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Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates brings together global thinkers and students for a thought-provoking conversation on whether hard work and talent still determine who rises, or whether “earned success” conceals deeper inequities.Daniel Markovits, Guido Calabresi, professor of law at Yale Law School, argues that the system meant to promote fairness has instead entrenched inequality.“Meritocracy has become the principal obstacle to equality of opportunity, at least in the rich countries of the world,” he says, warning that competition built on elite education and inherited advantage has replaced real mobility.Bryan Caplan, professor of economics at George Mason University, offers a contrasting view. “Meritocracy is pretty real if we actually had open borders where anyone could work anywhere,” he says. For Caplan, prosperity depends on personal responsibility and freedom of movement, not structural intervention.From a human-centred perspective, Dr Poornima Luthra, associate professor at Copenhagen Business School, challenges the idea that opportunity is equally accessible.“Meritocracy is a belief, a system where people are assumed to have opportunity solely on merit,” she says.“In reality, people experience bias and discrimination across many aspects of their identity.”Offering a global outlook, Parag Khanna, founder and CEO of AlphaGeo, sees potential in redefining meritocracy. “Meritocracy can work if the most qualified people are making decisions about the shape and direction of society,” he says, citing governance models that reward expertise and mobility.Adding their voices, students from universities across Qatar reflect on how these ideas resonate with their generation. Sundus Saeed, 26, a social sciences student at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says, “The system often ensures that people stay out, and if someone rises, hurdles are placed in their way to maintain the status quo.” Carl Jambo, 22, studying international economics at Georgetown University in Qatar, takes an opposing view, saying: “Meritocracy gives you the platform to prove yourself, an individual against the world.”

Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Doha Debates has welcomed a new cohort of 195 young leaders from across the globe into its ambassador programme.Furthering Doha Debates’ goal of empowering young people to bridge differences and build consensus through constructive debate, participants in the Doha Debates Ambassador Programme learn to engage in intercultural dialogue and generate solutions to the world’s most timely and complex issues.At the start of the 12-week programme, ambassadors join an online community of practice guided by facilitation and intercultural communication expert Dr Brandon Ferderer, systems-thinking specialist Jennifer Geist, and several international guest speakers.Participants will build critical communication, systems-thinking, and consensus-building skills to prepare them for the second half of the programme, where they work in small teams to produce a Majlis-style debate that examines a global issue of concern to their generation.As well as acquiring valuable intercultural communication tools and techniques, ambassadors form lifelong connections with their peers and often engage with Doha Debates long after the programme concludes. Programme graduates have participated in live debates and town halls, podcasts and other special events. A group of 20 alumni will mentor the incoming cohort.Alumni have also created their own community projects showcasing the skills they acquired in the programme and reflecting its majlis-style approach. Former ambassador Ahmed Berramdane hosted Majlis-style workshops at the American Cultural Center Algiers, while Murshidul Alam Bhuiyan launched the Human Heroes Project, a space for authentic story-sharing to bridge divides. Meanwhile, Ayomide Emmanuel Akinwale, Rami Mroueh, Fils Jean Pierre Mutsinzi, Hafsa Rasheed, and Azra Shahab co-created a global affairs podcast promoting peaceful dialogue among youth.This cohort represents 68 countries across six continents, including Iraq, Somalia, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Afghanistan, Qatar, the US, and the UK. Many are current students or alumni of QF partner universities.“We warmly welcome our seventh cohort into the Doha Debates Ambassador Programme,” said Amjad Atallah, managing director of Doha Debates.