Sixty students from four schools in Qatar are taking part in a new leadership programme launched by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) — a core programme of the Education Above All (EAA) foundation.
Dubbed “Tomorrow’s Leaders”, the new programme implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, provides a opportunity for the youth to develop leadership skills and values as well as an understanding of community development issues, and gain experience through the delivery of projects and campaigns that address both local and global issues.
“This new programme, which started last week, is being implemented in four schools — two for boys and two for girls — in which 30 male and 30 female students are attending sessions to hone their personalities and acquire different skills they will need to be leaders of the future,” Abdulla Al-Bakri, Community Development Manager at ROTA, told the media at a press conference yesterday at Qatar Foundation Recreation Center.
The students aged 15 to 16 are attending daily sessions for the three-month programme which consists of ten modules. Managed by ROTA’s National Programmes Directorate, ‘Tomorrow’s Leaders' adopts a youth-centered approach whereby young people are encouraged to manage their own learning and development as future leaders and carry out meaningful projects with the support and guidance of certified professional development facilitators.
Dr Abdulaziz Al Horr, the creator of the programme curriculum, said, “This programme has been designed to help young people in Qatar acquire essential leadership values, skills and competencies that will allow them to become effective 21st century leaders.The practical leadership activities and assessments included in the programme, provide participants with an opportunity to hone their leadership skills and to better compete, achieve and be creative, as well as express themselves and their ideas both individually and collectively.”
The community development programme aims to equip youth with skills and experiences to enable them to become responsible, capable, and proactive citizens who actively strive to make themselves, their community and the world a better place.
“ROTA firmly believes in investing in the leaders of tomorrow and through the ‘Tomorrow’s Leaders' Programme, we hope to engage youth as leaders in defining and advocating for innovative solutions to education and development challenges, and more specifically to empower them to serve as development agents and responsible citizens in Qatar and the global community,” said Al Bakri.
The press conference was also attended by Hissa Al Suwaidi- a known Qatari TV presenter, writer and self-development trainer- who acts as one of the programme’s facilitators.
