New York, September 23 (QNA) - QatarDebate Center concluded its participation for the second consecutive year in the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City.
The event was held alongside United Nations General Assembly Week and featured three panel discussions addressing youth diplomacy, women's leadership, and the future of defense amid advances in artificial intelligence. 
The summit brought together QatarDebate ambassadors who moderated the discussions, alongside international leaders and senior officials and experts in politics, diplomacy and technology.
QatarDebate Youth Ambassador Ali Al Mawlawi and international youth leaders took part in a session titled "From Future Leaders to Present Power: Youth at the Diplomatic Table", which drilled down on the role of young people in international diplomacy and their contributions to peacebuilding, climate negotiations and technology governance, as well as avenues for strengthening their engagement in policymaking.
QatarDebate Ambassador Noor Mohammed Al-Thani moderated the session titled "Holding the Line: Women's Leadership in an Era of Global Uncertainty", with the participation of Shefali Razdan Duggal, former US Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Cherie Blair of Omnia Strategy; and Linda Rama. 
The session addressed the challenges of sustaining women's presence in leadership positions and the criticality of moving beyond numerical representation to meaningful influence in decision-making, as well as the role of institutions in safeguarding leadership gains amid crises and global transitions.
Participants underscored the importance of consolidating policies and institutional structures that sustain women's engagement and influence in decision-making, thereby ensuring that progress endures and doesn't hinge on the presence of any particular women leaders.
  QatarDebate Ambassador Alanoud Al-Thani, alongside Gen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and several experts in defense and technology, took part in a session titled "Autonomy, Intelligence, and the Future of Defense". 
The session examined AI's impact on defense strategies and the balance between harnessing intelligent systems and ensuring accountability and ethical oversight while mitigating the risks of escalation.
QatarDebate ambassadors' participation in the summit underscored the center's role in enhancing young people's knowledge and girding them for international conversations, enabling them to contribute to discussions on diplomacy, leadership and technology alongside decision-makers and experts. (QNA)