Third Youth Research Forum 2020 to Highlight 2022 World Cup, Qatar's Culture and Heritage

Doha, February 04 (QNA) - Qatar University (QU) announced that the Third Youth Research Forum 2020 will be held from 10 to 11 March, 2020, under the theme "Identity and Cultural Tourism: Towards a Culture of Sustainable Legacy. The forum aims at creating research material covering the knowledge and cultural concerns of young people at this juncture, creating a database on youth activities that have distinct research capabilities in the field of specialized and interdisciplinary studies, and exploring the research capabilities of young people in a specific field linked to 2022 World Cup events and associated cultural, sports, environmental and urban activities. It also highlights the roles played by institutions such as the Qatar National Museum and the Cultural District Foundation (Katara) in promoting the cultural identity in Qatar, in addition to integrating sustainable knowledge among young people and preparing them to do their duty and taking the initiative towards positive participation in maximizing the benefits of this great event (World Cup). The QU also hopes that the scientific event opens channels of communication for research and knowledge between the university and community institutions, especially those that play a key role in the World Cup, opens channels of communication between young researchers and community institutions organizing the World Cup, and promotes a culture of scientific research and linking it to important historical events, along with promoting cultural tourism and building a knowledge society. It also aims at introducing Qatari heritage in all its forms in a scientific and accurate manner according to the specifications of the UNESCO Authority (Qatari names, food, cities, mosques, museums, castles ... etc). QU Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Mariam Al Ali Al Maadeed said the forum comes within the framework of the QU's strategy aimed at developing scientific research among young people, especially aspects related to identity studies, heritage and cultural communication. She added that the third research forum represents an appropriate opportunity to guide young people towards the needs of society in the next stage as Qatar prepares to host the World Cup. Dr Al Maadeed emphasized the role of youth in taking advantage from this scientific occasion and involving them in carrying out research and exploration duties leading up to this international event, such as highlighting the national and civilizational identity of the State of Qatar and its people, introducing its ancient heritage and its modern renaissance and promoting cultural tourism, in light of the state's cultural monuments. The forum allows undergraduate and graduate students from Qatar University, universities and scientific institutes and secondary school students in Qatar from all disciplines, to participate in the Third Research Forum for Young People in Qatar with their research and scientific productions on the subject of identity and heritage, cultural tourism and participation in research posters on the same topics, in order to contribute to their vision and proposals to achieve the aspirations of Qatar and its youth. The forum's organizing committee has selected the theme and topics which young people can research and apply to participate in the Third Youth Research Forum. The first focuses on World Cup facilities and the sustainability of Qatar's heritage in architecture, arts and culture. This theme addresses two important aspects of Qatar's World Cup facilities: sustainability and Qatar's legacy. The following are suggested topics for research: Sustaining the heritage of traditional architecture in the construction and design of World Cup facilities; Comparative study and analysis of sustainability programs in facilities at world championships; Analysis of natural heritage sustainability programs represented in local plants and trees through the World Cup; and Ways to activate cultural heritage at the 2022 World Cup The forum's second research theme is related to the role of museums in promoting cultural identity, and students from education, history, museum, media and other disciplines can participate in research on one of the topics mentioned in this theme. The researcher can use a variety of approaches such as surveying, case study, content analysis, historical method and others. The third focuses on economy and culture tourism where students from different disciplines can choose one of the topics mentioned above and conduct research on them, among these disciplines: tourism, economics, management, media, social sciences such as sociology, psychology and others. The fourth relates to heritage cities and their role in cultural tourism. Researchers can research any of the following topics: Maintenance of heritage cities: an architectural archaeological study; Collecting and documenting the names and characteristics of historical tourist sites: a touristic documentary study; Study exemplary models such as Souq Waqif and Cultural District Foundation Katara to assess their positive impact on the development of culture tourism; and Qatar has succeeded in registering Zubara on the Unesco World Heritage List, write about the aspects and benefits of this achievement. The fifth research is theme under symbols and components of identity. This theme focuses on several aspects of the symbols and attributes of material and non-material cultural identity, as follows: Mosques: A documentary architectural study; Collecting and documenting the vocabulary of local dialects: a linguistic study; Collecting and documenting the heritage of the judicial system: a historical legal study; and Collecting and documenting the evolution of science as a symbol of sovereignty and country. The forum's sixth research theme relates to collecting and documenting parts of cultural heritage. It focuses on collecting and investigating the names of people: an analytical study; collecting and documenting the kitchen heritage: a social historical study; collecting and documenting the heritage of folk medicine: an anthropological study; and collecting and recording the folk tale. The seventh theme titled challenges of identity and globalization. The following are the topics on which research can be carried out within this theme: The role of education in preserving cultural identity among young people: an analytical study; The Impact of social media on the cultural identity of the youth: a survey; The impact of globalization on the Arabic language among young people: an analytical survey; and The role of the media in preserving cultural identity. The eighth theme is related to medicine, pharmacology and community health. Research can be conducted on the following topics: The role of local medicinal herbs in the treatment of various diseases; The role of naturally sourced substances in the synthesis of modern medicines; Management of health institutions and the pharmaceutical economy; and The role of health awareness in the advancement of society and the fight against addiction and bad eating habit. (QNA)