DOHA: More than 1,500 volunteers recently attended workshops to learn how to welcome and help 17,000 delegates converging in Doha for the COP18/CMP8 – the largest ever conference to be held in Qatar.
Those who attended the workshops were also among the first to see the specially designed uniform created for the volunteer workforce. The uniforms have a simple and smart design that makes it easy for the volunteers to be identified quickly by participants.
The volunteers, who were selected from more than 3,000 applicants, gathered at the Renaissance Hotel in Doha to take part in the half-day training sessions.
“I want to be a part of this team,” said Samer Muawia, who attended the training session and will be dividing his time between his own company and assisting the delegates, observers and members of the press who will be coming here in a few weeks.
The volunteers had the opportunity to greet each other on Saturday before watching a presentation on the UN Climate Change Conference, to help them understand the importance of the negotiations and how vital their roles are to the event. They learnt about the history of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the Kyoto Protocol, under which countries agreed to limit their greenhouse gas emissions; and the goals of the climate change negotiations.
Along with Qatari citizens, hundreds of the volunteers are nationals of other countries but now call Doha home after coming to the city for work opportunities.
“We want to show our patriotism for Qatar,” said Olumuyiwa, a Nigerian who has been living and working in his adopted home of Qatar for two years. As residents of Qatar, the volunteers will be told about the significance of holding COP18/CMP8 in Doha, which marks the first time that the Conference will be held in the Middle East.
There will be seven groups of volunteers working in various areas, including the Airport Services division, who will welcome participants into the country. The Peninsula
