Students of a winning project ‘Plastic Turtles’ showcasing their work. Pic: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula
Nine students from Qatar and the US have been selected as winners of Qatar Foundation International’s (QFI)’s initiative on service-learning projects.
Students participating in QFI’s Yallah Commit to Action (YALLAH C2A) programme showcased their final service-learning projects on Sunday, at the Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Student Center in Education City. During the event students from the US and Canada showcased their work via a virtual video-conference.
The winners of the event were announced yesterday and they included seven students from Qatar and four from the US, including Dana Maqboul Al Ali,Ayah Al Ansari, Juntae Park, Grace Castillo,Reem Al Janahi, Dana Smiley,Lana Sami Abu Shanab, Lina Draidia, Sarah Asiedu, Adriana Noriega and Lina Nayel.
The winners will attend and present their work at the annual National Service-Learning Conference’s (NSLC), ‘Dare to Dream’ event. The event will take place in California from March 20 to 27. They will meet with students, educators, and government leaders from around the globe to share ideas and learn how to make further positive change worldwide.
Yallah C2A trains, mentors, empowers and supports an international cohort of young change-makers to collaborate on and complete service-learning projects that work towards achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Dana Maqboul Al Ali, of Qatar Academy Doha speaking about her team’s project, said, “Our project aims to raise awareness on the effects of water pollution on sea turtles, and we show how the solution is recycling plastics and other materials. I believe an event like this is very important to help raise awareness of global issues and to allow people to focus on the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.”
Projects including ‘Saving the Planet, One Step at a Time’; ‘Quality Education: Youth Engagement’; ‘Hope through Hygiene among Homeless in Portland’; ‘Gender Inequality in Sports’; ‘Saving the Turtles of the Gulf’; and ‘Service for Workers’ were presented during the final event.
Event organiser, Anas Ghanim, Programs Intern, QFI, said, “This initiative is a great example of how Qatar Foundation works to unlock the ideas and potential of young people. These students are very passionate about the issues they are presenting here today and they want to make a difference. The C2A programme brings together young people from Qatar and the US who have been working on projects over the last five months, some of which have involved cross-cultural collaborations.”
QFI is a US-based member of Qatar Foundation, and runs the YALLAH C2A programme in partnership with the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC).
