Over 1,000 students attend QIYADA conference focused on strengthening Islamic identity

Doha, Qatar: The importance of human centered, values driven leadership that is focused on improving lives and societies has been emphasized to young...

Doha, Qatar: The importance of human-centered, values-driven leadership that is focused on improving lives and societies has been emphasized to young people from across Qatar, as Qatar Foundation’s inaugural QIYADA conference came to a close.

The two-day event at Education City – organized by Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Higher Education division and sponsored by QIIB – has brought together leading scholars, thinkers, influencers, and role models from around the world to engage and support the nation’s youth in becoming leaders and drivers of positive social change, while strengthening their Islamic identity.

Over 1,000 students from Qatar’s schools and universities attended the conference, joining discussions exploring solutions to the challenges of the modern world that have their grounding in faith and knowledge.

On the second day of the QIYADA conference, H E Sheikha Dr. Hessa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson and Founder of the Wellbeing and Career Development Training Center in Doha, and an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Sciences at Qatar University, presented a model of leadership from the perspective of wellbeing, based on five fundamental pillars that shape the character of Muslim leaders: spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, and social wellbeing.

“Today, leadership is the subject of our discussion, and we mean effective leadership: leadership rooted in the will to serve people and the community,” she said. “True leaders uplift others not through force or dominance, but with humanity, vision, and compassion.