30 diverse youth leaders attend 'Freedom Fellows' in Cox’s Bazar

Preneur Lab Youth and Innovation Trust, and Friedrich Naumann Foundation Bangladesh jointly organised a four-day boot camp called "Freedom Fellows", the final stage of which was held in Cox's Bazar on 10 November.

The boot camp brought together a large number of young people from all around the country to discuss topics like individual freedom, digital rights, economic freedom and civic leadership. 

This year, the organizations took the candidates to Cox's Bazar and were in charge of everything; including food, lodging, and other necessities for the participants. 

The first day of the camp was on 7 November that covered the introductory sessions, icebreakers, brief session discussions, and topic selection.

The main workshop began on the second day when four distinct sessions on four different themes were held. The first session's focus was "Content Creation & Power of Storytelling" mediated by Arif Nezami. Omar Mostafiz and Tanveer Ahsan convened the second session of the day, which focused on "Tolerance, Individual Freedom." The third session's focus was "Fake News & Fact-Checking." The speaker for this event was Social Media Security Consultant Imran Sagar.  Rakhshanda Rukham led the last session of the first working day, which focused on "Digital Rights and Online Privacy."

The workshop's third working day was 9 November. On that day, three more trainers gave three lessons on three distinct themes. Startup Bangladesh (ICT Department) Shidartho Goushami led the first session, which focused on "Innovation and Creativity." The second session was basically an open discussion session, while the third session's focus was "Economic Freedom". FNF Bangladesh Country Representative Dr Nazmul Hossain was the third session's speaker. Participants submitted their created video clips on this day.

On the fourth and last working day of the workshop on 10 November, five contestants were declared winners for creating content on five different topics. Judges presented their views and feedback on the overall content. The workshop concluded with the handing over of special prizes with certificates to the winners and certificates of participation with gifts to the entire participants.