Held under the theme “Building Shared Futures”, the Doha Forum: Youth Edition 2023 concluded Sunday at Georgetown University, where participants came together to tackle a variety of issues.
The closing session brought together Qatar's Minister of Education and Higher Education HE Buthaina bint Ali al-Jabr al-Nuami, and Yalchin Rafiyev, deputry foreign minister of Azerbaijan and other dignitaries along with members of QatarDebate Centre, led by executive director, Dr Hayat Abdullah Marafi.
Keynote speakers featured in the closing session included Sarah Almaadeed, a Qatari speaker and debater for Team Qatar; Bo Seo, a two-time world champion debater from South Korea and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union; Omar al-Shogre, a Syrian public speaker and human rights advocate; and Reem Ali, a Sudanese-American advocate.
The forum attracted a turnout with over 100 participants from over 75 countries attending the last day of the event, which featured a lineup of activities, including a skills session focused on policy drafting and an expert panel discussion titled “Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Artificial Intelligence”.
The panel comprised Dr Houda Bouamor, from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar; Dr Halima Bensmail, principal scientist at the Qatar Computing Research Institute; Dr Mohamed Aburawi, founder and CEO of Speetar, an AI-enabled telehealth platform; and Abdul Abdulrahim, co-founder & COO of Stears, a venture-backed data and insights provider.
In reference to the ongoing situation in Palestine, Abdulrahman al-Subaie, outreach programmes manager at QatarDebate Centre, said, “Without a doubt, when the issue is returning occupied land, we embrace the cause. When the issue is protecting humanity, we embrace the cause. The Palestinian cause is our cause.”
Speaking to delegates at the closing ceremony held at National Museum of Qatar, Mubarak al-Kuwari, executive director of the Permanent Committee for Organising Conferences at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar, said, “This Youth Edition has not only provided a platform for open dialogue and debate but has also underscored the importance of fostering a culture of discussion among youth. We believe in the transformative power of ideas and the impact that young minds can have in shaping the world.”
Dignitaries at the closing session of Doha Forum Youth Edition 2023.
