Mohamed Saleh (left) and Fahd al-Buainain from Msheireb Properties at the press conference.
Around 450 youth between the age of 16 and 26 will participate at Empower Youth Conference 2014 organised by Reach Out To Asia (Rota). US President Barack Obama’s half-sister, Dr Auma Obama, an acclaimed author and philanthropist will be one of the main speakers at the conference.
At a press conference yesterday, organisers outlined the plans for the 6th Empower conference which will be held at the Student Centre of the Hamad Bin Khalifa University from next Thursday. This year’s event, under the theme “Sports for Youth Empowerment”, is sponsored by Msheireb Properties.
Rota National Programmes Director Mohamed Saleh said: “We look forward to meeting the youth leaders, hearing their opinions and ideas for tackling the community, social and environmental issues that really matter to the young people of the world.
The main aim of the conference is to raise awareness and build knowledge and capacity to enable young people to take leadership roles in addressing local and international developmental issues especially in the area of sustainable development and sports.”
The conference will be a good platform for youth from different regions to network with the youth in Qatar. Nine organisations from the United States of America, India, the United Kingdom, Lebanon and Qatar will take part in the conference and share their capabilities. The organisations are Right to play (Lebanon), Coaches across Continents (USA), Liverpool Sport Club Foundation (UK), Magic Bus (India), Aspire Academy, Qatar’s Ministry of Youth and Sport, Aspetar, Qatar Football Association and Qatar Olympic Committee.
“Msheireb is proud to be partnering with Rota to acknowledge individuals and their initiatives that empower the youth in communities and organisations”, said Fahad al- Buainain, Msheireb Properties communication and public relations officer
“At Msheireb, we believe that, through sports, young people have the potential to contribute their skills, leadership and enthusiasm to the future growth of their country. By taking an active role in the community and voicing opinions on global issues, the young people of today can inspire change and become the leaders and thinkers of tomorrow,” he added.
Wilfried Lemke, special adviser on Sport for Development and Peace to the United Nations Secretary-General will be another distinguished participant at the conference. Supported by a powerful programme focusing on leadership, service, learning and global citizenship, the organisers will integrate sports, environment, skills development and the Arabic language as key themes of the Empower 2014 programme.
