FROM LEFT: Ahmed Allenjawi, Advisory Board Member, Mohammed Abdulla Saleh, National Programs Director at ROTA, Dalal Mohammad, Empower Youth Planning Committee Member, and Rehab Al Naemi, Advisory Board Member, at the press conference yesterday. Pic: Kamm
The annual youth-led Empower 2017 conference organised by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) will bring together more than 450 youth from various countries to the three-day event under the theme ‘Sustainable Tourism for Development: A Youth Perspective,’ ROTA announced yesterday.
The conference, to be held from March 2 to 4 at the Hamad bin Khalifa University Student Center, will see the participation of 350 youth from Qatar selected from more than 1,000 applicants from 55 countries, Mohamed Abdulla Saleh, National Program Director at ROTA said at a press conference yesterday.
The theme of the conference coincides with the United Nations (UN) declaration of 2017 as the ‘International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development’ in order to highlight the role of the tourism sector in advancing economic, social and environmental sustainability. “ROTA firmly believes in investing in the leaders of tomorrow, and Empower underscores the importance of youth empowerment and leadership. Sustainable tourism was selected as the theme for this year’s conference as it aligns with ROTA’s mission to address skills development, education, and investment in youth to motivate them to utilise their capabilities to achieve success and independence,” said Saleh.
Essa AI Mannai, Executive Director of ROTA, and Dr Khalid AI Sulaiti, General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation-Katara, will give the opening speech.
During the gathering, youth will explore ways to become engaged in sustainable tourism to promote cultural heritage, and contribute to economic growth and environmental preservation with the aim of achieving Qatar’s sustainability objectives and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The conference will highlight the key role of youth in promoting sustainable tourism, and will serve as an impactful tool to engage youth as leaders and empower them to take action towards a successful and sustainable future,” Saleh added.
For Empower 2017, ROTA has partnered with Injaz Qatar; Qatar Tourism Authority; Aspire Logistics; Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Doha Film Institute; Qatar Museums; Katara; Bedaya; Qatar Development Bank; VCUQatar; Qatar Leadership Academy; ILLAFTrain Center; Silatech; Qatar Foundation; Ministry of Culture and Sports; and Msheireb Properties.
The workshops will cover numerous topics including Tourism and Social Media; The Marketing and Branding of Nations; Arts for Sustainable Tourism; Intercultural Learning in Sustainable Tourism; Leadership from a Different Perspective; and Effective Team Work. Among the speakers at the conference are accomplished columnist and author Tahani Al Hajri and Khalifa Saleh Al Haroon, founder and CEO of ILoveQatar.net and I Love Qatar Network.
