In 2009, I founded the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) to educate and empower the next generation of leaders. Over the years, BYLC has grown into one of the country's most prominent youth leadership organizations, training over 10,000 young people and connecting them to jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. Many of our alumni are now exercising leadership in diverse fields ranging from public service to business to civil society.

My inspiration to address climate change began in 1991 when Bangladesh was hit by one of its worst floods in recent history. As a ten-year-old boy in Dhaka, I teamed up with friends to raise funds for flood victims, going door-to-door in our neighborhood. We collected Taka 7,000 and joined my father's Rotary Club to distribute relief goods to flooded communities across the city, traveling by boat. Witnessing the hardships faced by these communities left a lasting impression on me. I had hoped adults would solve this crisis, but Bangladesh has only grown more vulnerable to climate impacts.

This realization led me to launch the Global Youth Leadership Center (GYLC). We cannot wait for others to solve the climate crisis, and national solutions alone are insufficient. GYLC mobilizes youth across the Global South by expanding their knowledge of climate science, equipping them with leadership skills, and supporting their climate action initiatives. Climate-vulnerable countries in the Global South contribute only 5% of global emissions yet stand to lose the most from extreme weather events.

For my home country and for my two children, I am committed to working with youth globally to build the climate leadership we urgently need. I invite you to join us in building a future where humanity and our planet thrive together.