Bangladeshi teen wins International Children’s Peace Prize

The award was given away on Friday by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai during a ceremony in the Netherlands.

The prize is given away by the international children’s rights organization KidsRights to a child who fights courageously for children’s rights.

Sadat Rahman was selected out of 142 applicants from 42 countries. He has created the anti-cyber bullying app ‘Cyber Teens’ to help teenagers who are sufferers of cyber bullying.  The app provides information to the young people about  internet safety. It also provides them a channel to safely report the cyberbullying confidentially. 

Sadat also formed an organisation to bring together cyber specialists, social workers and the police. He has been addressing young people in schools and colleges through seminars and meetings to create awareness about issues related to cyber bullying. 

According to the KidsRights organization, the app has supported over 300 victims of cyberbullying. It has also provided support for mental health problems. He has also created cyber clubs in the schools in his area where young people are educated of digital literacy.

The prize was launched by KidsRights during the 2005 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, the prize has been presented every year by a Nobel Peace Laureate. 

Recognising outstanding young people, the prize provides them with a platform to promote their ideas and further their work. The winner receives a scholarship to obtain education till the university degree. A project fund of Euro 1 lakh is invested by the KidsRights in projects that are closely connected to the winners’ area of work in their country.

Rajesh Jha/Dhaka