São Paulo – A group of ten Brazilian secondary school students should represent the country at the Doha Goals forum, to take place in Qatar from December 10th to 12th. They are part of a group of 400 students from 40 countries in one of the initiatives of the forum, called Student Ambassador Programme.
"They are going to present a project and participate in activities, contributing with their vision about how sport may alter social questions,” explained Henrique Krigner, International Relations coordinator at the Humanitare Institute, a Brazilian NGO responsible for selection of students from the country to participate in the event. Humanitaire is a partner of the United Nations (UN), one of the promoters of the event, which is an initiative of the government of Qatar.
The youths, six male and four female, are between 16 and 17 years of age and will also have meetings with international authorities and sportsmen. The project developed by the Brazilians for the forum deals with social inclusion, transformation and connection of the handicapped in society through sport. For creation of the project, the youths counted on the support of Qatari ambassador to Brasília, Mohammed Alhayki.
The selection criteria for the event included involvement with sports, potential leadership and fluency in English. The students chosen are from schools in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Most of the schools of these students are part of the network of Associate Schools of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). The network includes teaching institutions that are aligned and work for the development of the Unesco’s targets.
Among the speakers of the forum will be Iñigo Arenillas, International Project director for Africa and the Middle East at Real Madrid Foundation; Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee; Nawal El Moutawakel, vice president of the International Olympic Committee; Hugh Robertson, the Sports and Tourism minister of the United Kingdom; and the Brazilian Mario Garnero, the executive who presides Brasilinvest Group, a Brazilian investment agency that has been operating in sustainable development.
The event should also promote sports competitions among youths. Further information about the forum is available on site www.dohagoals.com.
*Translated by Mark Ament
