Jawaher Al Qasimi to Convene UAE’s Young Leaders for ‘Shaping Our Future’ Session at IGCF 2019

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Leaders and Innovators, will be convening young representatives of Sharjah’s children and youth organisations and select UAE officials for a special session at the International Government Communication Forum 2019, to explore ways to intensify the youth’s role in participatory development.

The closed session will be held on the second day of IGCF 2019, slated for March 20-21, at Expo Centre Sharjah in its eighth edition themed ‘Behavioural Change Towards Human Development’.

Titled, ‘Shaping Our Future’, and hosted in collaboration with Rubu’ Qarn Foundation, the session will shed light on the centrality of the UAE’s youth in the nation’s cultural, societal and developmental journey, and seek to learn from the young participants their aspirations and interests.

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi will address a group of children and youth, and several senior Emirati officials. The session’s young participants will engage with Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi and the local officials present to share their future aspirations with and better understand the areas where they can channel their potential to benefit their community and contribute to nation building.

HH Sheikha Jawaher’s participation is reflective of her continuing efforts to make the youth’s voice heard on important international platforms, and her strong commitment to shaping a generation of active Emirati citizens championing Sharjah’s and UAE’s ambitions of participatory socioeconomic and cultural development. 

Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi said: “Our children and youth are our most precious assets; the nation’s future is in their hands. Many countries around the world seek to attract young populations and invest in their potential because their energy and enthusiasm are the forces that build a prosperous nation. Creating a generation of influential leaders can be achieved by promoting partnerships among the family, academia and social establishments, because these synergies have great deals to contribute to a child’s and youth’s holistic personality development, instilling a love for learning and a quest for knowledge in them.

“The type of leaders we are seek to shape, our young generation into does not require them to be in high-ranking positions to exercise positive influence and bring about necessary change. Our aim is to empower them to take the lead wherever they are; be it in their professional life or in society. We aspire to nurture the future generations in a way that they understand and fully embrace our national goals – strengthen social ties, protect their culture and identity, while engaging in vibrant and open dialogue with other cultures and civilisations”.

Her Highness continued: “Our responsibility toward the future generation requires us to be objective in educating them. We have to explain to them their responsibilities and the challenges they might face – about real life. Our duty is to show them that ‘sincere efforts are rewarded by success’, and that taking personal initiative towards achieving one’s goals and those of society is paramount.”

“We hope this session will see the birth of some pioneering ideas and constructive suggestions, which reflect Sharjah’s vision to support development, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who believes that our youth is an apt symbol of Sharjah’s essence, and will best reflect our

developmental project to international leaders and government communication experts participating in IGCF,” Her Highness concluded. 

The ‘Shaping Our Future’ session will shine light on the essential qualities of future leaders, and their importance in enabling them to serve society to the fullest. The session will also highlight the experience of the ‘Rubu’ Qarn Foundation as the first Emirati organisation dedicated to building and developing Emirati youth over the past 25 years.

The activity will address the role of government communication departments in maximising the impact of government and community initiatives that are youth-focused, and discuss the importance of creativity, innovation and life skills in unleashing the potential of children and young people to ensure a better future for them in the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

In existence for the past 25 years, Rubu' Qarn Foundation for Creating Leaders and Innovators is the first Arab entity focused on building and developing human capacities. What sets it apart, is its focus on skills development not just in variety of professional fields, but on personality development to build generations who have holistic knowledge and are capable of forging a bright and prosperous future.

The Foundation unifies the efforts of all its subsidiaries and has been developing training courses and programmes to nurture the capabilities of children and youth throughout their developmental stages, in addition to encouraging a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at an early age.