens Growth Ambassadors (2021-2022) was held on 11th December 2021. The present attendees were 27 of our esteemed Growth Ambassadors and our inspiring chief speaker Ms. Warda Ashraf, a development practitioner and a social worker who has experience of more than seven years of working in Youth Leadership, among many other areas of work. She currently works as the Deputy manager (Accountability) at Save the children. The topic of discussion was “Communication Skills,” an integral quality to be adept in our daily lives. Most importantly, when one takes upon a Growth Ambassadors’ role, lead, inspire, and convey meaningful messages. The workshop commenced with a warm welcome to our honorable speaker Ms. Warda Ashraf and a unique introduction session where everyone’s ambition in life was asked about. We created an inclusive environment amongst our inspirational Growth Ambassadors with diverse aspirations and qualities from the beginning of the meeting. The discussion moved forward with Ms. Warda Ashraf educating our Growth Ambassadors about the importance and relevance of Communication Skills in our daily lives while presenting a slideshow she had prepared. She spoke of different methods to follow and essential characteristics to possess to properly convey a thought that will resonate within another when in a work environment or even socially. As the discussion deepened, she emphasized how one must be convinced with the message they wish to pass onto another and how much the thought behind the message matters for it to be perceived in the same light. Throughout the discussion, the Growth Ambassadors actively engaged to ask questions, share their opinions and share personal experiences related to the topic. Ms. Warda Ashraf generously answered all of their questions and spoke of the issue with thoughtful relevance to the work and ambitions of our Growth Ambassadors. The Growth Ambassadors were overjoyed at having the opportunity to learn from our experienced and knowledgeable speaker Ms. Warda Ashraf and expressed their willingness to join in for more sessions with her. The meeting ended positively with smiles full of gratitude and content.
RT Brainery Episode 4 – The Art of Filmmaking and Storytelling Marks an End
With almost three months of classes, RT Brainery wrapped up its 4th episode on 18th September 2021. With 19 participants, this episode added a new feather of achievement in the record of RT Brainery. Work on the concepts for this project started in June, and the subject was set as ‘The Art of Filmmaking and Storytelling,’ keeping in line with Reflective Teens’ goals to promote art and culture within teenagers. Mr. Sharif Ferdous Arko, a veteran filmmaker in his own right, joined in as the master trainer for this episode. The course was divided into 16 modules that were taught within the three months. Constant participant interaction and collaboration were also achieved, and Mr. Sharif demonstrated his acumen in filmmaking while using clever methods of teaching to improve the learning for the students. The episode also saw a guest trainer, Muhammad Jahirul Islam, who specializes in editing and post-production. Overall, the episode fulfilled its promises, and the team was happy with the project results. — Report by – Hasan Habib, Program Coordinator, RT Brainery