Youth Panelists show passion, commitment towards Qatar 2022
One of the poignant moments that captured the success of the inaugural year of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s (SC) Youth Panel came at the end of last Tuesday’s graduation ceremony.
18-year-old Abdulla Al Hor, one of the 35 graduates of the Class of 2015, hardly batted an eyelid while answering the question before him — should there be a broadcast programming clash involving matches of the two club teams he supported, Al Sadd and Liverpool, which game would he choose?
“Al Sadd, of course,” came the quick response. Such is Abdulla’s passion and commitment towards local football that the five-time European champions stood no chance.
The youngster’s commitment towards the local football club symbolises his connect with the larger community.
An initiative of the Community Engagement department of the SC aimed at giving a voice to the youth of Qatar in the delivery and legacy planning of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, the Youth Panel is indeed destined to be a resounding success in the hands of Abdulla and many more such committed youngsters.
In the case of Abdulla, a first year communications student at Northwestern University, the desire to make a difference for his country lies in the field in which he hopes to be a professional in the future – the media.
“I’m an aspiring filmmaker and am interested in the wider media scene. The unique access I’ve enjoyed as a Youth Panel member has enabled me to find out that the reporting in the western media about Qatar is one dimensional and far from accurate. I’d like to work with local communities and tell their stories to wider regional and global audiences,” he said.
In the years leading to 2022, the Youth Panel members and alumni will help enhance awareness of the social and human legacy oriented programmes being delivered by the SC as part of its preparations towards hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first ever tournament in the Middle East and the second in Asia.
Vivien Fakhoury, a 17-year-old Lebanese-German who has lived in Qatar since 2006, foresees a bigger role for herself as a youth ambassador in the land of her birth – Germany.
“There has been a negative perception in Germany about Qatar because of western media reporting. I would like to spread the word among the youth there that Qatar is not what they’ve read about. The Youth Panel experience was a huge eye opener for me,” she said.
