Doha, January 28 (QNA) - The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), in collaboration with the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science alongside the UNESCO Regional Office in Doha, celebrated the International Day of Education.

The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on Jan. 24, 2018, as an annual occasion to spotlight the role of education in achieving sustainable development.

This year’s celebration was held under the theme "The Power of Youth in Building the Future of Education" and featured a panel discussion titled "Youth, Education, and Digital Transformation Toward Building a Sustainable Future".

The panel was moderated by HE Head of the UNESCO Section at the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Sheikha Aisha bint Mubarak Al-Thani, with the participation of Deputy Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Doha, Farida Abou Dan, and with Assistant Undersecretary for Special Education at MoEHE, Omar bin Abdulaziz Al Naama, in attendance.

Al Naama stated that the 2026 celebration underscores the importance of education as the cornerstone in building societies, as well as the driving force for digital transformation and innovation. He pointed out that the motto embodies the youth's instrumental role in charting the future of education.

This orientation aligns with Qatar National Vision 2030, which places education at the center of its priorities and focuses on building human capital capable of supporting the sustainable development pathway, Al Naama underlined.

He noted that MoEHE considers technology and artificial intelligence as enabling tools that broaden wider apertures to achieve justice and sustainability, asserting that the objective is to develop creative young people as change leaders, as well as strengthen their critical thinking skills.

The ministry is committed to providing an innovation-motivating educational environment that qualifies students to integrate into the labor market and enables them to surmount global environmental and social challenges, Al Naama underscored.

Al Naama further emphasized that the combined efforts among educational enterprises, as well as teachers and parents, represent a core pillar to build a bright future for the State of Qatar that is based on science, innovation, and social responsibility.

The global partnerships with educational enterprises are valuable as long as these partnerships play a role in sharing expertise and best practices to ensure education in the nation keeps up with state-of-the-art global developments, with a particular emphasis on preserving national identity and Islamic tenets, Al Naama stressed.

Farida Abou Dan, for her part, underscored that UNESCO is committed to backing the State of Qatar's efforts to shore up education quality and broaden accessibility opportunities, noting that marking this day embodies the principle of considering education as one of the fundamental human rights and a shared responsibility.

Young people are active partners in charting the future of education, with young people in Gulf nations having strategic roles in innovation and the ability to adapt, at a time when youth constitute more than half of the world population, Abou Dan highlighted.

She pointed out that many young people still encounter challenges, including poverty, inequality, and limited access to quality education, emphasizing that youth empowerment requires their genuine engagement in crafting and executing educational policies.

UNESCO is determined to launch a global report in 2026 to monitor youth engagement in shaping educational legislation and policies, to be developed by a Global Education Monitoring Report Team in partnership with the United Nations Youth Office, Abou Dan suggested.

Abou Dan elaborated that the rapid realignments in the Gulf nations prompt reconsideration of education systems to help young people keep up with the requirements of innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation.

She called for investing in educational environments that strengthen critical thinking, social engagement, and the ability to solve problems, particularly in confronting climate change. (QNA)