5th Annual EMPOWER National Youth Conference Kicks Off

Doha, March 28 (QNA) - Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) board member HE Dr. Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh opened the 5th Annual EMPOWER National Youth Conference, which began today at the Qatar National Convention Center. The opening ceremony was attended by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani . This year’s event is supported by Msheireb Properties, Qatars leading sustainable developer and a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation. Following the official opening, HE Sheikha Dr Aisha bint Faleh Al-Thani welcomed 400 youth delegates from Qatar, the GCC and the United Kingdom. The Empower 2013 program features a mix of skill-building workshops, keynote speeches, interactive seminars and off-site project activities and various social and cultural events. This year the theme proposed for EMPOWER 2013 is Water Cooperation. In December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation. In reflection of this declaration, the 2013 World Water Day, which took place on 22 March 2013, the conference, is dedicated to water cooperation. "As key stakeholders in the future of Qatar, the youth have a vital role to play in determining progress towards a more peaceful, equal and prosperous world," HE Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh told the Empower delegates. With this in mind, Empower 2013 brings together key players among the youth including our neighbor from the GCC countries and United Kingdom - to share views and exchange experiences, to acquire additional skills needed to tackle the issues that really matter to young people in all countries." HE Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh further said, "We expect EMPOWER 2013 to be the best EMPOWER so far as youth delegates discover their voice, realize their potential to make a positive contribution and develop their skills, knowledge and attitudes to take on active leadership roles within their communities." During the 3-day event, EMPOWER delegates will attend several workshops that will focus on exploring the theme of sustainable development and investigating the problems that can arise while engaging in development activities in the context of environmental sustainability. Others highlights of the conference are designed to inspire, challenge and reward active participation, include seminar panel discussions, keynote speeches, lectures, group workshops, and off-site, service learning activities. "The main aims of EMPOWER 2013 are to raise awareness and build knowledge and capacity to enable young people to take leadership roles in addressing local and international developmental issues of concern to them especially in the area of Sustainable Development and Sports" says ROTA Executive Director Essa Al Mannai. "We look forward to meeting the regions youth leaders, hearing their opinions and ideas for tackling the community, social and environmental issues that really matter to the young people of the world." "EMPOWER 2013 will be a platform for youth from different countries to network with the youth of Qatar. As well as an excellent opportunity for other regions to learn from our best practices, EMPOWER 2012 gives Qatari youth the chance to unite with youth from around the world in preparation for the 2013 iEARN Annual Conference and Youth Summit being hosted by ROTA in July this year," added Al Mannai. . EMPOWER 2013 has attracted a host of top international and local Guest Speakers and Workshop Leaders led by Dr. Farhan Mujahid Chak and Dr. Essam Heggy, PhD. Dr. Farhan Mujahid Chak is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Qatar University and, also, teaching at Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) - Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, while Dr. Essam Heggy is a planetary scientist in the Radar Science Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Visiting Associate in Geology at the California Institute of Technology. Since the events inauguration in 2009, EMPOWER has gained a reputation for being the first youth led conference in Qatar to focus on equipping young people to take active roles in building their communities and having a voice on global issues.(QNA)