WHAT IS NEO?

NEO is an education and knowledge movement to mainstream earth and environmental science education in Bangladesh. NEO aims to educate, inspire, and nurture future scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to generate necessary knowledge and provide thought leadership for a more just, fair and sustainable Bangladesh and world.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

All school/college students enrolled in classes 8 to 12 and private candidates of equivalent levels are eligible to participate.

WHY YOU SHOULD PARTICIPATE?

  • Learn about local and global environmental challenges
  • Develop your leadership skills and lead actions in your community and beyond
  • Become a part of the nationwide network of 800+ NEO Alumni
  • Opportunity to represent Bangladesh in the International Earth Olympiad 2022 hosted by Italy
 
Facebook Event

DIVISIONAL ROUND

Online Exam
March 15, 2022
at 7 PM

Tackling the Biodiversity Crisis:
Youth Stewardship for an Ecological Civilization

The theme for the NEO 2022 is “Tackling the Biodiversity Crisis: Youth Stewardship for an Ecological Civilization”. Life and wellbeing of the people on Planet earth depends on the health of the nature and ecosystems. As a civilization, we cannot thrive without a healthy ecosystem. But over the last century, there was a staggering level of destruction of forests, waterbodies and overexploitation of natural resources. This has resulted in rapid acceleration in rates of extinction of species resulting in disruption in the entire ecosystem and the services it provides.

Bangladesh was endowed with an exceptionally vast variety of flora and fauna, consisting of massive span of waterbodies, swamps, forests, and mangroves. However, human interference for modern agriculture, industrialisation, and settlements have drastically reduced the breeding and natural stocking of wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial species.

Our youth are heading towards a world with a tremendous existential crisis emanating from the disruption in the natural ecosystem that sustains all forms of life. The NEO 2022 is a call for action for tackling this biodiversity crisis through mainstreaming the knowledge and youth stewardship for an ecological civilization.

The Journey

DIVISIONAL ROUND

March 15, 2022

The online exam will be around one hour long, consisting of approximately 50-60 multiple choice questions.

GREEN DAY TRAINING

March 18-30, 2022

GDT is a highly interactive two day-long workshop designed to introduce the participants to inter-connected environmental concerns and debates to instill motivation of becoming problem solvers. GDT will take place in-person this year in each division. The venue and date will be informed to the selected participants.

NATIONAL ROUND

April 1, 2022

Divisional toppers will sit for the National Round. Top 30 participants will be selected for the Bangladesh National Team Selection Exam. Divisional toppers will sit for the National Round. Top 30 participants will participate in the Bangladesh National Team Selection Exam. National round to take place online.

Bangladesh National Team Selection Exam

May 15-21, 2022

Top 30 from the National Round will participate in this exam. Four toppers will go through a rigorous training camp for participating in the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO).

15th International Earth Science Olympiad

August 24-30, 2022

The top four will have the opportunity to represent Bangladesh in the 15th International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) hosted by Italy.

Resources

To do well in  NEO, we highly recommend participants read all the materials provided in the resource sections.

FAQs

School/college students enrolled in classes 8 to 12 or private candidates of equivalent levels are eligible to participate in NEO. However, in case of the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO), their rules and regulations state that previous medal winners at the IESO cannot participate again and to compete for medals at IESO, you must be under the age of 19 by 01 July of the year of the IESO.

Yes.

The questions for the 1st round are mostly based on the book “High School Earth Science”, you can also expect general knowledge questions related to environment, climate change and theme of the respective year’s NEO. Check the syllabus and sample questions to do well. At least 50% questions are analytical in nature i.e. you have to understand and use reasoning to solve the question.

The question will be in English.

After making through the divisional round, toppers from each division participate in the Green Day Training (GDT). GDT is a specially designed workshop to impart understanding of interconnected environmental issues through interactive games, puzzles, simulations, etc. It also helps young citizens develop their leadership skills and instill motivation to act on tackling the local and global environmental issues. It’s a two day long training which will be held in person, in all 8 divisions of Bangladesh. The overarching goal of the GDT is to create a nationwide network of empowered young citizens who will act as a catalyst to bring about positive socio-economic and environmental change.

Those who successfully complete the GDT, are recognised as a NEO Alum and receive a certificate of completion.

IESO is the International Earth Science Olympiad, an annual competition for secondary school students (students not older than 19 years as of the time of the Olympiad). The students have to test their skills in all major areas of Earth sciences, including geology, meteorology, hydrology, planetary science and environmental sciences. The official language of IESO is English; however, supervisors may translate the written examinations and related materials into the participants’ native language.

Top finishers of NEO get a chance to train for and participate in the IESO.

There will be certificates of recognition for 25-30 toppers of each division in the national round and those who complete the GDT.

There is an IESO team selection process right after the national round.

Registration

Registration has been closed.

 

People

Dr. Saleemul Huq Co-Chair, NEO National Committee and Director International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
Dr. M Shamsher Ali Chair, NEO Advisory Board Past President, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences
Dr. Ainun Nishat Vice Chancellor, BRAC University
Dr. Atiq Rahman Executive Director, Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies
Dr. ATM Nurul Amin Professor, North South University
Dr. Fazle Rabbi Sadeque Ahmed Project Coordinator, PKSF
Dr. Haseena Khan Professor, University of Dhaka
Dr. Kazi Matin Uddin Ahmed Professor, Department of Geology, University of Dhaka
maksud
Dr. ASM Maksud Kamal Dean, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Dhaka
Dr. Nasreen Ahmad Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Dhaka
Dr. Nowshad Amin Professor, National University of Malaysia
Dr. Omar Rahman VC, Independent University Bangladesh
Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury Chairman, All Party Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change and Environment
Ms. Syeda Rizwana Hasan CEO, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association
Dr. Younus Ahmed Khan Professor, Rajshahi University
Dr. Zeba I. Seraj Professor, University of Dhaka

Nihal Zuhayar Parash Miaji

Co-Lead

Yale-NUS College

Md Mubtaseem Ahnaf Aronno

Co-Lead

Dartmouth College, NH, USA

Samen Yasar

Member

Yale-NUS College

Fardin Al Wafian

Member

Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

Md Mahmudunnobe

Member

Minerva Schools at KGI, California, USA

Fahim Rajit Hossain

Member

Bangladesh Army Universiy of Engineering and Technology

Farhan Kamrul Khan

Member

New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE

Rudiba A. Laiba

Member

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA

A K M Sadman Mahmud (Abir)

Member

Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA

Shadad Hossain

Member

New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Organizer

Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) is set up to educate, empower and inspire the Bangladeshi youth to take action for a prosperous and just Bangladesh. We believe that a new generation of planetary stewards with consciousness, capacity and motivation to act can transform the vision of a more just, fair and sustainable Bangladesh into a reality.

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Supported by

 

Strategic, Knowledge and Outreach Partners

Department of Geology, University of Dhaka

International Centre for Climate Change and Development

Independent University, Bangladesh

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