Reach Out to Asia (Rota) will host Empower 2016 at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) from March 17 to 19, it was announced yesterday. The annual youth conference was launched in 2009.
Abdulla al-Bakri, community development manager, Rota, said, “This year, we will have more workshops and keynote speakers than the last year. The conference will start in the morning of March 17 and will have about 48 workshops and 20 presentations from the keynote speakers. The third day will be for outdoor activities related to the workshops and other presentations.”
Mae al-Zaman, learning and capacity building specialist, Rota, said, “More than 450 youth from different parts of the world will be taking part in the conference. Nearly 400 of them will represent Qatar as we want to give more opportunities
to local talents.”
“This is a platform for the youth to share their knowledge and ideas. The conference has innovation and social entrepreneurship as the theme, this year. This is related to the Sustainable Development Goals of UN, especially the goal numbers seven and eight,” she added.
“We had received over 1,400 applications from over 60 countries and we have selected about 450 of them after a careful and thorough selection process. We will also have a number of high profile speakers whose details will be revealed later,” said Summer al-Ansari, a volunteer at Rota.
Al-Ansari pointed out that the conference was fully organised and conducted by the youth. “It is by the youth and for the youth from planning to execution. We have an organising committee comprising of about 70 members. There are a number of committees that are responsible for various aspects of the conference,” she added.