Firdoze Bulbulia, Mohamed Abu Asaker, Essa al-Mannai, Matthew Cassel, Farooq Burney and Charlotte Giese take part in the panel discussion.


The ongoing third Ajyal Youth Film Festival, presented by Doha Film Institute (DFI), is taking Planet-Y - an initiative launched in 2014 - to its next level.
Planet-Y was conceptualised at the first Doha Giffoni Youth Media Summit, hosted by DFI in partnership with Italy’s Giffoni Experience, in Doha last year. The project was unveiled at the second summit held in Giffoni, Italy, in July this year.
Now, in its third edition at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, Planet-Y has assumed tangible shape with the rollout of five projects: One Platform, Many Voices – the Planet-Y Video Channel, a speciality media channel by and for youth; The Magic Box – An Educational Radio Station for Syrian Children; Content is King – a Youth Production Programme; Nomadic – a Festival Cooperation and Exchange Programme; and Film Fun in Bed – a Hospital Outreach Programme.
Discussions on Neuro-Communication – How to speak the language of the brain, and The Digital World – how to speak the language of youth, were also held. More than 40 delegates from across the world took part in the summit with the common goal of engaging youth and enriching their lives.
DFI CEO and festival director Fatma al-Remaihi explained that Planet-Y emerged from the need to identify a collective, industry-wide strategy to tackle the myriad challenges in the media sphere.
“Through our workshops, we aimed to combine the experiences and wisdom of the summit participants to create concrete takeaways and action plans. The deliberations of Planet-Y have the power to shape the lives of children, and subsequently our own. Because in helping others we make our own lives meaningful.”
The Doha Giffoni Youth Media Summit aims to make the Planet-Y projects beneficial for youth, said al-Remaihi. “We will follow up on each project and keep them growing. Next July at Giffoni, we will report back on the progress that was made. Many of these projects will take time, but I already see the collaborations coming out of the summit now as a victory for Planet-Y.”
Claudio Gubitosi, director and founder of Giffoni Experience, said young people are the first victims of conflict and, through the Doha Giffoni Youth Media Summit’s Planet-Y, the creative community is taking tangible action to address the problems faced by youth globally.
“We have to stand together to find practical solutions through a culture of dialogue and knowledge exchange. Planet-Y will help keep up with the ongoing cultural, social, economic and political evolution of younger generations,” said Gubitosi.
The Doha Giffoni Youth Media Summit also discussed the challenges faced by “Children in Conflict Areas”, and how they can be empowered to share their stories.
The discussion was an emotional experience for the participants with heart-touching visuals and stories of the Syrian refugee crisis taking centrestage.
Presenting searing stories from the refugee camps, Mohamed Abu Asaker, public information and communications officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, choked on words as he narrated the story of a man who refuses to go home until late into night for fear of facing his children.
He reiterated the gravity of the refugee situation with the number of displaced people increasing to 42,500 per day now compared to 10,900 in 2010, the result of 15 wars that the world witnessed or continue to rage since the past five years.
Adding that children pay the price for this, with 51% of all displaced people being below the age of 18, he said the crisis is unprecedented and the worst since World War II.
Essa al-Mannai, executive director of Reach Out to Asia, explained the work of the organisation in making a tangible difference, including adult literacy training, youth leadership programmes and those designed to benefit students and teachers.
Matthew Cassel, an independent multimedia journalist and filmmaker who embarked on a personal journey at the age of 20 from Chicago to the Middle East, narrated how he works to engage children in Gaza creatively, encouraging them to take photographs. It also led to a touring exhibition of their works in the US, which was a defining experience for the young people.
Farooq Burney, director of Al Fakhoora, Education Above All, presented a human portrait of the refugees stating “they all had a similar life as you or me, and all they have today is hope for a bright future led by education.”
Charlotte Giese, specialist adviser for children and youth at the Danish Film Institute in Denmark, explained the work being undertaken among several underprivileged communities and the use of film as a medium to promote self-expression by young people.
The session, moderated by Firdoze Bulbulia, an award-winning producer, director and trainer, underscored the importance of encouraging children in conflict areas to tell their own stories.