Bangladeshi Couple Invited to Google Local Guides’ Global Event

A Bangladeshi couple has been selected to attend Google’s premier global mapping event, Local Guides Connect Live Tokyo 2025, which will take place in Tokyo, Japan on July 24–25.

This special edition of Connect Live celebrates the 10th anniversary of Google’s Local Guides program. The event will bring together more than 50 top contributors from 19 countries. Representing Bangladesh, Pavel Sarwar and Sumaiya Zafrin Chowdhury, currently based in Malaysia, have been invited to participate in this prestigious gathering.

Connect Live is Google’s flagship event for its Maps community, offering attendees the opportunity to explore new Google Maps features and engage directly with Google team members.

The Google Local Guides program is a volunteer-driven platform where contributors help improve Google Maps by adding new places, correcting inaccurate information, writing reviews, and sharing photos and videos to assist users worldwide.

Both Pavel and Sumaiya have been long-time contributors to the Google Local Guides and broader Google Communities. Pavel previously attended Connect Live at Google’s headquarters in California in 2017. His contributions were featured in an official video on the Google Local Guides YouTube channel, and he received the prestigious Guiding Star Award in 2021.

Sumaiya was awarded the Guiding Star Award in 2020 and has served as a moderator for Google Local Guides. She was selected to attend the Local Guides Summit in San Francisco from 2016 to 2019 and participated in the Tokyo Moderator Conversation in 2023.

Google has recognized the couple multiple times over the years. In 2017, Sumaiya was honored on International Women’s Day as “an inspiring woman for the world.” On Valentine’s Day 2018, the couple was featured as “the couple that guides together.” They were highlighted again on Valentine’s Day and Bangla New Year in 2023.

Professionally, Pavel works in the field of technology, while Sumaiya is involved in development work. Together, they actively promote Bangladeshi culture and local attractions on Google’s platforms, helping present their homeland in a positive light on the global stage.