Saima Wazed stresses creating space for youths to take country forward

Centre for Research and Information (CRI) Vice-Chairperson and autism expert Saima Wazed Hossain has called upon everyone to create space for youths to take the country forward, reports BSS.
Recounting how Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in his prime jumped onto the political landscape to protect the interest of his community and finally founded a nation, she called for breaking the stereotype that age alone indicates one's depth of knowledge.
"Let's change this mindset that 'being minor in age means being minor in knowledge', which has no ground. Rather the history of our country is studded with examples of youths holding ample knowledge and bearing the torch for others," the CRI vice-chairperson said.
Saima, a granddaughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu and the daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, made the remarks at the closing session of the three-day Let's Talk of 7-chapter organised by Young Bangla, the youth wing of CRI, on Sunday night.
She said, "If we think about our Liberation War, if we think about the founder of our country Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, we observe that he set off as a youth volunteer dedicating himself to the needs of his community."
Saima, also a thematic ambassador at Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), said, "The life of Bangabandhu did not start with politics. He didn't debut with any big organisation. That part came later. He began his life by seeing the gap in his community. He observed his fellows and he pondered on how he might help them."
At first he (Bangabandhu) began his journey and his leadership quality was developed later, she said, adding, "He had some moral values. He had his drives. He followed that compass".
There were a lot of challenges along his way and he faced different obstacles, the granddaughter of Bangabandhu said, adding, "He created his own space and it is from there that his leadership qualities were developed. He learned from there."
"We need to learn those at an early age and if we whole-heartedly desire the progress of our country, we must have to create scopes for our youths," she said.
Saima talked about the recommendations arising from the discussions of Let's Talk in the last couple of days.
She said, "Education sector is a big issue. Why are we imparting education to youths and sending them to schools? Are they ready for that? What are they learning from there? Are they simply studying or learning values? How can they contribute to the country? How will community involvement be? Are they learning about how they can make their surroundings better? It is clear that they want those. So, we should do the works."