Mohammed Rezwan

Architect Mohammed Rezwan is Founding Executive Director of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, and invented the ‘floating education system’. Over the last 16 years, he developed, expanded, and sustained the floating schools to ensure access to all year round and quality education in flood-prone regions in Bangladesh. Applying his architectural expertise, he designed spaces on boats that successfully accommodating the need of a school, library, training to the healthcare center. He introduced a solar system and internet on boats. He also invented the integrated floating farming technique (vegetable garden along with duck and fish raising on floating structure which is made of recycled materials and use the hydroponics system), as well as the bamboo, bottle and siren flood warning system, and the Surya-hurricane solar lantern (a low-cost solar-powered lantern made from recycled parts of the conventional and much-used kerosene lantern). His school- boat idea is recognized by the United Nations as an innovation, which received the UNEP Sasakawa Prize 2007 and UNDP's Equator Prize 2006. He has received several international awards including the Curry Stone Design Prize 2017 and Sri Sathya Sai Awards for Human Excellence 2016. Rezwan has drawn significant national and international attention towards education and development needs in flood-prone areas. His work with the floating school has been included in the school textbooks around the world including the U.S. and Japan. His project has impacted over half a million people in Bangladesh, and the project model is already copied in eight countries in Asia and Africa - transforming the lives of millions.