Bangladeshi youth from remote villages set to attend the European Youth Event (EYE) 2025 to represent their communities
by Friendship News Desk,
18 May, 2025
EYE2025, the sixth edition of this event, will take place on 13 and 14 June 2025, offering an interactive and dynamic mix of activities, debates, workshops, visits, artistic performances and much more—both inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg and around the EYE Village. Four Friendship School alumni, two girls and two boys will be participating at the event.
Munni Khatun
Mosammat Munni Khatun has known Friendship the entirety of her 18 years. Hailing from Roumari subdistrict, in Kurigram district, she completed her education at Friendship Jahajer Alga Primary School and Secondary School, and is currently enrolled in the Cantonment Public School and College Rangpur (CPSCR) where she will graduate with her Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) soon.
When she was in school, her parents tried to get her married multiple times due to poverty and hardship, a common yet harsh reality for girls under 18 in marginalised char islands of Bangladesh. Right before her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam, a marriage was almost fixed, and she could not go to school for two days. She was eventually able to call it off with the support of her Friendship School teachers and officials. They visited her home and counselled her parents on the evils of child marriage and encouraged them to keep their daughter in school. She passed her SSC exam with flying colours, which gave her parents more confidence in her ambitions.
Her parents wanted her to continue her education in Kurigram, but she chose Rangpur instead for a different experience away from home. She wishes to study in the University of Dhaka in the future. Her dream is to support disadvantaged communities in the chars like hers. Munni hopes to showcase her lifestyle in the chars, her environment, and the impact of climate on her community and how they undertake climate adaptation on their own. She wants to tell the world of the facilities she is deprived of as a climate-impacted individual. She thanks Friendship for being a constant in her life – “Friendship has done for me what my family never could have done.
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman
Mizan, now 17, was born in Char Rajibpur subdistrict in Kurigram, an area constantly affected by the woes of climate change. Mizan completed his schooling from Friendship Primary School and Secondary School Nawshala. He is currently studying for his HSC exams at the Gaibandha Adarsha College. During his time at Friendship School, he participated in Friendship’s ISCP (Interschool Connectivity Project), which allowed him to exchange information and stories from the chars with European students of his age. He dreams of higher studies and possibly becoming a Bangla language teacher someday.
Mizan is happy to be able to share a glimpse into Bangladesh’s char islands and the impact of climate disasters on his community at the EYE2025. “I thank Friendship for everything. Without Friendship, I could not have made it this far.”
Mohammad Yusuf Mia
Yusuf is an ambitious 16-year-old, currently pursuing his HSC degree at Notre Dame College in Dhaka. He is originally from Batikamari Char in Gaibandha, where he completed his primary education from Friendship Primary School and SSC exam in 2024 from Friendship Secondary School. For Yusuf, education meant hope, despite the difficult, hour-long commute via boat. In the winters, he walked for hours to school, determined to complete his education.
His dream is to pursue higher studies at the University of Dhaka after passing HSC. Yusuf wants to establish himself in a position that sets a positive example for fellow char islanders to follow. “I find that our sense of unity and belonging in the char communities is much stronger. If only our infrastructure and services were a bit more developed, we could have made wonders.” He cited Friendship Schools as a good example, as a sustainable, climate-resilient solution to education.
“Think of a person who never left his home in the chars. This is my first time in Dhaka and now I am going abroad to Europe. It’s an unbelievable experience for me! Friendship has been with me every step of the way. Friendship is like our guardian.” Yusuf looks forward to experiencing European culture and education, and plans to speak about river erosion, floods, storms, and sustainable solutions like Friendship schools.
Mosammat Sakia Parvin
17-year-old Mosammat Sakia Parvin is a resident of Paglar Char in Gaibandha, where she is currently enrolled in Class 10 at Friendship Secondary School Paglar Char. She particularly enjoys making videos for Friendship’s ISCP programme and engaging with European students, as she gets to learn more about their culture, environment, and the impact of climate change in Europe, much different from what she experiences at home. “I could never imagine that one day I will be heading to a country like France. I am simply amazed that I will get to stay there for many days and learn about their lives and them.”
Despite family pressure for early marriage, Friendship School staff helped Sakia avoid it multiple times. Despite her struggles, she dreams of becoming a math teacher someday. At the event, she will highlight the development gap between Europe and climate-hit char areas and explore how Europe’s climate disasters differ from those in Bangladesh.
