Qatar Foundation (QF) will organise eighth annual Thimun Qatar conference from January 22-25, 2019.

The Doha-based Model United Nations (MUN) conference - the largest in the Middle East - will bring together nearly 1,800 students from over 67 schools around the world to role-play as diplomats and ambassadors through imitation sessions of United Nations' councils, commissions, and conferences, discussing and debating international issues to create purpose-led solutions to global problems.

"At Qatar Foundation, we strive to create global citizens, who will become agents of meaningful change and, consequently, the leaders of tomorrow," says head of Thimun Qatar Fatima el-Mahdi.

"Today's youth is the future of our world, and by providing opportunities for young people to discuss, negotiate, and debate, through initiatives such as Thimun, we are helping to catalyse global change, and build a better world for generations to come," says el-Mahdi

The theme of the conference is 'Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions,' inspired by UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16). The participants will be debating a range of topics that fall under the SDG 16 - all of which have significant global relevance. Over the last few months, students have been conducting sessions and carrying out research in order to be able to represent their appointed countries.

Additionally, as part of the event, Thimun Qatar will be partnering with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, which will see many UNODC officials serve as sessional speakers at the event. "Not only will the participants interact with peers from around the world, build new networks of knowledge and perspective, and learn about different countries, cultures, traditions, customs, and beliefs, they will also be given the unique opportunity to learn from the experts themselves: the UNODC representatives," says el-Mahdi.

"Ultimately, the aim of this conference is to serve as a knowledge-sharing platform to educate, empower, and encourage young people to realise their full potential."

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