Empower 2017 seeks global support for youth initiatives

The ninth annual youth-led conference Empower 2017 concluded yesterday with a declaration seeking international support for youth initiatives to solve the world’s pressing problems.
The event was organised by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA), a core programme of the Education Above All.
Held under the theme ‘Sustainable Tourism for Development: A Youth Perspective’, this year’s conference provided a platform for youth to hone their leadership skills whilst taking the initiative to develop solutions to some of the world’s most pressing global issues.
The declaration is a true culmination of the efforts of the 450 youth who took part in EMPOWER this year and is a true reflection of their views, and recommendations with respect to the topic of Sustainable Tourism. The declaration includes 16 calls for action urging ministries responsible for youth and tourism, young people, representatives of governments, United Nations Agencies, youth-led organisations, non-governmental organisations and other development partners, to reaffirm their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and the urgency in engaging youth in its implementation, and to utilise their engagement in this year’s celebration of the international year on sustainable tourism for development.
Following the announcement, a ROTA Youth Service Clubs (RYSC) awards ceremony was held to recognise the efforts of the four winning clubs on their community service projects. Four prizes were awarded to the clubs; ‘Jawla’, ‘Al Bayan Secondary School for Girls’, ‘Before It’s Too Late’, and ‘Enough Loss’. Al Jazeera Academy, Al Bayan Primary School for Girls, Al Bayan Secondary School for Girls, and Qatar Banking Studies and Business Administration Independent School for Boys, were also awarded for participating in ROTA’s youth development programmes throughout the past two years.
More than 450 passionate young people from Qatar, the region, and around the world gathered in the conference, to explore ways of using sustainable tourism as a tool for development and youth empowerment and to promote youth leadership, service learning and global citizenship.
This year, ROTA received more than 1,000 applications from 55 countries. Participants were selected following a meticulous screening of all applications and personal interviews with applicants in order to determine the most appropriate candidates.

As ROTA sets out to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 that aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, educating and inspiring youth to actively contribute to sustainable tourism is one of the key avenues needed to achieve this objective.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation states “tourism has the potential to promote inclusiveness, the values of a culture of tolerance, peace and non-violence, and all aspects of global exchange and citizenship.” Over the course of three days, youth came together to explore how they can promote these values through sustainable tourism.
During the third day of Empower 2017, youth participants took part in a number of off-site excursions to Msheireb Museums, Katara Cultural Village, Doha Film Institute (DFI), and Aspire Zone. A session was held afterwards for youth to exchange views about their experience during the visits.

Call for Action:
- Governments are invited to encourage the Participation of young people in tourism, international cultural events, sports and all other activities of special interest to youth.
-Call on Non-profit organizations to create opportunities for young people to utilize their skills and knowledge in international development projects.
-call on travelers, business and governments to take responsibility towards realizing sustainable tourism goals.
- call on all stakeholders involved in tourism to create sustainable jobs for youth in the local economies.
-call on governments, NGOs and businesses to develop policies and mechanisms that protect young tourists from abuse.
-We call on business to develop tourism packages that promote cross-cultural understanding and build bridges among communities geared towards building speech.
-call all stakeholders to commit to the conservation of nature and biological diversity as a major resource of tourism activities, and to take all needed measures to ensure that the integrity of ecosystems and habitats is always respected.
-call on NGOs and educational institutes to raise the awareness among young people on the impact of mainstream tourism on nature and the environments and possible ways for protections.

Tourism strategy
- call on national tourism authorities around the world, such as the local Qatar Tourism Authority, to include youth as a key player in shaping their national sustainable tourism strategies in order to achieve the national sustainable development visions and the Sustainable Development Goals.
-call on academic institutions and universities to promote the study of sustainable tourism for development in their curriculum and courses.
- call on the academic community to allocate resources to the study of sustainable tourism, and to engage young researchers and scientists in finding innovative solutions for challenges and opportunities related to sustainable tourism.
-  call on businesses and financial institutions to support youth-led SMEs and young entrepreneurs working on projects that create jobs and promote local culture and products.
- As Empower 2017 participants, we commit ourselves to establish a network that promotes these calls for action among governments, businesses and NGOs.
-call on the heritage sector such as the museums, to engage with youth to promote the importance of developing and sustaining local heritage sites, as it is an economic asset to country.
- call all stakeholders to promote affordable accommodation such as youth hostels, as a cheaper option for youth and as an educational hub for sustainable tourism.
-call all stakeholders to invest in innovative solutions to provide unique accessible experiences for people with special abilities.