Georgetown students foster social justice dialogue between Doha and DC

Doha, Qatar: Georgetown students from Doha and DC recently united through the DC Doha Dialogue, a program designed to spark meaningful conversations a...

Doha, Qatar: Georgetown students from Doha and DC recently united through the DC-Doha Dialogue, a program designed to spark meaningful conversations and foster collaboration between the campuses.

This year, the program brought eight Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) students to Washington, DC, where they joined four DC-based peers to explore how communities can work together to create lasting change. For the first time, it featured two GU-Q students studying abroad in DC.

“The theme was ‘People for Others’ and social justice,” explained Zain Assaf (SFS’23), a Student Development Officer at GU-Q who helped organize the trip. “We worked to incorporate a social justice lens into every aspect of the experience.”

Through meetings with notable figures like Adnan Syed from Georgetown’s Prison Justice Initiative and leaders from disability support services, the students gained insight into how these impactful programs came to life. The group also engaged with activist groups and faith leaders from Georgetown’s Campus Ministry, including Imam Yahya Hendi and Father Gregory Schenden, to explore how the Georgetown value of “People for Others” resonates across different faith traditions.

Jay Pacer (SFS’26), a GU-Q student studying abroad in DC, shared how the trip reshaped his understanding of social justice. “My understanding of social justice was limited to protests, hunger, poverty, and debates on social media—familiar but abstract ideas. However, this experience transformed that perception… Social justice became something tangible—something I, too, can live and influence.”