A top UN official has highlighted the efforts of Qatar and its leadership in empowering the youth and providing opportunities for them in various facets of life.
“It is heartening to see the commitment of the country’s leadership as Qatar values the partnership of the youth by providing them several opportunities. I am particularly impressed by the youth taking part in conversations that are major topics of the world today and the government is providing them the opportunities for the same,” stated, Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN secretary-general's envoy on youth.
Wickramanayake was speaking at the inaugural session of the Doha Forum Youth Edition held yesterday at the Minaretein building (College of Islamic Studies), in Education City, Doha.
Wickermanayake said that during her first visit to Qatar, she was highly impressed by the Qatar National Library and the government’s efforts to provide knowledge to the people of the country and abroad.
“This is my second visit to Qatar and I do cherish my visit to the Qatar National Library during my first visit to Qatar. The library and the resources at the library, is the another proof of the great commitment of the country to equip the youth with knowledge and the right tools to make them prepared for the future,” she explained.
She also noted that the two major topics of discussion at the forum are education and climate change and Qatar has been taking an effective and prominent role in both the topics.
“There are around 1.8 billion young people worldwide and education is a key factor. I am a strong believer in the fact that education is not a privilege but the birthright of every young man and woman. An estimated 263mn children are out of school currently for various reasons and about 61mn miss out schools as they live in conflict and disaster hit areas,” continued the official.
She maintained that education is the most essential investment to build the future of the world. “Education is the most powerful tool to resist other forces such as terrorism and to fight other security threats. One dollar invested in education can generate 15 dollars in return,” she noted.
As for the issue of climate change, Wickermanayake said that it was an emergency that needed to be tackled urgently.
“About 71% of the gas emissions in the world is caused by 100 companies. We need to transform these business models into sustainable ones. Climate education is key for this and there should be a change in the approach. Conversations today in this forum can be the starting point for that change,” added the official.
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