Qatar students work with international youth to deliver inclusive vision for Ideal Knowledge Parks

Asked to deliver their vision for an 'Ideal Knowledge Park', Samar Mahdi Al Ansari and Rasha Taha El-Attar from Qatar University along with Haleema Sharif and Fatima Al-Shamari from the College of the North Atlantic at Qatar beat stiff competition from four other teams with their idea for an 'Edgy Technology Park'.

Each was presented with a laptop computer, provided by Qatar Foundation.

The competition teamed up the 20 students drawn from Qatar University, College of North Atlantic in Qatar and also CHN University with eight young professionals invited to attend the main conference, jointly organised by Qatar Foundation, UNESCO and ictQATAR.

The special event sought to highlight the vision of Qatar's youth by asking them what they considered to be the essential ingredients of a knowledge park.

Significantly, all the presentations, which were put together in just two hours, highlighted the themes of gender equality; cultural, racial and religious tolerance; environmental stewardship and disability awareness.

The competition was also an opportunity for Qatar's youth to build partnerships with young invited entrepreneurs coming from all over the world, and the objective is to collaborate with like-minded contemporaries and translate ideas into real-world applications.

The eight young attendees working as facilitators with the students were Nox Ramcwana from Durban (who worked with the winning team); Faisall Islam from Bangladesh; Fara La'jam from Malaysia; Robina Guchu from Nairobi; Lawrencia Comney from Ghana; Gbenga Sesan from Nigeria and Oumar Diamoutene from Mali.

Ben Figgis, Marketing Director of Qatar Science and Technology Park awarded the winning team of four with laptops provided by Qatar Foundation. He also handed book of aerial photos to the young international participants as a gesture of appreciation.

Qatar Foundation since its establishment has come to be seen as leading international example of a knowledge hub for its investment in education, innovation and scientific research.

Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), a member of Qatar Foundation has been actively involved in the proceedings of the conference through visual presentations, lectures and dynamic discussion sessions.