Doha: Under the patronage of the Emir of Qatar, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the third edition of the Doha GOALS Forum will open at Aspire Academy here today.
Doha GOALS is the premier platform for world leaders to advance social and economic change through sport.
The event will welcome leaders from around the globe who will come together to discuss the four main topics for this year’s forum — engaging youth, innovation and creativity, empowering people and the role of sport in the Middle East and North Africa.
Speakers at this year’s Doha GOALS Forum began arriving yesterday and include legends of sport such as George Foreman, Lord Sebastian Coe, Boris Becker and Oliver Kahn. Also scheduled to speak at the opening of the Forum are H E Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic, and French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport Valerie Fourneyron.
The Doha GOALS Forum also includes a student ambassador programme, which brings more than 350 students to the event to engage with industry leaders to provide inputs for initiatives.
The programme, launched at the first Doha GOALS in 2012, has been incredibly successful and has inspired students to create their own initiatives using the knowledge and contacts gained from attending Doha GOALS as well as their own creativity.
Earlier this year, inspired by Doha GOALS, student ambassador Elif Mehmet united stakeholders, including the Romanian Olympic Committee, the local track and field association and the Countrywide Department for Sport and Youth in Constanta, to bridge the social gap between the residents of Constanta and tourists. Elift founded the Olympic Day Running Race which brought together more than 600 participants.
Also, the forum introduced a new initiative aimed at challenging the practice of racism and discrimination in sport. The foundation’s programme, Global Watch, which has received praise from Oprah Winfrey and Al Gore, now focuses on looking at how sport can play a critical role in contributing to the building of a better world and is working with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Sexwale Foundation on advancing this mission.
Executive producer Richard Attias said: “Our aim is to
make a difference in the
world, using sport. We’ve been thrilled to see our Student Ambassadors take their learning and contacts from Doha GOALS and create some incredible initiatives to help improve people’s lives — they are the leaders of tomorrow.
“By bringing together a wide variety of speakers and delegates from both the private and public sector, a wide variety of sporting legends, policy makers and the fantastic Student Ambassadors, we can continue to use sport to inspire social and economic improvement.”
Doha GOALS Foundation, in partnership with Connor Sports and local authorities, built two Sport Court Power Game multipurpose courts; one in Port Gentil, Gabon, and another in Nablus, West Bank, Palestine. This new initiative came following last year’s Forum which highlighted key areas across the globe as having an issue with access to recreational grounds.
This year, the Forum endeavours to take stock of on-going initiatives and determine how best to implement them at the national and community level as well as launch new innovative initiatives and programs.
THE PENINSULA
