The Ministry of Sports and Youth actively seeks to support and guide youth while investing in their interests and skills to develop the national integrated personality: a balanced and productive personality, proud of its national identity, which is represented through the Arabic and Islamic values of the Qatari society, in addition to being actively and positively engaged in self- and community development; a fit and disciplined personality, which demonstrates good sportsmanship, accepts others, and addresses challenges positively.
The Ministry adopts a participatory approach that focuses on considering youth as main and active partners in the advance of the youth and sports sector in the country. For this purpose, the Ministry discussed with the Qatari youth through discussion sessions and opinion polls, where 4,000 young women and men participated in formulating the National Youth Policy. The outcomes of these meetings and surveys confirmed the importance of youth taking over their responsible role in the development process.
The Ministry acknowledges that the potency of young people in society and their commitment to their responsibilities require considerable work centered on skills development, capacity-building, and promoting talents among youth in different fields, as well as on raising their awareness of the significant role assigned to them towards the development and advancement of their society. This will be done by developing and executing strategies, implementing plans, and designing programs reflecting this vision.
The Ministry will also seek the promotion and enrichment of the sports sector in the country, whether as a culture, practice, or profession, as it believes in the importance of sports as a strategic choice of the state to build generations having the desired skills mentioned above.
Following Emiri Decision No. (57) of 2021, setting the competencies of the ministries, the mandate of the Ministry of Sports and Youth is to “support the development of youth, build their capacities, and promote their role in performing their duties, as well as to support talented and distinguished young people and help them develop their skills, encourage the community to practice sports as a part of their lifestyle, increase participation in sports activities, and support national sports talents.”
In its first pillar regarding human development, Qatar National Vision 2030 highlighted the importance of the establishment of a national network that equips Qatari children and youth with the skills and motivation to contribute to society, fostering:
● A solid grounding in Qatari moral and ethical values, traditions, and cultural heritage.
● Innovation and creativity.
● A strong sense of belonging and citizenship.
● Participation in a wide variety of cultural and sports activities.
Guided by the directives of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the beloved Emir of the State – may Allah protect him – stated in his speeches, such as “…. placing the interest of Qatar and the Qatari people at the top of our priorities, we are still facing the challenge of development, and I mean first and foremost, human development, which is our most important wealth. We will continue with our focus on promoting our national economy, developing services, building public facilities, and developing the youth and sports sector.”
And in his speech at the opening of the fifty-first session of the Shura Council, he indicated that “the primary and most important mission is to work on human development, building a responsible citizen who is capable of being the main pillar of all that, who is aware of his national responsibilities and duties, as well as his rights, who knows the value of what he has, looks beyond the consuming financial values, prioritizes the essence over appearances, understands that religion is first and foremost ethics and morals, and realizes that work and initiatives are better than dependency that is conducive to complaining. ”
In light of the above, the Ministry’s vision seeking to build “effective and responsible youth, with a sense of patriotism and sports practicing community” was prepared and formulated, including all the Ministry’s competencies and Qatar national vision, and embodying all the instructions and directives set out in the speeches of His Highness the Emir, may Allah protect Him.
His Highness the Emir focused on three main concepts in his speeches when addressing the Qatari nations, especially the youth, who represent 42% of the Qatari society.
It’s the inner power that motivates youth to work hard to make a qualitative difference at the individual, social, and national levels so that young people can be effective and positively involved in their societal issues, seeking its development and addressing its challenges.
The Ministry was inspired by the directives of His Highness when he stated that “we must continue to build the Qatari citizen, who is capable of effective contribution in the country’s financial, social and political life.”
It’s the sense of duty and the individual’s awareness of the importance of their roles towards themselves and their community, the extent of their determination to fulfill those roles, and their determination to acquire the means, tools, and skills that enable them to contribute to development and growth.
His Highness asserted the importance of national visions that focus on” the citizen’s sense of duty and responsibility towards his family, neighbors, the organization where he works, and society in general.” He also stressed the importance of “promoting the values of citizenship and social responsibility,” and he invited everyone “to ask themselves what they did and are doing, each from their position, to serve their society. How are they contributing to building this country?”
It is the awareness of the home country, its aspirations, and the challenges it is facing. It is also the mental visualization of the home country entity, unity, prosperity, and security that youth take as a reference based on which they build their choices and decisions. His Highness emphasized that when he addressed the youth, asserting that “(young people) should take their country into consideration when making their decisions.”
It is the adoption of sports as a part of life routine to promote health and refine conscience. Referring to the country’s Sports Day, His Highness affirmed that” sports remain an indispensable healthy and social behavior.”
The Ministry has developed its strategy for 2023-2030 to achieve this vision through a set of results, goals, and strategic projects, and it is working on its implementation through its various affiliated youth and sports organizations and strategic partnerships with various governmental and private institutions concerned with the sports and youth sector.
“Leading and developing the sports and youth sectors towards professionalism and integration.”
To achieve its vision and fulfill its message, the Ministry relies on a set of institutional values that play the role of drivers that motivate ethical and professional commitment among the Ministry’s employees towards the various categories that they serve; the most important values of the Ministry within the framework of its strategic plan (2023-2027) are as follows:
Professionalism: committing to the highest level of professionalism to fulfill roles and responsibilities
Cooperation and partnership: by enhancing the team spirit among its members inside and outside the Ministry.
Creativity: supporting curiosity, passion for knowledge, and unconventional thinking in proposing initiatives and offering solutions.
Transparency and integrity: following good governance systems and principles in all its internal and external dealings.
In order to enhance the role of youth as actors and beneficiaries in development by 2022
