Google Local Guides Bangla Marks 8th Anniversary in Dhaka
The Google Local Guides Bangla Community celebrated its 8th anniversary on Friday, May 30, with a day-long event held at Prince Kitchen in Pallabi, Dhaka. Around 30 active local guides gathered to mark the milestone of this dynamic and growing community.
The celebration was graced by chief guest Sumaiya Zafrin Chowdhury, former moderator of Google Local Guides Connect and Treasurer of the Youth Hub Foundation. The event was moderated by Md. Shafiul Bashar, co-founder of Local Guides Bangla and current Connect moderator.
Among other notable attendees were Shah Md. Sultan, Abdullah Al Nayeem, Suleyman, Mehedi Mozumder, Kazi Abdullah Al Mamun, Parvin Akter Moyna, and other core team members of the Local Guides Bangla community.
The anniversary program featured in-depth discussions on the various aspects of the Google Local Guides initiative, including the process of adding and editing places on Google Maps and updates from the Connect Forum. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of quality, spam-free contributions to ensure the integrity of the platform. Md. Shafiul Bashar highlighted the critical role of accurate, data-driven mapping in daily life and the importance of effective local guiding in creating a reliable map.
During the event, Sumaiya Zafrin Chowdhury extended her best wishes to the community members who have been invited to participate in the upcoming Local Guides Connect Live 2025 summit, scheduled to be held on July 24–25 in Japan. She announced that five members from the Local Guides Bangla community have received official invitations: Pavel Sarwar, Sumaiya Zafrin Chowdhury, Md. Shafiul Bashar, Shah Md. Sultan, and Shakil Akhtar Khan.
Connect Live 2025 will bring together around 50 experienced map contributors and Google representatives from 19 countries, creating a unique platform for global collaboration and idea exchange.
The anniversary event was supported by the Youth Hub Foundation, an international non-profit organization working to implement the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in six countries including Bangladesh and Malaysia. The foundation is actively engaged in fields such as quality education, tech literacy, Girls in ICT, and social innovation.
