National Day: Ministry of Youth and Sports...Great Achievements Deserve Recognition

December 06 (QNA) - Youth and sports sector has seen the implementation of many projects and achievements and future plans thanks to the unlimited support provided by the State of Qatar for this important and vital sector and despite the recent creation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the past year was rich with numerous successes. The Ministry of Youth and Sports was established as per Emir Order No. 4 of 2013 forming the Cabinet, Emiri Decision No 16 of 2014 on the designation of functions of ministries and Emiri Decision No. 24 of 2014. Seeking to build its institutional capacities and ensure the exercise of its activities on a sound basis, the Ministry focused at the beginning on the Institutional operations, according to a plan of action for this purpose, and without losing sight of the operational aspects dictated by the work environment. In this regard, the Ministry has accomplished many achievements in various sectors. At the planning level, the ministry has completed the preparation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Strategy (2014-2016), "Towards a community blessed with conscious minds and sound bodies." The ministry also adopted a participatory approach in the preparation of its strategic plan and was keen to involve experts and specialists in the fields of youth and sports. It has moreover engaged the targeted groups by organizing a meeting with people with special needs to express their aspirations and needs before being translated into initiatives and strategic projects included in the plan. The ministry will target during the coming period the drawing up of a detailed draft operational plan, establish a management office for initiatives and strategic projects relating to the implementation of programs and projects included in the operational plan, as well as an action plan for connection and communication aimed at introducing the ministry’s strategy, vision and institutional values internally and externally. On the management and administration level, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has already prepared a detailed organizational structure of the Ministry, identified the tasks and functions of the main administrative units and branches, and submitted it to the concerned authorities. Regarding the corporate governance, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has prepared on the course of this year an introductory guide defining the goals and tasks of the internal audit, and circulated it internally and among the affiliated youth centers. It has also issued an introductory guide on the objectives and the concept of corporate governance, prepared and circulated a questionnaire to all youth centers to assess the control the governance and internal audit environment. It also furnished a synthesized report including the most prominent findings and conclusions, to be taken into account when developing the annual plan for internal audit and priority setting. While seeking to complete the analysis and risk assessment, and prepare a three-year comprehensive internal audit plan, the ministry has completed the internal audit of some youth centers and issued audit reports, the ministry has completed the internal audit of some youth centers and issued audit reports. With respect to laws and legislations, the Ministry has accomplished a draft law organizing sports clubs, and submitted it to the Cabinet to take the necessary legislative procedures, prepared a draft law organizing youth centers, as well as an inventory for the Ministry's related activities' legislations, and it has raised proposals to the Cabinet to take note on them prior to issuing them. With regard to the formation of committees in charge of activating the Ministry's functions and implementing its plans, the formation of a joint committee between the Qatar Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Youth and Sports has been completed. The Joined Committee is tasked with studying all aspects of the Ministry's functions based on the relevant Emiri Decisions and supervising the transfer of those terms of reference to ensure continuity of sports activities, and to find solutions to all problems or difficulties. The Committee has held many meetings, and reached practical solutions and consensus on several issues relating to clubs and federations affairs, and the management of youth and sports facilities and projects. On the youth centers, the Ministry established Motor Centre aimed to enable young people to see the positive aspects of cars, attract young people interested in cars, raise their awareness and education and create a suitable environment for young people to practice their hobbies. The Centre also coordinates with the concerned authorities to organize awareness campaigns and reduce accidents and traffic violations. While Nomas Centre is devoted to support the national identity and consolidate it among young people, as an essential element of cultural identity elements. The animated cartoon Centre is aimed at launching the animation industry and working to promote, develop and guide the youth and young talents to work in accordance with the relevant international standards. The Centre provides opportunities of training and necessary care for young painters. The Ministry also established Antiob Center aimed to contribute to developing young people's skills, raising their awareness level about the importance and power of the modern mass media, as well as enabling youth to communicate via social media, in order to serve their aspirations, and develop their creative abilities through the provision of training programs in various media fields. The Batabat and Cycling centers were established to highlight the positive image of motorcycle riding, develop a network between motorcycle users, and to raise awareness and culture their use. Within the framework of the strategic trends of the Ministry for the empowerment of young people and offering them the opportunity to lead their youth institutions, the Boards of Directors of Qatar Center For Voluntary Activities, the Musical Arts Center, Qatar Social and Cultural Center for the Blind, Barzan Youth Center,Qatar Scientific Club were restructured thus enabling young people to manage these centers according to a modern and methodological vision in line with the aspirations of the targeted groups. At the level of communication with the targeted groups, the ministry launched the Ministry of Youth and Sports Council to encourage young people to present initiatives and proposals that would improve youth and sports activities, in addition to promoting a culture of dialogue on the concepts, systems and practices in the areas of youth and sports, to serve the ministry's strategy in accordance with Qatar National Vision 2030. It has also inaugurated (The Liwan of the Ministry of Youth and Sports), which aims to encourage young women to submit initiatives and proposals aimed at improving youth and sports activities for young women and women in Qatar, in addition to promoting a culture of dialogue about the concepts, systems and best women's practices in the areas of youth and sports, to serve the Ministry of Youth and Sports Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030. For this purpose, the Ministry has established pages on social networking sites and a website. On the Ministry of Youth and Sports' activities at international level, the Ministry of Youth and Sports recorded a significant presence through its participation in several conferences and meetings and exchange of visits, which would strengthen bilateral relations. In this context, HE the Minister of Youth and Sports took part in the 7th Peace and Sport International Forum in Monaco, 6-8 November 2013. An official delegation headed by HE the Minister of Youth and Sports paid visit to the Kingdom of Morocco on 9-12 April 2014, which witnessed the signing of the executive program of the cooperation agreement between the Governments of the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of youth for 2014 -2016. HE the Minister of Youth and Sports also took part in the 2nd Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers held in Saudi Arabia on 16-19 March 2014 as well as in the 28th meeting of Their Highnesses and Excellencies GCC Ministers of Youth and Sports held in Kuwait on 22 April 2014 and the 37th Meeting of the Council of Youth and Sports Ministers held in Cairo on 4-5 May 2014. During this year, the Ministry has prepared and studied a number of Memorandums of Understanding in the fields of youth and sports, in coordination with the competent authorities. Twenty one Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of youth and sports, 2 Memoranda of Understanding in the field of youth, and 3 Memoranda of Understanding in the field of sports with different Arab and foreign countries were prepared. As part of its keenness to develop youth and sports infrastructure, the Ministry has studied and assessed the current status of the existing facilities and projects and concluded the plan relating to the establishment of Al Furjan Courts, Sports and Women's Centers and prepared a maintenance plan for sports and youth facilities. The Ministry's Centers saw various activities throughout the year including the fifth edition of the organisation of the Qatar International Festival of falcons and hunting in January 2014 and hosting the International Association for Falconry's General Assembly on January 28, 2014. For its part, the Doha Youth Center organized two study trips to England, UK and Japan while a delegation of Qatar Social and Cultural Center for the Blind took part in the VIII Gulf Forum organized by Noor Association for the Blind in the Governorate of Dhofar Oman and also participated in similar events in Bahrain. The Qatar Youth Hostels Association organized a language trip to UK under the theme "Enjoy and Lear 3". The Qatar Club for Amateurs of Collecting Stamps and Coins organized a joint exhibition between the State of Qatar and the Republic of China in Katara and also participated in several exhibitions in Thailand, Al Medina Al-Munawwarah and Sharjah. The draft of the Ministry's operational plan is expected to be completed this year. The Ministry will host the Global Youth and Sports Ministers Summit in Doha during the first half of 2015. (QNA)