Rota chairperson HE Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, HE the Minister of Youth and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, and Rota board member Dr Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh bin Nasser and others at the opening ceremony of Empower 2015 on Thursday.
The role of youth in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to education and peaceful societies, was in focus during the discussions at the second day of Empower 2015 conference yesterday.
Special workshops by high profile peace advocates and social entrepreneurs from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Nigeria were among the highlights of the day.
Empower 2015, organised by Reach Out To Asia (Rota), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, is the seventh edition of the conference and has more than 450 participants from over 23
countries.
Rota goodwill ambassador Sheikh Mohamed al-Thani, Sri Lanka Federation of Youth Clubs vice president Milinda Rajapaksha, Nigeria’s Missing Millennium Development Goal Campaign founder and executive director Ajarat Bada, and Saudi Arabia’s Call of Culture starter Mohamed Bakhrieba, hosted the workshops yesterday at the three-day conference that concludes today.
Another focus of the day was that education and dialogue play an important role in safeguarding peace and ensuring harmony among the diversity of humanity. The conference emphasised that the potential of young people to contribute to the global development agenda must be harnessed.
The workshops were designed to equip the youth delegates with skills, knowledge, values and ethics needed to move their communities towards realising the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to peaceful societies and
education.
“The second day of Empower 2015 was focused on imparting skills and inspiring young people to have a voice in the global sustainable development agenda through success stories from around the world,” said Rota’s National Programmes director Mohamed Abdullah Saleh.
“Rota has always had faith in the significant role that youth play in the development of their societies and through these workshops, speeches, site visits and other elements of the
conference,” he added.
Delegates also enjoyed a high-level panel discussion yesterday showcasing the work of some of the world’s leading organisations that have contributed to the development of youth for peaceful societies.
Panelists shared their personal and professional experiences and reflected on the work being done by their respective organisations and the future role they believe youth will play in the changing global development landscape.
