Scores of youth across Qatar are benefiting from the Reach Out To Asia (Rota) Youth Service Clubs, funded by a donation from Vodafone Qatar. The clubs have been very active this year with milestone projects implemented by the groups, and participation in events such as the Empower 2011 conference held in April. In all, 75 youth from nine Rota Youth Service Clubs (RYSC) were tasked to deliver nine unique service projects and campaigns in Qatar. The students, from two secondary schools and five universities, were required to submit project proposals in line with six project themes. On the basis of these proposals, they were awarded grants and offered training and coaching to support them to deliver their projects. The Vodafone-funded grant programme provided an opportunity for RYSC youth to pilot their project concepts with minimal financial risks whilst successfully engaging and benefiting over 300 youth through the Empower 2011 conference. “The youth clubs are designed to incubate and nurture the youth with the proper education and training to become leaders,” explained Rota community development programme manager Mohamed Saleh. “In addition to club meetings and conferences, Rota staff meet regularly one-on-one with the participants for support and guidance. We are committed to instill the spirit of leadership into the youth of this country.” Apart from funding projects, Vodafone’s QR9mn donation to Rota also puts significant resources into the RYSClub. The clubs aim to educate, engage, and encourage the youth in Qatar to participate. In turn, the tools provided by Rota and Vodafone enable club members to become community leaders in their own right. “We are thrilled to see that our investment in the Youth Service Clubs has been really paying off,” said Vodafone Qatar’s head of Corporate Social Responsibility Luisa Gentile. “So far this year, nine youth clubs have hit incredible milestones, implementing key activities, participating in preparatory sessions for their ‘service learning activities for knowledge sharing’ projects and showcasing their projects at the Empower 2011 Youth Conference. “Even more significant, two Clubs exhibited their projects at the 9th World Conference on Sports and the Environment earlier this year. I am proud to say we are truly making global leaders out of these impressive and ambitious youth – the results speak for themselves.” With the next phase of Rota and Vodafone’s Youth Service Club initiative coming to full circle, an announcement will be made regarding projects that will be implemented “Soon we will be launching the next phase – 15 new projects to be implemented by 12 youth service clubs,” added Saleh. “So far, we have developed the capacity of over 70 students, and further fine-tuned the leadership skills of 10 youth leaders to act as mentors, assessors, and evaluators. The new projects will further enhance what was implemented in the previous phase.” Gulf Times

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