Empower youth and listen to their voices: Youth minister

By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter

The youth should be empowered and their voices should be taken into account in combating crimes more effectively, HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, the Minister of Youth and Sports urged at the inaugural Doha Youth Forum on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

The event, organised by Qatar Foundation, the Organising Committee of the United Nations 13th Conference on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime got underway at the Qatar National Convention Centre.

The opening session was also attended by UN Goodwill Ambassador Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand, the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations Nasser Abdelaziz al-Nasser, and Saad al-Muhannadi, president, Qatar Foundation. Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, Qatar’s permanent representative at the UN, gave a televised message on the occasion. Several hundreds of students from various schools were present at the inaugural ceremony.

Over three days, the 120 student delegates will be working together to come up with creative solutions to global issues on crime prevention and criminal justice before presenting their recommendations to the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice taking place in Qatar next week..

HE the Minister stated in his opening address that a youth forum is the first of its kind in the history of international conferences in general, and in the history of conferences on crime prevention and criminal justice in particular.

"It is a purely Qatari initiative, through which Qatar contributes to international dialogue about issues and challenges facing humanity, and particularly in the fields of education and health.”

“Education is the key for youth development and is the main feature to prevent them from crimes as well as equipping them to combat against crimes. The youth should not be marginalised and they should not be left behind. They should be empowered with the necessary skills and their voices should be heard as they are not just the leaders of the future but the leaders of the present and the future.”

The minister referred that researches about the youth indicated that lack of education, awareness, empowerment, career skills and opportunities for self-expression were the major reasons for young people getting involved in crime.

The forum delegates have been organised into three groups of 30 – 50, and within these groups, they will spend today and tomorrow debating and drawing up proposals on the three designated themes. The forum will follow a similar agenda to the UN Congress, and the themes include: The Rule of Law, New and Emerging Crime, and Public Participation.