Jawaher Al Qasimi meets Sharjah Youth after brainstorming session called "Our Centers: Our Councils"

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs has met with 25 talented youth representing five teams in the General Department of Sharjah Youth yesterday (Sunday) to learn more about their ideas and motivate them to contribute to the development of their community.

The meeting was part of a brainstorming retreat titled "Our Centres: Our Councils" where Her Highness met with youngsters from the Technology and Inventions team, Theatre team, Sports team, Romouz Leadership team, Culture, Art, and the Music team.

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi said investment in youth capacity building and fostering their talents will contribute to building a positive and developed society that leads to the prosperity sought by the UAE in various fields and placing it among top countries to ensure the wellbeing, security and stability for its citizens.

Her Highness said, “You are the heroes and builders of the future, and we feel proud of having you as part of Sharjah's and the UAE society. The more educated you are, the more our future is secure. We need to invest in you because you are our hope and our future. The continuity of your accomplishments and ambitions in various fields will boost our country's efforts to achieve more. I want you to make education a top priority because it is the only way to a bright future.”

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi was shown the most important achievements made by the Sharjah Youth in 2015 and watched a short video about the brainstorming session, the objectives and ideas of the projects. The film also highlighted young people’s achievements where they were awarded gold and silver medals in various activities and championships, as well as academic excellence awards they received during the year. A selection of paintings created by the youth was also showcased.

Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher encouraged the youngsters to make reading a long-life habit and use social media properly to show their creativity. Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher said, “The creative and intellectual person is a precious, peaceful individual who thinks of serving his society and country before thinking of himself. Remember your Emirati values and do not focus on appearances, because good morals and good treatment of other people are more important than appearance.”

Her Highness urged the young people to pay more attention to sport, cultural and social activities in order to achieve balance between education, physical and mental health and thanked them for their efforts, and wished them success in obtaining top ranks in the creative areas they are interested in.

Jassim Al Bloushi, board member of Sharjah Youth Centre, said, “We always design training programs that contribute to the development and expand the collective thinking and creative work of our youth. Holding this retreat aims to help young people to generate innovative ideas, as they succeeded in designing a model of their ideas to show to Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi. The model included five key elements: clear objectives; target groups; supporting bodies, strengthening the idea of budgeting and how to present the idea in two minutes to enhance their presentation skills.”

Abdulaziz Al Noman, board member of Sharjah Youth, said, “The main aim of the brainstorming session is to encourage creative thinking among youth by making them feel free to present their own ideas and to lead them to generate new creative ideas that suit different categories of youths. They benefited greatly from the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the SupremeCouncil and Ruler of Sharjah and Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi who are their role models for success and motivation to achieve their aspirations and future goals.”

The participating youth extended their profound thanks to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, and Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi for providing them with the ideal environment to embrace their creativity and ideas and convert them into reality. They stressed that the training sessions have contributed significantly to developing their leadership skills and increasing their awareness about the importance of leadership in different areas to serve their country through skills they acquired at Youth Centres.

The General Department of Sharjah Youth, a subsidiary of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, which was established in 2003, is dedicated to providing comprehensive welfare for young males aged 12-18 years. It has eight centres designed and equipped for the requirements of the target age groups, with a view to develop the skills and abilities of the youth in Sharjah within a safe environment so that they discover their scientific and practical talents.