Abdulrahman Sajid and Volunteering in Qatar

Wednesday 3 July, 2013
Reported by: Reuters, Doha

Charity organization The Youth Company (TYC) was set up in 2010 by 22-year-old Mohamed Farid with the hope of increasing social awareness among young people.

The group organized a volunteering event in May for more than 50 young boys and girls, who cleaned and collected rubbish from the city’s beaches. 


Youth leader at TYC, Abdulrahman Sajid, said that through volunteering, young people develop a sense of community and responsibility for the issues they face.



“Engaging a community that means you’re increasing, you’re basically making sure that people have a value for the community they live in. There are a lot of expatriates in Qatar. You can see like 60 - 70 percent of the population are based on expatriates, but also we know that a lot of these expatriates and all of the young people who are here are born in this country, and for them this country is more than, is more valuable to them than their own countries back home. So, through volunteering I definitely believe there are a lot of people who develop a sense of ownership, not really ownership, but personal connection with this country,” Sajid said.



Sajid said that being a part of a close community is rewarding for young people and, through volunteering and social enterprise, his charity hopes to create a positive impact on society.

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/art-and-culture/2013/07/03/Charity-groups-say-volunteering-on-the-rise-in-Qatar.html

Abdulrahman Sajid & Active Citizen Summit 2012 for MENA

In October 2012, the American Council of Young Political Leaders organized a 10 days long conference that brought 50 youth leaders from 18 different countries across Middle East and North Africa.  An amazing experience it was that included first days of workshops on different key issues in different communities, then an internship opportunity in San Francisco, Utah and Raleigh NC.  In the end, the participants had to write an op-ed on the projects that they want to implement in order to bring a positive change back in their countries.

The workshops were based on several topics from Women Empowerment to Unemployment and youth Organization/Mobilization.  It brought 50 young, motivated leaders from all over the MENA region to not only showcase their abilities, but also to connect with each other's communities and help each other in a way or another.

The internships were based on political campaigning for presidential election campaigns.  The delegates were sent in groups to three different places which were San Francisco, Utah and Raleigh, North Carolina.  As an international intern at North Carolina Republican Party Campaign offices, it was amazing to meet young and old people and see them volunteering to get votes for the candidate they want to be elected.

The last but not the least, when it came to the end of the conference, all the delegates had to present their projects to be implemented in their home countries.  Projects from making car-pooling for women in Saudi Arabia, to helping children in Kenya to empower women in Libya and Morocco were presented.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir2mET5lo24


This is what ACYPL said before the launch of the conference:

ACYPL is excited to announce that we have been selected by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to conduct an Active Citizen Summit for 54 participants from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as three Global Change Fellows. The participating fellows will gather first in San Francisco for the summit itself, which will cover expectations and outcomes for the program as well as coaching the fellows in leadership training sessions and encouraging discussion of shared challenges and goals for the program. Included in the summit will be several prominent speakers, including executive officials at the state level, media professionals, and representatives of prominent non-profits.

At the conclusion of the summit, participants will be split into three groups, each of which will take part in professional fellowships in San Francisco, Utah, or North Carolina. During their fellowships, each fellow will join an organization, government agency, or company in order to gain an understanding of the American political system and its many moving parts. They will shadow staff members, conduct essential tasks, and attend meetings to this end.

At the conclusion of their fellowships, each of the fellows will gather in Washington, DC to report their experience and share the lessons they have learned over the course of the program. They will have the opportunity to explore DC, attend briefings to provide context on the impact of their program, and deliver their own remarks discussing the effect they believe the program has had, as well as laying the groundwork for how they will plan to implement relevant changes in their home countries. The summit will conclude with an as-yet undetermined capstone speaker, who will discuss positive political change with the fellows as a final take-away message for the program.

While we’ve conducted programs similar to the Active Citizen Summit in the past, we’re excited to have the opportunity to organize this unique and special program. In a period of rapidly changing developments in the relationships between the United States and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, ACYPL is excited to play a part in helping to shape those relationships and emphasize the importance of mutual understanding and friendship. We firmly believe that citizen diplomacy is a key aspect of maintaining peace and security in the 21st century, and we look forward to receiving the fellows and beginning to forge those relationships this October.

Youth get Leadership Skills Sharpened

Youth present a business plan on the second day of the ‘Youth Change Everything’ conference.

DOHA: More than 100 high school and university students attended the two-day Youth Change Everything conference, which ended here yesterday. 

Organised by the Youth Company, a social enterprise for youth development, the conference aimed to develop leadership skills among youth through a series of interactive workshops, discussions, networking sessions and motivational talks.

Delegates were then separated in four workshops, where they had a chance to learn how to manage change in a changing environment, acquire skills of conflict management, emotional intelligence and get to know how to create intelligent organisations. 

The workshops were delivered by professional trainers including Erica C Chiusano, Cultural Attaché at the US Embassy in Doha, Munera Al Dosari, Founder and Marketing Director at G-LAB, Abraham Kamarck, Social Entrepreneur and Founder of www.Doha-Delivery.com, and Faissal Alhaithami, Social Media Specialist at Katara and Founder of Fansbridge.com. 

The first day finished with an Open Space, also known as ‘unconference’, where delegates raised questions related to sustainability.

“When we were developing the content for this conference, we tried to reflect on how the world has changed in the last years and which skills would be required from youth in the near future,” said Abdulrahman Sajid, Youth Leader at The Youth Company.

“It is a matter of fact that at the modern workplace you have to communicate with people from different countries and cultures, adapt to fast changing environment and pursue innovation. So we picked particular topics and formats for our workshops, discussions and exercises to prepare the youth not only to be effective managers, but first of all successful leaders and entrepreneurs,” Sajid said. 

The second day was occupied by a business challenge, where delegates were split into teams to design a product or project, which could solve sustainability issues. 

Guided by experienced mentors and young entrepreneurs, teams had a chance to go through all the steps of product development and writing of a business proposal, including the creation of mission and vision, market analysis, defining target audiences, potential investments in terms of finance and human resources. 

During the second day participants also learned the methodology of Business Model Canvas Generation, and applied it on their projects to understand potential customers, distribution channels, partners, revenue streams, costs, and core value proposition. In the end of the day all the teams presented their ideas, which will be published in The Youth Company online book and business newspapers in Qatar with to attract potential investors. 

“Youth Change Everything was delivered for the first time a year ago and attracted a lot of enthusiastic youth. The success of the second edition inspired us to make Youth Change Everything a bi-annual initiative,” said Aya Abu Issa, Acting Chief Executive Officer of The Youth Company.

Source: http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/234742-youth-get-leadership-skills-sharpened.html