The Ministry of Sports and Youth, and Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs today launched the Distinguished Youth Researcher Award to implement the Qatar National Youth Policy action plan. This award, aimed at outstanding researchers and scholars, seeks to encourage young people to engage in scientific research across various fields. It is a biennial award focused on researching the most pressing social issues in society.
The award’s first cycle will explore the topic of “Delayed Marriage and Its Impact on Youth in Qatari Society.” The announcement was made during a press conference held this Sunday morning at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, attended by representatives from both the Ministries of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and Sports and Youth.
His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Ghanem Al Thani, Director of the Department of Islamic Research and Studies at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, explained that several key themes were identified for the research topic. These include the importance of marriage for individuals and society, religious evidence encouraging early marriage for youth, statistics on average marriage age, reasons for delayed marriage, and the impact of delayed marriage on youth, family, society, and child-rearing.
These themes also cover the role of early marriage in family stability and cohesion, the role of religious leaders, intellectuals, writers, and civil society in re-establishing the concept of early marriage among youth, and proposed solutions for the issue of delayed marriage. Additionally, an introduction to the terms and synonyms related to the title is included.
Sheikh Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Ghanem Al Thani mentioned that the award is framed by a set of conditions that researchers must consider for their research to reach the level of adjudication, with some conditions related to the researcher and others to the research itself.
The conditions for the researcher include being a resident of Qatar (citizens or residents), aged between 20 and 35 years, adherence to all announced themes, submission of a CV, and a copy of their ID card. The conditions for the research include being specifically prepared for the award, meeting scientific research standards, being written in Arabic (with an English summary), and having a length of 100 to 150 pages (excluding indexes) in Traditional Arabic font, size 16 for the text, and size 12 for the margins. The research must be submitted in PDF and WORD formats via email to the Department of Islamic Research and Studies or delivered on a USB drive.
The conditions allow multiple researchers to co-author and present research for the award. However, a winning researcher cannot participate again until four years have passed. The award may be withheld if the research does not meet the required standards, and the prize may be revoked if the research is found to violate some conditions. The winning researcher must also implement all corrections and comments from the judges.
Mrs. Maha Al-Rumaihi, Director of Planning, Quality, and Innovation at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, expressed her happiness with the launch of this award as one of the fruits of Qatar’s National Youth Policy. She indicated that further programs and projects in collaboration with various policy partners would be announced to achieve the policy’s goals in its various aspects.
Al-Rumaihi explained that the collaboration with the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs on this research award, which addresses the most pressing social issues and provides necessary solutions, aims to enhance community partnership with state institutions. It also underscores the ministry’s commitment to fostering innovation in social sciences by supporting youth research that seeks to find practical solutions to major challenges facing society in general and youth in particular.
She stated that the award, with a total value of over 200,000 Qatari Riyals funded by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, will be distributed to the top three winners. The first prize will be 100,000 Qatari Riyals, the second prize 75,000 Qatari Riyals, and the third prize 50,000 Qatari Riyals. The deadline for research submissions is set for the 10th of Muharram 1447 AH, corresponding to July 5, 2025.
