DOHA: Eight groundbreaking Youth Clubs funded by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) and Vodafone Qatar are giving Qatar youth the chance to make a world of difference and play a positive role in shaping their communities.

Designed to unlock youth potential, the eight projects are part of a QR9m sponsorship partnership between ROTA and Vodafone to empower the young people of Qatar to change their world by developing the skills they need to tackle local community projects.

Essa Al Mannai, Director of ROTA, said: “Young people are incredibly passionate about making a positive difference to their community. Our partnership with Vodafone will help to transform ideas into reality.”

Al Khor-based youth group Tout Le Monde is promoting environment-friendly living with its Shades of Green project, raising awareness about the impact of modern lifestyles on the local environment. By supplying paper bags to local stores, providing energy-saving light bulbs, celebrating Earth Hour and drawing an eco-mural, the group aims to influence Al Khor residents about how a few simple changes can create a sustainable lifestyle.

Video for Advocacy, a project created by Film for Change Youth Club of Qatar University and Northwestern University students, is a community-based initiative to teach 20 ROTA Youth Service Club members to create high quality, cutting-edge social awareness videos. A series of filmmaking and advocacy workshops will develop story boards and teach the basic techniques of filmmaking to empower students to address key youth issues.

“I have been nothing but inspired by these young people – by their passion, enthusiasm, and commitment,” said Luisa Gentile, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Vodafone Qatar.

Top Shabab’s ‘I Care’ project aims to change the mind-set of Qatar University students toward labourers, who because of a lack of education at a young age are forced low-paid jobs with limited opportunities to improve their future. Youth Without Borders (YWB) plans to raise awareness about the poor conditions of recreational and sports facilities in Gaza and the West Bank with its Sports Education for Palestinian Youth project. YWB plans for a charity fundraising campaign including a series of lectures, fun sports and dance competitions, and a Palestinian cultural night.

The Political Society’s I AM POLITE project wants to influence Qatari children’s behaviour to reflect the traditional values of respect for adults and cultural values. After collecting data from school field trips to examine how teachers and children interact, I AM POLITE plans to combine education and entertainment by creating a Qatari social board game for primary school students which rewards their good behaviour

Back to Future, the project of ROTA-Vodafone Youth Club; The Changers, is taking on the challenge of developing the human potential of 24 ambitious students as they discover their talents, their future path and themselves.

H.O.P.E. ‘Every Action Counts’ aims to make Education City students aware of environmental issues, the need to save energy and emit less harmful gases. H.O.P.E. is publishing a useful list of 365 actions that everyone can take to conserve energy and plans are underway for a ‘No Print Day’ at Texas A&M University-Qatar to highlight the unnecessary use of ink, paper and energy.

Oct

Nov

Dec