At the opening of the YOUTH PREPARATORY EVENT,another innovative feature of the 4th UNAOC Forum in Doha,the central role of youth in the world today and tomorrow was stressed. Addressing the audience,Dr Hassan Ibrahim Al Mohannadi,Vice President of Qatar Committee for Alliance of Civilizations,sent a powerful message : ” be smart ! bring harmony ! “. After recalling the global demographic weight of the youth and speaking about the participants as “the leaders of tomorrow ” , Dr Al Mohannadi underlined what he called the transgenerational power of the youth,the one to transmit and to transform. The importance of the youth ,he said,is not yet fully taken into account. He encouraged them to make the best use of social media to advocate for their vision,concluding by saying : ” it is not acceptable to ignore your voice”

This strong statement reflects by contrast the central importance given to the creative ,generous and transformational role played by youth organisations and individuals in the sessions and proposition processes of the Doha Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations.

This special attention given to the voices and to the initiatives of the youth,and of the Civil Society at large, which will remain as a landmark and a fertile legacy of the Doha Forum, was further hailed by Mr Marc Scheuer,the Director of the Secretariat of the UN Alliance of Civilisations.

Mr Scheuer underlined how important it was that ,for the first time, a Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations starts with a youth preparatory meeting,which in a way sets the stage for the main topics,concerns,aspirations and proposals which where brought here in Doha by each youth participants with the riches of his experience and the promises of his projections.

In an allusion to the ongoing changes inspired by the Arab Spring,he shared his interest in listening to the voices of the region in order to better understand what happens, and the ways this youth expresses “his passion for making the world a better place”.

In a moving and inspirational conclusion, Mr Sheuer declared : ” This is not the world you want. You know better than older generations how to transcend cultures and religions. We must learn from you ! “.

Something new,unique,mesmerising is taking place here. A paradigm change.

A reversal of the ancestral and universal belief of cultures and traditions that youngsters learn from elders,who are the depositories of knowledge and virtues.

In this new world of daily change ,complexification and interconnection, the collective intelligence of the youth ,shared globally in seconds , is creating a fast expanding knowledge-based universe of interactions and undertakings which carries new forms of globalised ethics and new ways to look at persistent or emerging problematiques.

This so promising Youth Preparatory Event already delivered the kind of turning point expected from a Forum vibrantly engaged into producing a new momentum for intercultural dialogue and inclusive development : looking at the world of today with fresh eyes,and seeing the youth as a source of wisdom and of guidance .

The collective wisdom of their aspirations,the collective guidance of their energies !