Volunteers Play Their Part in COP18's Success Story

Doha, December 02 (QNA) - Latifa Mohammed and Mariam Al Haydous, always smiling, are the two Qatari young women who welcome guests participating in the UN Climate Change Conference COP18. They spare no effort in replying to all sorts of questions asked by members of delegations attending the conference. Latifa and Mariam are not alone, they are a part of 1500 young men and women who volunteered to help make the hosting of COP18 the resounding success the participating delegations acknowledged it to be. Mariam is on duty early in the morning; she arrives to the Qatar National Convention Centre, where the conference is held, wearing proudly a green scarf on which the word "volunteer" is inscribed. She tirelessly directs different delegations to their respective meeting halls. Mariam said she volunteered for Cop18 because she had the urge to be part of the success story of Qatar hosting its biggest international event with more than 17 thousand people from 197 countries participating. All volunteers have endless duties but are always sprightly as they are stationed along different spots across Qatar; from Qatar Exhibition Centre, where Qatar Sustainability Expo is held, to Doha International Airport and bus stops spread across the country to transport the participants and the volunteers. Latifa Mohammed, wearing her traditional Qatari Abaya decorated by a similar green scarf to Maryam s, volunteered to stand at the assistance booth in Aspire Zone and help participants with all the questions they have. Behind the selfless volunteer work of those two Qatari young women is a professional team of the COP18 organizing committee that takes care of coordinating between volunteers as well as providing them with the training they need to fulfill their duties. Sheikha Dana bint Rashid Al Thani, the volunteers coordinator, Said there were 32 main locations that volunteers are stationed at, the majority of them are transport hubs located at the hotels and the Qatar Exhibition Center. Volunteers work at four different departments such as the media center and most importantly the transport, where 750 volunteers are stationed. Their work there focuses on showing the participants to their buses, whether they were heading to the convention center or coming from it. Choosing the volunteers was no picnic; more than 3500 applied for the 1500 spots. Some 350 of those spots went to Qatari young men and young women. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) Sheikha Dana Al Thani said that the volunteers selection process began back in August. Qatar Center for Voluntary Work provided the organizing committee with a database of volunteers available in Qatar after which they selected the suitable one. Not all volunteers wear green scarves, some wear blue ones too so do not hesitate to ask them about any information when you run into them. They are called youth ambassadors and they are responsible for answering any question on the participants minds; whether it’s about the conference or general information about the State of Qatar or the Qatari people s habits and traditions. Sheikha Dana said that all volunteers went through a number of workshops were they received training in reception and assistance. They also received workshops that educated them on previous UN Climate Change Conference so that they are up to date with its developments. Most impressively, each volunteer is provided with a smartphone that has the COP18 application. The app includes all the information, including up to date details of the conference s scheduled meetings. The volunteers also write online diaries and reports of their experience. They started a Facebook page as well to get to know each other more and share their experiences together, sheikha Dana said. As a team responsible for volunteers, sheikha Dana said that work on stimulating the volunteers by giving out token gifts to them. She revealed that they will select the top 25 volunteers in a "thank you" wrap up party to bid the volunteers party. (QNA)