The second ‘Total Alreyada: Connecting Young Leaders’ summit successfully concluded in Doha with a pledge to further expand the annual gathering of aspiring energy industry professionals across the Middle East and North Africa.
Forty-four students and young professionals, both men and women, from seven Middle East countries took part in the four-day workshop and team building event, which hosted presentations from leading Middle East experts in the oil and gas sector. Alreyada 2014 received 20 participants from Qatar.
Opening the event, H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts & Heritage, said: “Human development is one of the most essential issues, which needs cooperation between all the State authorities and all foreign countries.”
Total Alreyada 2014 invited young leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Iran to compete in a team assignment themed on ‘long-lasting partnerships’. Besides experiencing workshops and team challenges, the participants visited the Qatar Science and Technology Park and Doha’s renowned Museum of Islamic Art.
The event’s speakers and panellists at the Ritz Carlton Doha included Sheikh Khalid Abdulla Al Thani, COO of Qatargas; Sara Akbar, CEO of Kuwait Energy; Dr Mohammed Al Mulla, Vice Chairman and CEO of Qapco; Adel Albuainain, General Manager of Dolphin Qatar; Saad Al Kaabi, Director of Oil & Gas Ventures at Qatar Petroleum; and Shabir Hussain, Omanisation Manager of Petroleum Development Oman. Talent development, leadership, innovation and sustainability, and the challenges facing the energy sector in the face of rapidly growing local and global demand were among the topics under discussion.
Guillaume Chalmin, Managing Director of Total E&P Qatar and Total Group representative in Qatar, said: “We’re thrilled that so many young leaders could attend Alreyada 2014 from around the Middle East to share their ideas and creativity, and the team spirit on show during the four days of the event was truly inspirational.
“Alreyada is an event by and for the Middle East and we are proud to support this dialogue between its young leaders and experts from many different countries.”
The inaugural Total Alreyada, which took place in Abu Dhabi last year, was named Best CSR Initiative in the Middle East at the 2013 ADIPEC Awards, one of the oil and gas industry’s most prestigious awards.
Commenting on the success of Total Alreyada 2014 in Doha, Qatar University student Fahad Adnan Al Naimi said: “Alreyada was a good way to test myself against other young leaders before I start my career, and to try to be the best of the best.”
The Peninsula
