Youth Policy Forum (YPF) is an online platform for young Bangladeshis to engage in nation-building and state-crafting through developing and enacting effective policies. Over the past few years, the platform has been successful in creating a strong support network that assists state, federal, and non-governmental policymakers in developing more inclusive policies by building a pool of young intellectual minds. Founded in 2018, it recently completed five years of effective policy discourse.

The primary idea behind YPF began by providing young people with a medium to express their opinions on policymaking. Thus, YPF emerged, in an attempt to establish and fulfil the need for a safe space for policy discussions among the youth. 

"The vision was to make Bangladeshi youth integral to policy making by improving their knowledge about statecraft and creating opportunities for them to engage in meaningful policy discussions and advocacy at the local, national, and global level," explained Md Abir Hasan Niloy, co-founder, YPF. 

The Facebook group presently hosts over 13,000 members, composed of Bangladeshi citizens who wish to learn more about policy formulation and are actively participating in such powerful conversations. For YPF, this stands as a testimony to its success in initiating meaningful dialogues. Over the years, the platform has introduced several programs that helped in connecting youth, from all areas of expertise, to work towards the common goal of developing policies for people's progress.

YPF launched the 'Governance Apprenticeship Program (GAP)' in 2020. It aims to build an inclusive platform for information exchange between the youth and the many stakeholders involved in Bangladesh's policy-making and governance system. Their 'Local Development Initiative Program' was an extension of this project, and intended to enable people from the grassroots levels to express their opinions on policies, through their representatives. 

In 2021, YPF initiated their annual 'Fellowship Program' to enhance the empowerment of the young leadership by bringing together knowledgeable and experienced academics and professionals from both domestic and international sources on a single platform. The platform currently has 150 fellows from all across the world. Finally, they launched the 'Coalition for Upgrading Bangladesh Economy' project last year. It seeks to bring together stakeholders from multiple sectors to assure accountability, advance the common objective of economic diversification and guide progress.

From a social media space for young people to discuss public policy issues, to providing them with the chance to participate directly in the policy-making process, the platform has indeed come a long way. Their efforts are now concentrated towards creating a "Bangladesh Better Served", through a process led by the youth, for the youth.