Conquering weakness and diligently pursuing dreams

M Shafaq Hussain is a Communication Specialist and Trainer. He is the Founder and Chief Trainer of CSD Academy and the Founder and President of HH Foundation. M Shafaq Hussain is also involved as an advisor with various organizations and works as a part-time lecturer at different universities. He enjoys inspiring young people to dream and is actively engaged in career guidance advocacy and social work in various forms. M Shafaq Hussain shared his experiences from his long career and discussed how to inspire the younger generation to dream, and how to guide them toward realizing those dreams. He was interviewed by Shawon Sarker.

Views Bangladesh: People begin to dream from childhood. What dreams did you have as a child?

M Shafaq Hussain: In our time, we had many different dreams during childhood, sometimes one thing, sometimes another. There wasn’t anything fixed, but from a young age, I had a great curiosity about new things, such as science, technology, discoveries, and the mysteries of the world. I have kept all these thoughts within me, and even now, whenever I get time, I watch documentaries, read articles, and stay updated on global technological advancements. Thus, my childhood passed, but the curiosity still remains!

Views Bangladesh: Not all dreams come true. Have you been able to become what you wanted to be in life?

M Shafaq Hussain: I personally believe that the idea that people's dreams don’t come true is a misconception. In some cases, people do get close to what they wanted, even if not 100 per cent, while in others, it may not happen at all due to reality. In my case, two factors played a role. One is the lack of opportunities and proper guidance, and the other is the lack of courage and support from my family at a certain point in time. With the combination of these two, I couldn't become what I wanted. However, today I have been able to create a platform where others can turn their dreams into reality by providing them with guidance and mental support.

Views Bangladesh: Is that why you founded CSD Academy? What kind of work do you do through this academy?

M Shafaq Hussain: As I mentioned, the idea behind creating a platform is CSD Academy, which stands for Communication and Skills Development Academy. The initial plan for this academy was to work on communication skills. Communication has been prevalent since the beginning of human civilization. Even from a religious perspective, I would say communication has been around since the creation of the world. It's basically about connection and connectivity, which is something we understand simply. The purpose of establishing this academy is to help individuals develop their communication skills. Through various workshops, we aim to identify weaknesses, fix them, and provide strategies to enhance skills. We offer career development guidance, advice on entrepreneurship, and create opportunities for talented individuals from underprivileged communities to gain employment. In the near future, we plan to incorporate global connectivity and virtual reality to offer world-class training and joint ventures, which will give talented individuals the opportunity to gain global exposure.

Views Bangladesh: You are the President of HH Foundation. What kind of social welfare work does this foundation do?

M Shafaq Hussain: HH Foundation unofficially started during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, we were a small group. Our first activities began by supporting the medical frontline during the pandemic. For example, we focused on providing oxygen support, supply refills, offering prescriptions through registered doctors via social media platforms, telemedicine, awareness tips about hygiene, handwashing, food safety, etc. We also arranged food supplies for the families of day laborers and the underprivileged. After the foundation was registered, our activities expanded further. We have been helping underprivileged children with secondary education, conducting social awareness campaigns, offering personal skill development training, providing clean drinking water, and promoting self-reliance, among other initiatives.

Views Bangladesh: You give lectures at various universities and seminars. What kind of topics do you discuss? Recently, you gave a speech at a conference with nearly 600 students and professionals. Could you share your experience of that?

M Shafaq Hussain: Personally, I give part-time lectures at various universities and am frequently invited as a speaker at student seminars. The main topics of my speeches to students always revolve around dreams, how to set life goals, what actions are necessary to achieve them, how to learn from life’s mistakes and use them constructively, strategies for reducing mental stress, how to prepare for career development, and how to reach one's goals while accepting reality. I emphasize these points.

Just recently, I was invited as one of the speakers at a day-long workshop at a private university with over 500 students and corporate job holders in attendance. The most joyful part of this experience was seeing the talent in everyone, but sadly, I noticed a lack of correct answers to questions, especially from professionals. Except for a few individuals, most of them exhibited weaknesses in communication skills. It wasn’t only corporate individuals present, but also some government officials. This gave me an insight into how weak public communication and inter-departmental communication still are. For example, the lack of information, misinformation, and comments made without proper investigation or fact-checking. Such behavior should not be expected from professionals. This raised the question: is this a result of intellectual deficiency or financial influence?

Views Bangladesh: You have been working a lot with students. What have you understood from interacting with them? Do you think the political awareness and patriotism of the students have increased in recent times?

M Shafaq Hussain: Over the past few years, I have been involved in many activities with students, and I have had mixed experiences. Many of them are full of talent, some have shown exceptional skills, while others are only interested in getting a degree and a job. There are also those who believe that simply obtaining a degree will ensure a comfortable life without much effort. These exceptions aside, the majority of young people today are full of potential and dreams, but due to reality and lack of opportunities, their inner flame of ambition starts to fade. Frustration, mental health issues, and poverty turn their beautiful dreams into nightmares. If their talents were properly nurtured, one individual’s success could have created job opportunities for a hundred others.

In the last decade, these students have broken the traditional, old-school theories through their revolutionary mindset. From a political perspective, they have moved away from autocratic-style politics and started a new chapter. Through their sacrifices, they have initiated change, and I can still see their efforts to keep this new chapter alive, just as I witnessed during the July-August revolution with my students.

For us, the senior generation, it is our responsibility to provide these young people with complete education, social etiquette, and grooming aligned with reality. They may be young today, but they will be the ones to lead the country in the future. If we don’t prepare them now, we will be responsible for the failures of future generations. By harnessing the potential of this generation, we can achieve rapid development. We often forget that a nation progresses when the country progresses. To develop a nation, there is no alternative but to give the youth, their intellect, and their talents the opportunities they deserve. As for the mindset, it needs to be changed, but to do so, we must first reform ourselves and teach the new generation proper etiquette.

Views Bangladesh: You have received the ‘Deshseba Leadership Award’ for your role in resolving traffic congestion, providing relief to flood-affected areas, and distributing essential items like baby food and medical supplies. How do you assess the contribution of youth in these positive initiatives?

M Shafaq Hussain: For several years, we have been working to raise the voices of the youth and bring their problems and concerns to the attention of the higher authorities. Now that there is more opportunity, the initiative of the Deshseba Leadership Award was launched to further expand this reach. Any good work deserves recognition. Some do their work in silence, while others do it from the heart. However, the reality is that before extending a helping hand, it is important to build trust in individuals or organizations.

Our main goal is to connect those who wish to engage in voluntary activities with a platform, showing them the proper discipline and strategies for executing these activities, especially for those new to social work. After the political and national crisis in August, when the country was momentarily without leadership, it was the youth, students, and the public who stepped in. For example, in our area, the youth stayed awake all night to guard against bandits, and similarly, they took charge of traffic management to ensure the safety of the roads.

In this critical time, we also faced the flood situation. The way the youth stepped up to provide relief, from organizing supplies to ensuring they reached the affected areas, was commendable. I personally witnessed how tirelessly the soldiers worked at the Feni Army Camp, helping with the distribution of supplies, using speedboats to deliver food items. Many volunteer organizations worked together in this effort.

Then we thought about taking the initiative to reward these young people. We selected organizations based on their activities and announced an open nomination. The best works were selected and rewarded. For those who volunteered for traffic management, we recruited them through our H&H Foundation for this campaign and provided a small training on traffic management. They worked in their local areas with their teams and friends for about 10 to 12 days. The purpose was to honor these individuals with the "Deshseba Leadership Award." We will continue this initiative every year to encourage social development activities, InshaAllah.

Views Bangladesh: The current generation is often referred to as Gen Z. They have grown up with the internet and social media. Do you have any message for them?

M Shafaq Hussain: At one point, Gen Z was not appreciated or understood. People thought, "What can they understand? What do they know?" However, the July-August revolution directly proved what this generation is capable of when everyone wakes up with enthusiasm.

Change is inevitable with time. The technological era of today will transform into a virtual reality and artificial intelligence-driven world in the future. Our current lifestyle will one day be history, just like life during the British era has become part of history. For example, steam engines and motor vehicles from the past are now replaced by solar and electric vehicles, and in the future, today’s fuel-powered vehicles will be part of history.

Therefore, I believe that the intelligence of this generation is very advanced. In the past, to access information, one had to visit a library, but today libraries are in the palm of our hands. This generation can instantly retrieve research data in a very short time. If I express my personal opinion, we are still too hasty to comment on headlines, even when we have the opportunity to verify information. We are still lagging behind in properly utilizing technology and information due to our own laziness. We can move society and the nation forward if we learn to use the technology and intelligence of this age correctly and create opportunities.

Views Bangladesh: Where do you see yourself in terms of your professional capabilities?

M Shafaq Hussain: I see myself as a responsible individual, where, alongside my own development, I can enhance my professional abilities through a platform that provides opportunities for talented individuals to develop their skills and expand them globally. I want to be a responsible person who can mentor and educate the upcoming generation in a comprehensive manner.

Views Bangladesh: Thank you for your time.

M Shafaq Hussain: Thank you too.