More than 150 youths from over 10 countries in the region are attending the Mena Youth Capacity Building in Humanitarian Action (Mycha) training, organised by Reach Out to Asia (Rota), a programme of the Education Above All foundation.

The three-day training programme, held at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, provides participants aged 18-30 years with the humanitarian knowledge and skills needed to plan and execute small-scale social and community development projects in crisis-affected contexts.
Tareq al-Ansari, director of the International Co-operation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar, delivered the opening speech at the event.
“The role of youth in humanitarian action is often overlooked. Through Mycha, we aim to bring about a shift in mindsets, so that policymakers are able to realise the value of youth participation in humanitarian action," al-Ansari said. “The workshops will equip the youth participants with the skills, and provide them with a resourceful network, which will enable to them to go about implementing a community project in their home countries.”



Panelists at a discussion

Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, delivered a special video speech highlighting the role of youth in helping people, especially in conflict areas. Essa al-Mannai, executive director, Rota, said that Mycha will equip participants with the skills and knowledge to become effective, agents of change in humanitarian action, and global ambassadors of Qatar.
Following the opening session, there was a panel discussion moderated by Dr Sultan Barakat, director of the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, Doha Institute.
During the panel discussion, Dr Hani al-Banna, president of the Humanitarian Forum; Dr Ahmed al-Miraikhi, UN SG Humanitarian Envoy, and Rashid Khalikov, assistant secretary-general for Humanitarian Partnerships with the Middle East and Central Asia, explored the ‘The Role of Youth in Transforming Humanitarian Action: How Can Stakeholders Support Youth Capacity?’.
Once participants have completed the Mycha training, they will return to their home countries where they will be offered support by partner NGOs to implement the humanitarian action projects that they developed during the capacity building initiative.