Marking Youth International Day coinciding on August 12th every year, Supreme Council for Family Affairs, in collaboration with the University of Qatar, organized on Sunday, August 12th 2007 in the Four Seasons Hotel a Seminar titled Challenges and Youth

40 male and female youths from the State's different sectors took part in the Seminar besides remarks made by a number of attendees from the State's different organizations concerned with youth affairs. These attendees participated in the Seminar which addressed two important themes, those of Youth and Other Cultures and Youth and Political Participation

The Seminar commenced with an address of SCFA delivered by Ms Maryam Al-Hajiri, Acting Head of Department of Youth in SCFA. She said that SCFA endeavored in the light of the instructions of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, SCFA President, to enhance the role and aspirations of youths in their community by focusing on their issues and problems and then presenting work programs to upgrade this significant segment in the community. Marking Youth International Day is considered as one of the activities SCFA executes on behalf of the youth group annually in recognition of its prominent role in the community

The Seminar concluded with a number of recommendations among which were the confirmation of the familial role in cultural bringing-up, the establishing of youth media that agree with youths' general different tendencies and the holding of youth cultural forums and concentrating on holding seminars and debates and literary salons which aim at respecting and accepting others' opinions, besides developing literary taste among youths through school curricula, as well as confirming the importance of the media role in propagating and disseminating awareness of youths' political participation and providing the sphere where youths' political activity can be demonstrated, such as students unions and organizations which contribute to the training of youths in democratic practices and raising awareness among youths in political participation as stated in the Constitution in order to promote leadership skills among youths in the process of decision making. These recommendations will be submitted to the UN to be in effect immediately

This Seminar comes within the framework of SCFA's permanent efforts to raise the youth group and care for it and enhance the social role of youths and getting to know their opinions and aspirations and prepare for them opportunities to activate their participation in social development through opening dialog and creating an atmosphere of discussion between SCFA and youths

It suffices to say that the motto of the Youth International Day for this year and which was ratified by the UN was Youths' Participation in Social Development