Education Above All Foundation launches youth conference, Empower 2020

Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, through its Reach Out to Asia (Rota) programme, has launched its annual youth conference -- Empower 2020 0- virtually under the theme 'Youth Mobilisation for Inclusion, Peace and Security'. The conference, which began yesterday and continues until July 19, was inaugurated with the participation of HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports; HE Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations (UN); Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth; and Achaleke Christian Leke, Pan-Commonwealth Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors network.

Rota has "worked tirelessly to prepare for the conference in these highly challenging times due to the Covid-19 pandemic," a statement notes. This year’s theme -- 'Youth Mobilisation for Inclusion, Peace and Security' -- supports the Qatari government’s efforts to host the inaugural high-level global conference on strengthening youth inclusion in complex peace processes, in partnership with the United Nations Secretary-General’s envoy on youth.
The conference aims to build awareness, knowledge and skills related to youth mobilisation for inclusion, peace and security. Topics to be covered fall under the four thematic pillars of Media & Technology, Sport & Art, Nation Building and Environment & Climate Change, moderated by international and national organisations such as Qatar Fund for Development, the Global Coalition for Youth, Peace and Security, Silatech, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, UNHCR, UNDP, Georgetown University in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Barca Foundation, Doha Film Institute and other highly experienced and high-level institutions.
Empower 2020 will "reaffirm Education Above All Foundation's belief in building on the strengths of young people for sustainable development in the spirit of peace, inclusion, cultural diversity and understanding," the statement points out.
In their opening remarks, HE al-Ali and HE Sheikha Alya expressed appreciation of the role of Qatar and that of Qatari and global youth in building their nations. HE al-Ali said: “Our youth today have reached a level of knowledge and vigilance about global issues that is worthy of our appreciation. This has been particularly evident in their strong awareness of the most prominent issues and challenges faced by both the Qatari and global community.”
HE Sheikha Alya’s accentuated the centrality of youth and youth-related events, saying: “I would like to express my appreciation for the Rota programme for the successful selection of this year's conference theme, as well as for choosing the appropriate time to hold it during this period."
“This challenge has made it clear that the biggest youth generation in history, of 1.8bn young people, as well as the most connected one, must be meaningfully included as we build back better in the aftermath of this pandemic,” Wickramanayake added.