Active Citizens connects thousands of like-minded people around the world who collectively want to make a fairer and more inclusive society. Run by the British Council and partner organisations, the programme aims to increase the contribution of young community leaders towards achieving sustainable development both locally and globally. It also encourages peer-to-peer relations across cultural, geographic and political boundaries via a lively online social network of participants, as well as occasional international exchange visits. In Bangladesh, the programme has developed the leadership capacity of more than 32,000 young people who have demonstrated their leadership skills through more than 2,000 social action projects to make a positive change in their communities.
A discussion with next generation Bangladeshi youth group was organised by the British Council. The main purpose of the session was to present Bangladeshi youth perspective on issues that matter to young people The discussion mainly focused on issues like Education and Skills, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Politics and Governance, Extremism and youth involvement in extremism. Sir Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of the British Council attended the discussion session. After the session, six Social Action Projects designed and ran by Active Citizens youth leaders were showcased to portray how these young people are contributing to making a positive social change in communities through Active Citizens programme.