Shehab Shamir, a Bangladeshi has been selected along with 60 young people from across the commonwealth for the first-ever and prestigious Queen?s Young Leaders Award. The award will be presented in London by the Queen in June. It is a part of the Queen?s Young Leaders Program. The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, in partnership with Comic Relief and The Royal Commonwealth Society, has established the program in honor of the Queen?s 60 years of service to the Commonwealth at the time of her Diamond Jubilee.

The program is a fantastic one to celebrate the achievements of young people who are taking the lead ?to transform the lives of others and make a lasting difference in their communities?.

The British High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh said Shehab Shamir would be recognized for his ?exceptional leadership? in the community. Shamir founded the Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) out of concern for the effect of climate change in Bangladesh. BYEI trained more than 500 young environmental leaders and founded 30 school clubs since 2009.  BYEI runs the National Earth Olympiad, which educates students about climate change.

Apart from Shehab Shamir, seven more would receive the award from the Asia - one each from Brunei Darussalam and Pakistan, two from Sri Lanka, and three from India. The British High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh said Shehab Shamir would be recognized for his ?exceptional leadership? in the community.

The award winners are aged between 18 years and 29 years, and work to support others, raise awareness, and inspire change on a variety of different issues including education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.

The British High Commission said each year, from 2014 to 2018, 60 exceptional young people will be selected for the Queen?s Young Leaders Award and become the ?Queen?s Young Leaders?. Winners will receive bespoke mentoring and online learning provided by the University of Cambridge as part of the recognition. They will also attend a week-long residential program in the UK in June, when they will receive their award from the Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace.

Bangladesh is very proud of Shehab Shamir.