Tanzeel Rashid

Tanzeel has a deep interest in understanding the challenges facing our world today, but beyond this he also aspires to transform his learning into action. That’s why, at the age of just 14, he founded Ogrograhi – an organization dedicated to engaging young people in social development activities. Through Ogrograhi, he has used his leadership skills to mobilize young people behind efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – especially during emergencies, the COVID-19 crisis, and natural calamities such as floods.

As the founder and President of Ogrograhi, Tanzeel has organized over 50 social action projects, reaching over 100,000 people in his community. He leads a volunteer team of over 100 young changemakers, whom he has empowered to take action and make a difference in their communities. With the help of this team, Tanzeel has tackled a wide range of issues in his country, from poverty and inequality to health and education. One of the most significant impacts of his work in Bangladesh has been the provision of emergency food aid to vulnerable people during pandemics and climatic shocks. In 2017, a devastating flash flood hit Bangladesh and destroyed crops covering thousands of acres of fields, making it difficult for farmers and their families to survive. To alleviate their suffering, Ogrograhi ran climate change awareness programs in schools and raised money to provide emergency food aid to 100 families.

In addition, Ogrograhi has provided food for 20,000+ Rohingya refugees, food and clothing assistance to 1,500 underprivileged children, relief to 734 poor families caught up in disasters, and economic assistance to five cancer patients. Tanzeel’s team has also built an online creative platform for teens worldwide and reached over 100,000 people through the art of storytelling. As a result, his contribution to social development has been recognized with several national and international awards, including the Joy Bangla Youth Award in 2017 and a UN Millennium Fellowship (Class of 2022). He was also named one of Action Aid Bangladesh's Top 25 Transformational Leaders, as well as an Ashoka Young Changemaker. As a public figure, Tanzeel has relished the opportunity to inspire his peers as a speaker, both at the Glocal International Teen Conference of 2017 and at the 2020 Opening Convocation of the Bangladesh University of Professionals, where he is currently pursuing a degree in Development Studies.

If Tanzeel wins the Global Student Prize, he will use the funds to develop and pilot an offline platform that will provide education to children from rural areas who are unable to attend school. The platform will be designed with an interactive and engaging interface, incorporating videos, animations and quizzes to help children learn and retain information. It will be accessible even without an Internet connection, making it perfect for rural and hard-to-reach areas where Internet connectivity is limited.