IUB’s Ive Sithi to join 55-country youth leadership forum in Lagos
Ive Sithi Chambugong, an undergraduate student of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), has been selected to represent Bangladesh at the International Gold Event (IGE) and Forum 2025 in Lagos, Nigeria, which will take place from 16 to 22 November.
Ive, a Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DEA) Gold Holder and the first elected female president of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award at IUB (DEA IUB), will attend the global event with US$3,000 funding from the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation (IAF).
Rizwan Bin Farouq, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Foundation Bangladesh, will also attend the forum as an official delegate.
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Hailing from Madhupur, Tangail, Ive is pursuing her degree at IUB on a full scholarship as a student from an ethnic community. She completed her schooling at Madhupur Rani Bhabani Government High School and YWCA Higher Secondary School, Dhaka.
Active in leadership and campus initiatives, she ranked sixteenth among 360 campus ambassadors nationwide in the National STEAM Olympiad Bangladesh, and contributed to Team BloodBridge, a student-led project that secured World Bank funding through the University Innovation Hub Programme (UIHP). She is currently completing a research internship in computer-aided drug design at Biolab.
At the IGE, she will be the sole participant from Bangladesh, joining Gold Award Holders from 55 countries for training, workshops, and leadership sessions aimed at strengthening community initiatives. The subsequent forum will bring together leaders from the global Award network to discuss strategy, collaboration, and future directions for the programme.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Foundation Bangladesh operates 125 Award Centres across the country, engaging young people in leadership, confidence-building, and community development. DEA IUB, one of these centres, currently has 212 Awardees and 800 general members, promoting non-formal education and experiential learning in line with the Award's objectives.
