Empower 2022 Youth Conference begins with inspiring stories from top athletes

The Education Above All (EAA) Foundations Empower Youth Conference (Empower 2022) began on Wednesday. It was held in the heart of the World Cup celebrations at the FIFA Fan Festival with inspiring stories about the role of football off the pitch from top athletes. The theme for this years renowned youth leadership conference, Football for Sustainable Development, will look at harnessing football’s ability to create unity and integration in communities as well as act as a positive social catalyst for change.

The Chairperson of Qatar Museums H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, the Minister of Sports, and Youth H E Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali, the Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council H E Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti, and a group of their Excellencies heads of the diplomatic missions accredited to the State attended the opening ceremony. It featured former Afghan refugee, turned professional soccer player, Nadia Nadim; Honey Thaljieh, first captain of the Palestinian womens national football team; and Nasser Al Khori, Executive Director of the World Cup legacy program, Generation Amazing Foundation (GA), who all spoke about the role of football in improving lives beyond the pitch.

A documentary, "Chasing Dreams", about young Syrian refugees now playing semi-professional football in Brazil also featured in the opening along with a discussion with the film’s producer and four of the young men featured in the film.

"Empower" which started in 2009, is the first youth led conference to focus on equipping young people in Qatar and around the world to take active roles in building their communities and having a voice on global issues. It is a chance for youth between ages 15 and 24 to take part in experiential learning and cross-cultural exchange of ideas, discover a sense of belonging to a common humanity, shared values, and responsibilities. This year’s three-day conference for youth will explore the impact of football through a plethora of diverse speakers, panel discussions, and workshops online between December 7-9 for attendees.

Empower runs as part of EAAs Scoring 4 the Goals Campaign, which aims to raise awareness and call for action to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global agenda to bring a more prosperous and equitable future for all.