QF students to speak up on climate change at international summit

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: For Qatari student Sara Sultan Almaadeed, the need to talk about the consequences of climate change is beyond urgent.“I can't turn around and pretend I am saving the world by using my car fewer times than usual when fires rage on in different parts of the world,” she says. 

While she knows that doing something instantaneously tangible about the climate crisis does not fall entirely into the hands of the youth, she said:“We have a unique capacity to transform the disaster that is our environment through our speech, through our informed perspectives, and through youth culture.”
Like Almaadeed, 400 other young people from all over the world are set to attend Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition, in Milan, Italy, which will also see Qatar Foundation and its entities participate from September 28 to October 2. The event, hosted by the Government of Italy as part of Pre-COP26, is considered“historic” as this will be the first time that young people will bring forward their proposals and engage in discussions with government representatives attending the event.
The results of these discussions will then be taken to the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021, and will also be shared in other United Nations meetings concerning sustainable development.
QF's participation at Youth4Climate will be through its initiative Doha Debates, which, among other activities, will host an edition of its #DearWorldLive series; THIMUN Qatar, which comes under QF's Pre-University Education (PUE) and will participate in two panels, led by youth and educators, on their roles in climate action; Qatar Debate, which will engage in a presidential-style debate on future eco-leaders; and a Qatar Foundation International discussion that will delve into partnerships that guide students through the process of exploring sustainability in their local community resulting in global impacts.“As youth, it is vital that we participate in events that aim to solve a plethora of issues regarding the climate, as we represent the future leaders who will inevitably inherit the fight for our planet, and gain responsibility for it,” said Noora Al Muftah, a Grade 10 student of Qatar Academy Doha (QAD) — a school under QF's PUE — and a Youth4Climate panellist, as well as a QAD Model United Nations (MUN) Vice-President 2021-22.
“Events like Youth4Climate give youth a voice and restore our generations' faith and part in climate action.”
As Qatar transitions from a nation dependent on hydrocarbons to one that is built on sustainability in all aspects — economic, human, social, and environmental — it becomes imperative to educate and transfer knowledge to the younger generation of this renewed journey of development and growth. 
“The work we'll be doing is promoting awareness in Qatar about the potential of renewable energy usage in Qatar,” said Khalid Al Nabti, another Grade 10 student at QAD, as well as a Youth4Climate panellist, and QAD MUN treasurer 2021-22. 

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