Md Tanjim Sheikh

Md Tanjim Sheikh (17), is from Bangladesh. Growing up in a rural community in Bangladesh, Tanjim faced an emotionally and physically unsafe household with no access to counselling or support. Mental health simply wasn’t understood or talked about — so he had to teach himself how to cope, alone. That isolation became his motivation to make sure other children wouldn’t face the same neglect.

Tanjim founded PeaceNest, a youth-led mental health platform that has reached over 320,000 people through schools, campaigns, and digital outreach — including a free monthly magazine called Neurozen. He designed Bangladesh’s first school-based peer support system, building in awareness sessions, student communities, and safeguards, with plans to reach over 20,000 students every year.

Nearly 90% of schools in his division now engage with his work. Tanjim has also worked directly with 175 suicide survivors across five countries, and mobilized over 1,000 young people to advocate for suicide prevention and emotional wellbeing.

Through his online advocacy and magazine, Tanjim has reached over 150,000 more people — bringing mental health education to rural communities for the very first time.