Back in 2018, AR Rafiul Islam (YES 2016-2017, Bangladesh, hosted by AFS in Chicago, IL) attended the Digital Storytelling Workshop where he worked alongside fellow YES alumni and learned how to produce and utilize contemporary multimedia. Rafi and fellow participants attended sessions on conducting interviews, capturing a story, telling visual stories, creating a story arc, writing a script, the elements of production, and advanced editing techniques. Rafiul has since put his skills to good work – filming and producing a video to raise awareness of sound pollution.

Rafiul explains that sound pollution is a very prolonged issue in Bangladesh. In Dhaka, the average sound level is 80-110dB in prime areas which is almost twice the maximum noise level that can be tolerated by humans – 60 decibels according to research by the Dhaka Tribune.

The effects of sound pollution can be physical, mental and can even interfere childrens' learning process. This pollution is overlooked by the general public as well as the law enforcers. Not only humans, there are several species whose ecosystem is being disturbed due to the high level of noise. In order to tackle it, Rafiul looks forward to starting an online campaign as well as a physical campaign with the goal to reduce sound pollution.