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Leadership and YALLAH (Youth Allied to Learn, Lead and Help)

Nurturing youth to become community leaders
At QFI, we believe that engaging with different cultures empowers youth and gives them the tools to become global citizens and future leaders. As such, we support student-led initiatives as well as participation in youth conferences and competitions.
 

YALLAH (Youth Allied to Learn, Lead and Help)

YALLAH is a multi-lingual, facilitated, online space for cross-cultural collaboration through which Qatar Foundation International (QFI) can create new opportunities for engagement and collaboration in our middle and high school-focused student and teacher programs. The impetus for YALLAH came from two 18-year-old participants in QFI exchanges:  Fahad Al-Nahdi, a Qatari from Doha, and Damon Mallory, an American from Boston.  After two exchanges, they and their peers wanted to learn more about each other’s cultures. In early August 2010, they approached QFI with a proposal, YALLAH- Youth Allied to Learn, Lead and Help: a student-focused online forum for the alumni of QFI’s programs -- a private, safe space that would allow the students to continue their interactions, understanding similarities between their cultures and making a difference and a positive impact in their communities.

To facilitate the interactions, QFI partnered with Meedan.net, a leader in online social networks that facilitate collaborations across languages, to develop custom hybrid translations on YALLAH, allowing the students to seamlessly communicate with each other regardless of spoken language and increasing the students’ familiarity with both English and Arabic.  We expect to be able to add Portuguese by early 2012.

YALLAH has 3 main components:
1) Bridging cultures: The YALLAH Forum is innovative because it is a facilitated bi-lingual space.  Every piece of content produced by the students is translated by a combination of machine and human translation, enabling students in QFI’s Cultural Exchange programs to share ideas, solve problems, and strengthen relationships across geographical and language divides - in addition to exploring news, music, art and games. With expert-facilitated discussions, the students are challenged to share their thoughts and experiences and to contribute their own ideas.
 
2) Taking Action: We know that our students are all committed to making life better for others and we are here to help them do just that! Experts in social entrepreneurship and community service provide the tools and information needed to take action to benefit others in their communities and around the globe. Students organize among themselves using the forum as a critical tool to design, conceive and implement their initiatives.
 
3) Collaborative Learning: QFI, in partnership with Meedan, launched the YALLAH 2.0 in September 2011. The launch of YALLAH 2.0 marks an unprecedented global expansion of teacher collaboration through the Classroom- to- Classroom (C2C), an initiative for teachers to work together and collaborate online around the globe. Also, YALLAH 2.0 has implemented the Peers Educating Peers (PEP) for students to become teachers of their peers, and for adults to act as facilitators helping students to succeed as educators."

Visit YALLAH.

Youth Conferences and Competitions

QFI supports its students' participation in international youth conferences, debates and competitions.  By interacting with youth from across the world, engaging in constructive dialogue, and finding their own voice, students gain the skills necessary to become effective global citizens throughout their lives.

From April 20-21 2012, QFI students from Washington Latin Public Charter School participated in the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations' 16th Annual Model Arab League (MAL). In addition to learning about the politics and history of the region, students practiced the art of public speech and diplomacy. The students represented the state of Qatar, where they engaged in five discussions in five different councils: Joint Defense Council, Council on Palestinian Affairs, Council of Arab Social Affairs Ministers, Council on Political Affairs and Council of Arab Environmental Affairs Ministers. MAL helps prepare students to be knowledgeable, well-trained, and effective citizens as well as civic and public affairs leaders.

In April 2011, QFI organized the YALLAH: Explore Your Potential trip to Seattle, Washington which brought together students from our partner schools and institutions in Portland, Doha, Washington D.C., Boston, Honolulu, and Chicago to participate in educational and cultural activities throughout the city. During the trip, the students participated in Get Global 2011 - a youth conference organized by OneWorld Now! - a partner of QFI. The 2011 theme of Get Global focused on youth action, service and social entrepreneurship, as April 16th is the annual Global Youth Service Day. Students participated in a variety of thought-provoking, dynamic activities that encourage taking action towards becoming globally-minded leaders. The Conference also included a global arts showcase to highlight what makes each student’s culture unique, including a showcase on regional fashion by the Qatari female youth.

Following the Conference, QFI organized a week of educational and leadership-focused activities in and around Seattle for the Qatari students. Highlights included: a visit to the Space Needle and Theo's Chocolate Factory; an overnight stay at Islandwood; a workshop at world-renowned glass blower Dale Chihuly's studio; and a visit to the Starbucks headquarters followed by a Seattle Mariners game.

In December 2010, four QFI alumni traveled to Beirut, Lebanon where they presented their student-led initiative, YALLAH, to leading cultural, intellectual, economic, humanitarian and political thinkers and leaders at the Arab Thought Foundation's 9th annual FIKR Conference.  In October 2010, QFI Alumni participated in the International Association for National Youth Service’s 9th Global Conference at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt.

Videos

Madeleine Albright Visits Lindblom

Former U.S. State Secretary Madeleine Albright visited QFI's partner school, speaking about the importance of understanding other cultures.

YALLAH: Commit to Action

In April 2012, QFI selected 36 students from Brazil, Qatar and multiple cities in the U.S. for a youth leadership in Minnesota, done in partnership with the National Youth Leadership Council.

Concordia Language Villages

In summer of 2011, QFI established a partnership with Concordia Language Villages. 31 youth from 20 different schools attended 2 or 4-week sessions at Al Waha, the Arabic Language Village.

QFI / WeVideo Behind the Scenes

The video that launched SXSW Film, highlighting QFI student filmmakers who collaborated on short water films.

QFI Celebrates Foreign Language Week

QFI's Executive Director speaks about the importance of learning another language.

BtoQ Compilation Video

Check out all five "Brazil to Qatar" National Geographic student videos in one compilation.

"Women" during the BtoQ Exchange

Brazilian and Qatari students worked with National Geographic instructors during the Brazil to Qatar exchange to create a short piece on women.

"People and Nature" during the BtoQ Exchange

Brazilian and Qatari students worked with National Geographic instructors during the Brazil to Qatar exchange to create a short piece on people and nature.

Behind the Scenes at Brazil to Qatar: One World, Many Stories

A behind the scenes look at the #BtoQ exchange program that brought 22 high school students from Brazil to meet their counterparts in Qatar.

From Chicago to Doha: Connecting Cultures, Exploring Science

Learn about students from Chicago's Lindblom Math and Science Academy who went on QFI's exchange trip to Qatar.

Chicago2Doha Media Projects

39 students from 3 schools in Chicago and Qatar came together for the Connecting Cultures, Exploring Science trip. Students told their reflections of the trip through images, video and sound.

Glass Blowing at Chihuly's Studio: YALLAH 2011

QFI students in Seattle as part of the YALLAH cultural exchange trip in 2011 were invited to world-renowned glass blower Dale Chihuly's studio.

Sir Richard Branson speaks to Earth Day Qatar 2011

Earth Day Qatar 2011 was the premier event in the region, featuring speakers, discussions, workshops, and a special video message by Sir Richard Branson.

Meet our Brazilian students

Arabic Language and Culture in Sao Paolo - meet the Brazilian students and administrators of this program.

Crossing the divide

Watch as students from QFI partner schools in Washington DC and Boston tell their story of language learning and cultural exchange.

Our mission and the astrolabe

With its rich and varied history, the Astrolabe represents education, science, innovation and diversity. Highlighted in this video, these values underscore QFI's vision and programs.