Paris, November 14 (QNA) - QatarDebate Center (QDC) envoy Alreem Al Aqaily was named the best speaker at a youth debate organized by the Center in collaboration with the Paris Peace Forum, earning her a place in one of the main sessions on the Forum's official program ahead of its ninth edition in Paris, France.
The debate was held under the YouthTrack Global Arena platform as part of QDC's efforts to promote young people's engagement in international conversations. 
In a statement, the Center said the event took place at the headquarters of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) under the motion: Does the global race for artificial intelligence do far more harm than good?. It brought together a contingent of young people and university students, with experts and specialists in international policy and AI in attendance.
The debate featured Alreem Al Aqaily of Qatar, Layla Saleh of Lebanon, Victor De Bruyn of Belgium, and Ibrahim Al Misbah of Sudan.
Al Aqaily's participation stood out after she was named the debate's best speaker, enabling her to take part in one of the main sessions on the Paris Peace Forum's official program. Held under the title Does AI narrow the opportunity gap or widen it?, the session provided an opportunity to bring the substantive insights and ideas raised during the youth debate to the Forum's main stage.
The debate took up the implications of the accelerating global development of AI-powered technologies by weighing their enormous economic and technological merits against a plethora of underlying challenges and risks, including economic disparities, environmental pressures, the spread of misinformation, security risks and global governance issues.
The discussion featured well-thought-out arguments supported by evidence, plenty of opportunities to exchange perspectives, and the application of analytical and critical-thinking skills.
The session featured opening remarks by HE Chairperson of UNESCO's Executive Board Dr. Nasser bin Hamad Al Hinzab; UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming; Director of Administration and Strategy at QDC Abdulrahman Al Subaie; and Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG Patrick Dupoux.
Saad Al Asad of QDC also served on the expert and judging panel, which meticulously evaluated the debate and selected the winning team and best speaker. The panel also included Director of the OECD Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE), Romina Boarini, and Microsoft's Chief Digital Safety Officer, Mike Jackson.
The participation stands as a testament to QDC's commitment to substantially broadening avenues for youth participation in international platforms, enabling young people to discuss contemporary global issues from a critical perspective grounded in knowledge and evidence, and augmenting opportunities for their direct engagement with experts and decision-makers.
This is quite important in ensuring that young people become active partners in shaping substantive dialogue on future challenges. (QNA)